Netflix has a certified, Award-winning hit on its hands. Arcane, titled onscreen as Arcane: League of Legends, debuted on the streaming service last year to high praise from both fans and critics. The series is set in the world of Riot Games’ popular League of Legends online multiplayer, and follows the sisters Vi and Jinx, voiced by Hailee Steinfeld and Ella Purnell, respectively, as they navigate the escalating unrest between the cities of Piltover and Zaun. At last night’s Creative Arts ceremony, Arcane won the Emmy for Best Animated Program, becoming the first streaming show to do so in the history of the event. Past contenders for the honor have also mostly been from Netflix’s crop of content, including nominations for hit comedy Big Mouth and cult favorite drama Bojack Horseman.
Arcane was one of many series duking it out for the Emmy this year, coming up huge against several heavy-hitters. Longstanding programs like Fox’s Bob’s Burgers and The Simpsons, as well as Adult Swim’s Rick & Morty, fell short. Marvel Studios’ What If…?, its first animated project, was also nominated. Although it didn’t win Best Animated Program, star Chadwick Boseman did pick up the award for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance in a separate category. Arcane co-creator Christian Linke accepted the Emmy on the series’ behalf, giving the following statement:
Thank you for this. It’s a big deal for us as we come from video games. It’s been amazing to see the world embrace our characters and our stories so thanks to Netflix who believed in us from the beginning, thanks to Riot Games, who worked on the whole IP… and to all the people that have been with our game and League of Legends for the last 12 years or so who helped make it as big as it is now.
Christian Linke
A second season of Arcane is currently in development, though no release date has been announced.
Source: Deadline
