By Andrew Rogers and Tom Richardson, BBC Newsbeat
Netflix“We’ve all watched TV shows without really knowing when to stop,” explains Christian Linke.
“We don’t want to be part of it.”
Quitting while you’re ahead isn’t always a strength of the television industry, and there are many examples of programs that “jump the shark” and overstay their welcome.
But ending a series on your own terms after just two seasons is relatively unusual.
This is especially true when you’re the showrunner of Arcane, the award-winning animated story inspired by the online multiplayer game League of Legends (LoL).
It follows the fates of sisters Vi and Jinx, who find themselves on opposing sides in a war.
Pitch Perfect star Hailee Steinfeld and Ella Purnell – who recently starred in Amazon’s Fallout series – provided the voices for the duo.
Their performances and French studio Fortiche’s striking animation garnered widespread praise, winning Arcane an Emmy and sweeping the Annies’ “Cartoon Oscars” table.
It remains one of Netflix’s highest-rated original shows and, in the eyes of some, the best video game adaptation ever made.
So when the season two trailer dropped earlier this week and revealed that it would be the “final chapter”, some fans were surprised.
But showrunner Christian, who works for LoL developer Riot Games, insists that was always the plan.
“We just want to tell a very specific story with a very fitting ending in mind,” he told BBC Newsbeat.
Christian admits he might do things differently now if he were starting over, knowing how well received the first season was.
“But that’s exactly what we’ve been building to all along,” he says.
“And so we kind of have to follow our instincts and tell the story that it was meant to be.”
Getty ImagesThe first season of Arcane reached the Netflix Top 10 in 83 countries around the world during its release month.
League of Legends is one of the most popular games in the world in terms of player numbers and occupies a significant place in the esports scene.
Its annual World Cup competition – reminiscent of the Olympics or a football-type event – is underway held at the O2 in London this year.
Christian says it’s difficult to make a TV show in an industry that’s “afraid of making a big mistake”, and that a similar series with “high-quality animation” at its core didn’t exist at the time. ‘era.
But he says having such a large fan base for the game gave Arcane’s creators confidence.
“It was very clear that just because it doesn’t exist doesn’t mean that this huge gaming audience didn’t want to see these characters and these worlds realized in a big way.
“It was just obvious to us. It wasn’t a secret formula. It was just about doing what everyone obviously wanted.”
NetflixDespite being the creator of one of the most played online titles in the world, Riot Games has had a rough few years.
The Californian company paid remuneration of female employees last year following a multimillion-dollar gender discrimination lawsuit filed in 2018.
And earlier this year, the company laid off 530 people, with CEO Dylan Jadeja saying it had made “big bets” in its attempts to expand outside of gaming. it didn’t go as planned.
Christian, who joined Riot as a music composer in 2010, says the Arcane project hasn’t been too affected and remains a small team of around 20 people.
But he admits that seeing colleagues he had worked with for years leave was “really painful”.
“I think the pandemic made everyone think, ‘Oh, I guess everyone’s going to stay home forever and play games all day, and that probably won’t change at all,’” he said.
“So I think the industry just needed to wake up.”
Christian says the industry situation has forced companies to ask tough questions and “come up with really good answers,” focusing on creating “really cool things and not just more of the same.”
Fans won’t learn more about Arcane’s story after Season 2, but Christian says there are plans for more LoL-based shows featuring more of the game’s 167 playable characters.
Despite greater challenges in the industry, there is a big appetite for video game adaptations.
They have overturned their reputation for poor quality and are increasingly in demand after a string of breakout successes.
Christian says he would love to see his childhood favorites – Warcraft and Starcraft, from developer Blizzard – get the TV series treatment.
And he hopes Arcane’s success will inspire other creators to avoid “just trying to fit in with Hollywood and really find our own way.”
“We just tried to stay true to what our game is like and what our tone is,” he says.
“We should preserve video games. They’re different. And that’s okay. And that’s why they’re so cool. So let’s embrace them.”
