League of Legends’ Arcane is Netflix’s next big hit
Netflix has revealed that League of Legends’ Arcane is on track to become the streaming service’s next big hit, defeating Cowboy Bebop and Tiger King season 2.
The series Arcane is Netflix’s animated prequel to Riot Games’ popular MOBA, League of Legends. Netflix revealed through its top 10 that the show is currently on the top of the chart, followed by Tiger King season 2, while Cowboy Bebop is comfortably sitting on fifth.
As of November 21, Arcane had recorded over 38 million hours of viewing time in the course of only seven days. Meanwhile, Cowboy Bebop, a live adaptation of an anime with the same name, is trailing behind with only 21.6 million hours of viewing time. On the other hand, Tiger King season 2 recorded 30.3 million hours within the same period.
Arcane currently has a 98 percent audience rating on the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes. It also received a 100 percent “certified fresh” rating, thanks to its display of beautiful 3D animation, good voice acting, the complexities of its characters, as well as its rich and engaging story and world-building.
On the other hand, Cowboy Bebop and Tiger King season 2 have not been received as well, with the former recording scores of 54 percent audience rating and 58 percent of critics rating. Tiger king performed even worse. It produced scores of 41 percent and 18 percent.
Moreover, per global audience analysis company Parrot Analytics, the first season of Arcane was the third most in-demand TV show across all streaming platforms per November 21. The only TV shows that had recorded greater viewership over the same time frame were Amazon’s The Wheel of Time and HBO’s Game of Thrones.
Arcane’s popularity has been rapidly growing since its first three episodes were launched on November 6. According to other data from Parrot Analytics, the show’s global popularity has grown by 629 percent since its first season was aired. Up to November 19, the first season of Arcane was more popular than Stranger Things and The Mandalorian as it was America’s number one digital streaming series.
Netflix has yet to announce the release date for the second season of Arcane. However, Netflix and Riot Game have both announced that Arcane will not be returning to the screen until after 2022, meaning its second season will not be here until at least 2023.
It is also possible that the second season will come much later, remembering that fans waited for six for Riot Games and the animation studio Fortiche to release the first season.
OK, so what to watch now?
1. Cowboy Bebop
Let’s get something out of the way. If you decide to watch Nexflix’s Cowboy Bebop, don’t expect the same magic the classic anime has. So far, fans’ reactions have been mixed, but if you give the series a chance, it might be better than what the anime superfans are saying. In the space version of the Wild West, John Cho and Mustafa Shakir team up as a pair of bounty hunters, tracking down wanted space criminals while also dealing with their personal problems.
2. Squid Game
Join our main protagonist, the divorced and indebted chauffeur Seong Gi-hun, as he participates in a deadly tournament to pay off his debts, take care of his mother, and provide for his now-separated daughter. Teaming up with childhood friend Cho Sang-woo, dementia sufferer Oh Il-nam, Pakistani illegal immigrant Ali Abdul, North Korean defector Kang Sae-byeok, and many more, he competes in a series of Korean children’s games including Red Light-Green Light, Tug of War, and Hopscotch.
