In a change of pace, Netflix has given a quick renewal to one of its originals as the streamer has greenlighted a second season of its live-action adaptation of the One Piece Anime. The announcement was made by the creator of the original manga Eiichiro Oda:
To the Straw Hat Grand Fleet: What did you think of Season 1 of the live-action One Piece? I spent a long time working on it with Netflix and Tomorrow Studios. It seems people around the world have been enjoying the show, which makes the hard work from the production team truly worth it. Two weeks after the launch, I just received some great news. Netflix has decided to renew the show! The adventures of Iñaki and the live-action Straw Hats will continue onward!
That show has topped the Netflix charts the last two weeks, averaging over 140 million hours of viewing per week. But we previously saw shows like The Sandman and Wednesday top the charts and pull in strong viewership while Netflix took its time on the renewal announcements. Both of those are rather costly productions, but One Piece is also a high-dollar series, reportedly running up a bill of $18 million per episode. Netflix has been known for pumping a lot of money into its original content, but it is also notorious for pulling the plug pretty quickly when shows do not measure up to viewership expectations. Case in point: the live action adaptation of Cowboy Bebop was cut short after one season despite pulling decent viewership numbers.
Oda did warn fans that it will take a while for the scripts to be written for the second season because of the current writers’ strike. In addition, the actors are striking as well, and neither group appears to be making much progress at the moment. Considering the high production values of One Piece, it would take a while to complete a season under the best of circumstances. With the current labor movements going on, it could easily be 2025 before the second year of the show debuts on the streaming service.
This is the first renewal announcement since the 2023-24 season started and One Piece joins four other shows that were renewed prior to the beginning of the season. That brings the Cancellation/Renewal Score to 5 sci fi and fantasy shows renewed so far (42% of shows tracked) vs three cancelled and ending shows (25%). You can see the breakdown of the numbers and the full list of shows at our Cancellation Watch Page.
One Piece follows the young pirate Monkey D. Luffy who assembles a crew to explore the oceans in search of the mythical treasure known as “One Piece” that will allow him to become the next Pirate King. It stars Iñaki Godoy, Emily Rudd, Mackenyu, Vincent Regan, and Jeff Ward and it is based on the Anime and Manga created by Eiichiro Oda.
The season is just beginning, and there are plenty more renewal and cancellation announcements on the way. You can see the status of all this season’s shows at this link. And be sure to follow this site and the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for updates and breaking news.
Be sure to follow the Cancelled Sci Fi Twitter Site for breaking news and updates. And for the latest news and discussions on sci fi and fantasy television, follow r/SciFiTV
Follow our Sci Fi TV Schedule for all the currently airing and upcoming sci fi and fantasy television shows, and you can see the premieres for all the upcoming genre entries at this link.
