Netflix’s “Arcane” is the first TV show inspired by and adapted from Riot Games’ online battle arena video game titled “League of Legends.” With its first season premiering in late 2021 and the finale season premiering in November of last year, Netflix’s “Arcane” has shattered streaming records and Rotten Tomatoes scores. It has also broken the record for most expensive animated series of all time at $250 million total for 18 episodes.
It is no secret that large budgets are a given in modern Hollywood. And yet, the modern viewer has been found to be dissatisfied with TV today due to a multitude of reasons, including price of streaming services, quality, and long stretches of time between seasons. So, what makes “Arcane” so different from the rest? How did they manage to go three years between seasons, use a quarter of a billion dollars for their production and yet solidify themselves as one of the top twenty-five shows of all time on IMDb?
For starters, the amount of detail, foreshadowing and insight into the characters embedded in the animation and art of “Arcane” is unparalleled. There are endless articles, Twitter threads and TikToks compiling every single one, and even years after season one, viewers are still uncovering hidden details and parallels between characters.
From the beginning, “Arcane” had an outlined, thought-out plan for the amount of seasons they wanted and where the characters would end up. Amanda Overton, one of the head writers of the show, stated back in November that the writers had been sitting on the ending since the beginning. Overton stated, “that Vi-Jinx scene, the very last scene between them, is nearly the same as when we wrote it six years ago.” The fact that the leaders behind this show have had a clear, contained vision from the very beginning and stuck to it in a world absolutely drowning in prequels and dragged-out series finales raises it up a level so many other shows have not even come close to.
The creators of “Arcane” understood that they had an entire fanbase of “League of Legends” fans behind them. Because the creators understood the power of their audience, they took the time to make “Arcane” accurate skins in game and used lore from the character biographies and letters in “League of Legends.”
However, they simultaneously expanded upon it and tweaked it in ways that would make it more immersive and three dimensional for every character they chose to portray. They also made the choice to throw in easter eggs to other characters and lands of “League of Legends,” providing avenues for spin-offs. All of this lends itself to more in-game players becoming consumers of “Arcane,” and even watchers of the series becoming “League of Legends” players.
“Arcane” exhibits what every modern day budget, showrunner, and production should – attention to detail, precision and thoughtfulness into each and every one of their characters and their storylines, as well as a true love for the fanbase behind them.