How Many Episodes Will Netflix’s Live-Action ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender’ Have?

There is less than a week to wait until Netflix’s live-action version of Avatar: The Last Airbender finally hits our screens. Though there is some apprehension, as live-action adaptations of animated series haven’t always been equally successful, and certain comments made by the showrunners have caused controversy, audiences are still undoubtedly curious.

After all, it can’t be worse than the 2010 film. Can it?

In the end, the success or failure of this new adaptation will come down to the show’s narrative structure. So, how many episodes will the first season of Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender have?

Avatar: The Last Airbender episode count

Live-action TV and animated TV have very different rules and storytelling needs. The Last Airbender’s animated episodes were all around 20 minutes in length. Most of Netflix’s original fantasy series have episodes that are around an hour long.

The original Avatar: The Last Airbender series on Nickelodeon consisted of three full seasons, or “books,” each of which produced around 20 episodes in total. During each season, Aang would focus on mastering one of the remaining three elements. “Book One: Water,” “Book Two: Earth,” and “Book Three: Fire” each saw Aang take on different teachers, tasks, and responsibilities, eventually culminating in his battle against the almighty Fire Lord, Ozai, in the series finale.

The showrunner and executive producer of the new live-action version of Avatar: The Last Airbender have already confirmed that they’ve changed the animated show’s original structure to suit a more serialized, grounded, live-action version of the story. Aang’s many side quests have been reduced or removed from the story entirely, for instance, and it remains to be seen how that will affect Aang’s Avatar journey. As such, it’s no surprise that the first season of Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender will consist of fewer episodes—eight in total, all of which will have a runtime of between 40-60 minutes.

Netflix has also revealed all eight episode titles for its The Last Airbender adaptation. These are, in order, “The Last Airbender,” “Warriors,” “Omashu,” “Into The Dark,” “Spirited Away,” “Masks,” “The North,” and the season finale is titled “Legends.”

Eight episodes for a Netflix series seems to be the new norm. Netflix’s adaptation of fellow fantastical animated series One Piece was also granted eight episodes, and other major speculative Netflix Originals such as Stranger Things, Wednesday, and The Witcher have all produced eight-episode seasons, as well. It is currently unclear if Avatar: The Last Airbender will be granted a renewal, though if Netflix is hoping to adapt the full story, the show will, presumably, need at least three seasons.

All eight episodes of Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender will release on February 22, 2024.

(featured image: Netflix)