‘Avatar: The Last Airbender,’ A 15 Year-Old Cartoon, Is Now Netflix’s Most Popular Show

Netflix did not seem to be celebrating the arrival of Avatar: The Last Airbender with all that much fanfare when it arrived on the service this past weekend. Despite it being one of my favorite shows of all time, it was not recommended to me on my homepage, and did not show up in trending or new releases. Though when I went to manually search for it, there it was, under “most popular searches.”

And it seems I’m not alone.

As it stands right now, Avatar: The Last Airbender is the most popular series on Netflix in the US, beating out the likes of Riverdale, Dead to Me and Outer Banks, all huge series on the service. A new show appearing in the Most Popular Top 10 list is not all that unusual, and yet this is not a new show, this is a 15 year-old Nickelodeon cartoon that is so ancient it’s still in the 4:3 ratio format instead of widescreen.

I have already extolled the virtues of this series in other articles, but the point is that no one should be turned off by the fact that it’s A) old, B) animated or C) on Nickelodeon originally which implies it’s for kids. It isn’t (though yes, your kids can watch it), and is a great series that blends elements of fantasy and the superhero genre for one of the best-told stories in TV history.

As of right now, Netflix does not have the sequel series, The Legend of Korra, which I believe is on CBS All Access right now. However, a while ago it was announced that Netflix would be making a live-action adaptation of the original show with the founding creators returning for it. This would of course be the second attempt at a live action adaptation of the series, as M. Night Shyamalan famously made a blockbuster film version that was universally derided as horrific, and most Avatar fans have attempted to scrub it from their memories.

Avatar showing up as number one on the service right now is indicative of a lot of people like me rewatching it (I think the last time I saw this show in its entirety, I had downloaded it through Pirate Bay torrents), or it could be newcomers discovering it for the first time. Whatever the case, Netflix is likely feeling pretty comfortable with their decision to draw upon the series for a live-action version, though obviously plenty could go wrong if it’s not handled correctly.

As I’ve said before, I cannot recommend the series enough. It’s around 60, 20 minute episodes in total, and a breeze to get through. I watched ten in a row yesterday without even blinking. It’s a fantastic series everyone should experience, and don’t let it being old or animated chase you away. Give it a shot.

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