Nickelodeon's Legend of Korra was a sequel series to the wildly popular Avatar: The Last Airbender, and it ran for four seasons before it was quietly canceled ahead of season 5. Legend of Korra focused on the new Avatar, a teenage girl named Korra, and significantly built out the mythology of Avatar: The Last Airbender. Prior to the premiere of Legend of Korra season 2, co-creators Michael DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko announced at San Diego Comic-Con that Nickelodeon had ordered 26 more episodes, to be divided into seasons 3 and 4. Following a significant drop in ratings and both creators looking to move onto different projects, Legend of Korra season 4 ended up being the show’s last and was released online in its entirety, but why was Legend of Korra canceled?
Many viewers blamed the end of Legend of Korra on how it significantly differs from its predecessor. That said, some of these differences, such as how Legend of Korra introduces LGBTQ+ representation in Avatar, have also created a clamor for Avatar Studios to produce Legend of Korra season 5. While Avatar: The Last Airbender was aimed at children, Legend of Korra was designed for an older audience, and it dealt with more mature themes such as terrorism, fascism, and sexual orientation. Some Avatar: The Last Airbender fans hated the show's tonal shift, while Legend of Korra supporters blamed Nickelodeon's refusal to promote the show for its cancelation before Korra season 5. Since Legend of Korra’s addition to Netflix, the debate over the show has fired back up.
Exactly why was Legend of Korra canceled? Korra ended for a variety of reasons including poor ratings and creative differences. It certainly didn't help that Avatar and Nickelodeon had a rough start. In 2004, Nickelodeon infamously aired a trailer for Avatar: The Last Airbender containing footage from the unaired Avatar pilot that was never intended for release. Following Avatar's stellar ratings, Nickelodeon eventually took the show seriously, leading to the spinoff Legend of Korra. Though Legend of Korra season 5 was never on the table, any chance of it getting greenlit disappeared quickly during season 3’s run. Here are more details about why Legend of Korra was canceled ahead of season 5.
Why Legend of Korra Season 5 Never Happened
Avatar: The Last Airbender was followed up by the three-season run Nickelodeon promised, and in contrast, Legend of Korra was never guaranteed anything past the original one-season order. Nickelodeon eventually gave the show a total of 52 episodes and four seasons, but as the show’s ratings rapidly declined, Legend of Korra season 5 never had a chance. Why was Legend of Korra canceled? The shortest answer is poor ratings. When Nickelodeon pulled Legend of Korra from the air without warning in the middle of season 3 and released season 4 entirely online, it became clear that the show had no future on the network.
Although Legend of Korra’s cancelation by Nickelodeon was never official, the network did systemically undermine the show’s success. Even before pulling Legend of Korra off the air, Nickelodeon was continuously changing the date and time that the show aired, putting out almost no promotion for it. Legend of Korra’s Korra-Asami relationship and other content considered too adult meant that Nickelodeon was hesitant to air Legend of Korra on a channel geared towards children. However, pushing it online without warning meant that devoted fans had difficulty finding new episodes. Unfortunately, the question of why was Legend of Korra canceled ultimately leads to an ugly truth: some television executives and/or audiences still carry outdated notions about queer representation being detrimental to children.
Already dealing with a ratings drop after waiting 18 months to release season 2, Legend of Korra never recovered after it was forced to move online. However, even without Nickelodeon's active sabotage, Legend of Korra season 5 may not have happened anyway, as DiMartino and Konietzko were ready to work outside of their creative partnership at the time. As a result of the show's soft cancelation and due to its low ratings, Legend of Korra ended, and more new Avatar spinoffs began. Notably, Korra's story did continue in a three-part graphic novel, "Legend of Korra: Turf Wars." The graphic novel was written by DiMartino and is considered a canonical continuation of the series. Another reason for cancelation may have been that the creators have focused their sights on further expanding the world of Avatar.
Avatar Studios: New Series/Movies/Spinoffs: Everything We Know
Although there are no official plans for Legend of Korra season 5, the series now has a greater chance of continuation thanks to the new Avatar Studios, though Konietzko and DiMartino intend to move forward with many other movie and TV projects set in the same world. While the chances of a Legend of Korra season 5 still seem low, the creation of Avatar Studios was the first time since 2014 that the project regained even the faintest hope of actually getting the green light. In fact, Konietzko and DiMartino reportedly left Netflix's live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender in mid-2020. Instead, alongside Avatar music composer Jeremy Zuckerman, the creators of Avatar will be making three different animated movies, Kyoshi (2024), Zuko (2025), and Korra (2026), with the latter focusing on Korra.
For now, Legend of Korra season 5 will be on the backburner as Avatar Studios gears up for its feature-length slate, which will respectively be released in 2024, 2025, and 2026. As a division of Nickelodeon Animation, Avatar Studios seems to have patched up its differences with its home network. While they're unlikely to be streamable on Netflix, Kyoshi, Zuko, and Korra will instead be released on Paramount+, Nickelodeon, and third-party platforms.