Bad news for fans of The Legend of Korra. Citing low ratings, Nickelodeon has yanked five upcoming episodes of the Avatar: The Last Airbender spinoff from its schedule. However, fans shouldn’t jump to the assumption that the show is cancelled – in fact, Nickelodeon is organizing a digital rollout for the remaining episodes of Book Three, and seeing as the show has already been renewed for a fourth season, The Legend of Korra isn’t going anywhere too quickly.
We’ll know more after the Legend of Korra Comic-Con panel, but it looks like the remaining episodes of Book Three will be released weekly on Nick.com and the Nick app beginning August 1st. Additionally, the show will still be made available on platforms like Amazon, Google Play, Xbox and Hulu.
This news was confirmed via a Korra Nation Tumblr post thanking the fans for their on-going support, which was reposted by showrunner Bryan Konietzko, who also posted the below image on his Tumblr:
Even though The Legend of Korra has garnered critical acclaim and a rather rabid fanbase over its three seasons (the show’s presence at Comic-Con should speak to that), it hasn’t been a big performer for Nickelodeon in the ratings, pulling in significantly less viewers than its predecessor. The numbers have also been dropping across season three, which makes it a little more understandable that Nickelodeon wouldn’t want to continue airing it.
However, something tells me that the network doesn’t want to let Korra go just yet. The anime-influenced fantasy series has been one of the most roundly acclaimed animated series in recent years, and Nickelodeon doesn’t have a comparably beloved show anywhere on its lineup right now. Perhaps moving The Legend of Korra to Nick.com will benefit both it and the network in the long run – after all, more and more shows are finding life online, and the success of Netflix’s Orange is the New Black and House of Cards has indicated that a good show doesn’t need to be on TV to succeed.