The long-awaited Avatar: The Last Airbender debuted in February to generally mixed reviews; there were things to like, but it wasn’t quite what fans were hoping for. Emmet Asher-Perrin wrote, “It’s imperfect, but it’s enough for hope’s sake.” It was also popular enough that Netflix immediately renewed it for two more seasons.
Behind the scenes, though, there’s been a bit of a shuffle—again. Once upon a time, the original creators of the animated Avatar were on board the live-action adaptation. In 2020, they parted ways with the project, with Michael Dante DiMartino saying, “whatever version ends up on-screen, it will not be what Bryan [Konietzko] and I had envisioned or intended to make.”
Enter Albert Kim, an executive producer and writer on Sleepy Hollow, who joined the project as showrunner for the first season. Now, though, he’s stepping down. According to The Hollywood Reporter, “Sources say Kim’s intention was to lay the foundation for season one of Avatar: The Last Airbender after stepping in for the beloved franchise’s creators.”
Variety notes that Kim also has many more opportunities on his plate: “According to an individual with knowledge of the situation, Kim wanted to explore new opportunities following the multi-year development process on Last Airbender and has signed a deal with Disney to work as an executive producer on the Percy Jackson series while also developing new projects for that company.”
The two people stepping up to the showrunner role were both hired by Kim. Christine Boylan was a co-executive producer (and writer) on the first season, while Jabbar Raisani already wore three hats: executive producer, director, and VFX supervisor.
Boylan has a lot of SFF on her resume, working as a producer and writer on Once Upon a Time, The Punisher, Cloak and Dagger, and the Constantine series. Raisani’s background is largely in visual effects (for shows including The Flash, Game of Thrones, and Stranger Things), but he was also an executive producer for Netflix’s Lost in Space.
Netflix hasn’t said anything about when Avatar will return for its second season, but it’ll certainly be interesting to see how the changes behind the camera ultimately influence the show.
