Albert Kim, the latest showrunner of Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender, is stepping down as the series heads into its second season. This marks the third showrunner shift for the series, with Christine Boylan and Jabbar Raisani taking over the reins as the drama’s new showrunners for the upcoming seasons. The Hollywood Reporter first broke the news.
Kim, who previously replaced the franchise’s creators, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, will continue to be credited as an executive producer for the show. Boylan, known for her work on Leverage, Castle, and more recently, Poker Face and Citadel, will join Raisani, who served as a director and VFX supervisor for the series. Together, they will lead the production through its second and third seasons.
Despite fans’ high expectations based on the original anime, the live-action adaptation received mixed reviews from critics upon its debut. While Netflix quickly renewed the series for two additional seasons in March (and announced it was the No. 1 series in 76 countries at the time), the departure of key creatives during production raises questions about the show’s future direction.
Season 2 is poised to introduce iconic characters like Toph and Long Feng. Each season of the series follows the last surviving Airbender Aang mastering a new element–Season 2 will focus on earthbending, while Season 3 will see Aang learning firebending.
Earlier this year, actor Ken Leung, who plays Commander Zhao in the Netflix adaptation, revealed that he initially thought he was auditioning for a role in James Cameron’s Avatar movie franchise. “When I first heard it was for Avatar, I thought I was going to be blue,” Leung said.
For more, check out GameSpot’s Avatar: The Last Airbender review.
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