Marty Adelstein and Becky Clements from Tomorrow Studios were big drivers for pushing their work on the live-action adaptation. After the series managed to debut at a strong 18.5M viewers in its first premiere weekend, it went on to remain at the top spot in an otherwise soft first week of September. The show’s future still remains a mystery as no official confirmation has been made for a second season, but the producers are definitely just waiting for the chance.
Clements points out that they “have hopes for 12 seasons, there’s so much material” given that the series is still ongoing after 26 years and it’s unsure if it’ll end in the next three or five years after entering its “final saga.” Though there’s no certainty that the series to last that long given just how these streaming models work, it does seem that they at least have a roadmap for at least the next six years.
Everything we do is in concert with Netflix, [manga publisher] Shueisha and Oda-san, they are a part of that conversation. We’ve definitely had more thorough conversations about what we would do with Season 2 should we have the opportunity, and then less extensive conversations about where we would go for season three to six. The one thing I would say, we’re all unified in the parts of the manga that you just absolutely cannot eliminate, and that’s our guiding principle, the stories that we know and the characters that we know are important to the fans. So that really is the start in breaking future seasons. It will require a lot of conversations, but we feel lucky to have have the roadmap.
Becky Clements
We recently heard that the second season is already mapped out and ready script-wise. So, Netflix and the other studios just need to pay their writers and actors fairly so that they can jump straight into the next season. They know that getting these seasons out at regular intervals will ensure that viewership will rise, but it all depends on when they can start filming. With a strong exterior shot-focused production, they are just waiting to see how things move along before they can jump in.
I don’t know what Netflix is thinking. It would benefit us to move more quickly. Once you get into the summer months there it can get pretty windy and wet — our summer months, their winter months. It didn’t stop us last year, we did some reshooting and we shot later than we anticipated, and it worked out just fine. We try to find ways to minimize exteriors to create a safe environment for shooting and we do stuff inside when we need to.
Becky Clements
So, here’s hoping that Netflix will finally push the market to heal as there will definitely be quite a drought next year. The show’s initial viewership does seem promising for a potential second season to grow even more if they play their cards right and with a show that has the potential to grow beyond, it may be smart to think in advance to keep people interested to come back and even grow its audience.
Many wondered if One Piece could keep up its current placement in its second week, especially with the worry it might be enough for Netflix to renew it. A drop of any kind would not bode well given just how invested Netflix is to ensure they have their next “Stranger Things” after Wednesday and The Night Agent surprised with a massive viewer base early on. Still, an adaptation of a manga that’s a bit more “cartoony” would still be a challenge and raises questions if something more out there could still get an audience.
Luckily, it seems the new live-action adaptation held strong in its second second week. While Deadline says it “ballooned” the numbers aren’t quite what one saw with the previously mentioned shows or even Queen Charlotte earlier this year. Still, it pulled in 18.5M views in its first week and grew to add another 19.3M in its second. While it got dethroned in a few countries, such as big markets like the US by Virgin River’s fifth season and the final season of Top Boy, it still is around double what those shows pulled in their first four days. A bigger discrepancy when compared to its competition last week with Who is Erin Carter? that dropped to third place this week.
In week 2, ONE PIECE scored 145.7 million hours watched globally on Netflix (equating to about 19.3 million) pic.twitter.com/OYfkYmyM4F
The view count now stands at a total of 285.8M viewed hours with 37.8M views. There’s still some time to go if it wants to kick Queen Charlotte from its 10th spot at around 526.8M hours viewed over 91 days, it’s certainly a good start for a new series. Some fans might be hoping for the series to absolutely destroy the ratings but even with strong word-of-mouth, it’s still a bit more of a jump to get people to try out a new show. The big question is how will it hold in its third week, as a big drop could certainly hurt its chances for a second season.
It should be noted that audience data for One Piece, according to Deadline, might be a very enticing factor for Netflix. They love Social Media and it seems on TikTok alone the hashtag #onepiecenetflix has led to 4 billion search impressions. That’s a strong number for them seeking social engagement and hoping to build a new brand that could compete with others. Not everything will perform like Wednesday, perhaps not even Wednesday when its second season drops.
We don’t know if Netflix deems their investment worth and with the new calculations, their data assessment might also be quite a bit different moving forward. Plus, while many like to compare to other shows we do need to take into account that this is a summer release which doesn’t always mean the same amount of people are spending it at home when compared to another time frame like Wednesday’s fall release. With it still ranking as one of the highest openings and a decent hold, it does have a good chance for that renewal. Here’s hoping Netflix just pays its writers and actors fairly.
It has finally happened. After inspiring Suki and Joe to create a podcast all about One Piece, the live-action adaptation is finally here. Don’t miss out on the latest episode as they dive deep into the new series in this spoiler-filled reaction to the long-awaited series.
One Piece was released a week ago and it hit the #1 spot worldwide even with a strong competitor in Who is Erin Carter? but there’s still some uncertainty if we can expect a second season to be released. The coming weeks will tell us more, but going by first reactions, Netflix does seem to see it as a global success.
It may not be breaking Wednesday’s records after all, as it has a lower #1 stat weekly but had a very strong performance since worldwide, Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters stated that the series had cleared “a very high bar” and goes on to say it is “massively popular and a success around the world.”
This is a very high bar to meet, to basically take a storied manga and deliver it in English-language, live action,” the exec said. “Pretty much all the haters are out, looking for a reason to hate you for it. To be able to deliver it and have it be massively popular and a success around the world is amazing to see.
Greg Peters
That is great news and a recent comment from Tomorrow Studios’ producers is also hinting that the studio is quite happy with its performance. After Cowboy Bebop barely managed to debut in the Top 10 before fizzling out shortly after, it’s great news that they are seeing the potential. There’s a lot of potential for the series to grow with each new season and could become a mainstay for the streamer once they start paying their actors and writers fairly.
Sadly, we still don’t have an official announcement from Netflix that a second season will indeed happen. The initial numbers are a promising start for this adaptation, but with the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strike, it’s unclear if work ever was done on a potential second season but a WGA listing some time ago already hinted that work may have started on the scripts, which isn’t uncommon to start production as fast as possible.
Now, we have a confirmation by Tomorrow Studios CEO, Marty Adelstein, that they do have the script ready for a second season. Not only that but producer Becky Clements believes that once the strike ends, they could have it all wrapped up to publish within a year or 18 months. That would be a good turnaround but is halted by the lack of an official announcement and companies not paying actors and writers what they are owed.
We’ve got scripts ready. Realistically, hopefully, a year away, if we move very quickly, and that is a possibility. Somewhere between a year and 18 months, we could be ready for air.
Becky Clements
The show opened to the top spot with 18.5M in its first four days and word-of-mouth seems quite strong going by its Social Media performance, as well as positive critical reception. Of course, quality doesn’t always mean they will renew it but the series has the challenge to remain a top performer in the upcoming weeks. Adelstein
They keep it, as you know, close to the vest until post-launch. But with Netflix’s support of the title, we expected it to be number one and we sensed their research and algorithms probably saw the possibility for that. But in our subsequent calls post-launch, we have been told that we have exceeded expectations, which is also fantastic.
Becky Clements
If they “exceeded expectations” it’s a good sign that the show is doing well. So, the upcoming weeks will be crucial as they’ll show the series’ growing power as a series that could also give them hope for future seasons. Who knows if a second-season renewal was initially in the plans early before the strike happened, but that’s just wishful thinking. We’ll just have to wait a bit until we know what the future has in store fo the future live-action king of the pirates.
Director Marc Jobst has collected quite an impressive filmography over the years with his work on Daredevil, Luke Cage, The Punisher, Black Sails, The Witcher, Hannibal, and more. Now, he’s added the first two episodes of the new One Piece series that was released last week and has managed to gather quite a positive reception after many feared it would fall into the usual pitfalls of live-action adaptations of anime and manga.
Now, after hyping up the show quite a bit with a variety of postings, the director shared with The Streamr that he’s definitely excited to return for a second season and he’d love to get a chance to work with everyone involved once again. He also highlights that they “did some service int he community” as part of their stay in South Africa while filming.
Oh, listen, of course, I want to come back. You know, I love this show. I love the actors. Hugely we bonded we worked, we rehearsed. We played silly games, we did some service in the community. You know, we worked together to kind of build trust, and there’s no way I’d like to let that go. Just like that. So yes, it sounds to do that.
Marc Jobst
He definitely had a hand in defining the way the show came together, which isn’t an easy task considering what they set out to adapt into live-action. The love for the close-up lens was certainly an interesting artistic choice that sometimes could’ve been toned down, the show is visually unique from most projects that are out there, especially in how they had to approach each episode as its own self-contained story that expands into a bigger one.
It looks like One Piece is definitely doing numbers, even if it’s still hard to say if Netflix deems this worthy enough to continue with multiple seasons. The first numbers are in and over its first 4 days on Netflix, the series is firmly placed at #1 with 18.5M views that amass 140.10M hours watched across its eight-episode run. That isn’t bad for a start and if it keeps up a strong momentum in the upcoming weeks, there’s definitely a lot of potential moving forward.
ONE PIECE debuts on Netflix with 140.10 million hours watched which equates to 18.5 million views. pic.twitter.com/8GsjCRpdwO
It didn’t quite pull in the same hours as Wednesday and Stranger Things S4, which stand at 341.2M hours and 286.79M hours respectively. Yet, it should also be noted that it beat its own record recently. After jumping to the top spot in 84 markets, it grew to 86 needs after a short drop in its fourth day. It should be noted there was some confusion on the record it broke as the one that was referenced was the week release, which One Piece didn’t quite manage the same way given its tough competition with an overperforming Who is Erin Carter? in its second week.
That means it’s showing some strong word-of-mouth and even beat its previous record that was initially set by the series mentioned above. However, how it’s in the top #1 more with fewer hours viewed is currently uncertain how it is measured (lack of transparency be damned).
One thing of note is that it did perform seemingly better than The Witcher S3 which opened to 15.2M and is currently the biggest opener since they reformed their data back in June. So, this might give it a bit of a boost for Netflix seeing the potential of letting this series grow beyond with multiple seasons; though just a season two renewal during a strike would be good enough. Here’s hoping that the coming weeks see it hold tight to that top spot and continue to grow throughout September.
Netflix is infamous for being very specific on what show will return for a second season, especially regarding high investments. So, there are a lot of questions surrounding One Piece and its chance to get a renewal potentially. The adaptation surprised many by getting a fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a high IMDb score, while also now flaunting the #1 spot in 84 countries, which is higher than what was reported for Wednesday and even Stranger Things. Yet, that isn’t the “Season 2” confirmation quite yet that some might be hoping for.
Fair Wages
As long as studios aren’t paying writers and actors any fair wages, we’re not going to see any shows go into production anytime soon. So, Netflix might either wait it out completely before even making a decision. As of now, the discussions between the WGA, SAG, and AMPTP remain at a standstill and there’s likely still going to drag out going into the rest of the half year. So, some shows’ future remains a big question mark at the moment.
However, Netflix did renew XO, Kitty for a second season while the writer’s strike was still going on. They can always make an announcement to keep interest in the project and ride the discussions online. In May, they also gave The Witcher two additional seasons even though Liam Hemsworth is going to replace one of its main stars and one of the show’s draws, Henry Cavill. At the time, WGA was the only one striking so who knows if they are more hesitant now that SAG also is fighting for a fair wage.
Budgetary Concerns
The big concern is the high investment for this series. It reportedly is more expensive than even Game of Thrones and while we don’t know how it compares to Stranger Things or Wednesday, it still will need to impress with its viewership. We are still only a few days in and there’s also the factor that the series’ completion rate showcases an ongoing interest in the series beyond just its first season. What’s On Netflix has a great breakdown of how exactly the streaming service decides what is worth continuing and not.
The recent news on the #1 placements in the world is a great start but doesn’t reflect the exact viewership quite yet. Netflix changed its metrics recently and is also hopeful for these binge series to last for multiple weeks (instead of ensuring that with an actual weekly release). So, the next few weeks will give us a better look at how well the show holds up and if word-of-mouth might keep the series at the top spot for weeks to come.
The one additional factor that may give One Piece some benefit is that the series already includes a variety of merchandise. So, an additional income source may give the series some additional potential for the streaming service to decide if it is worth continuing. The original manga and anime series supposedly generated $3 billion in merch sales alone. So, Netflix might be hopeful to accomplish the same with this new adaptation given how fast they are rushing them out around the series’ release.
Cautiously Optimistic
For now, it’s just too early to say if One Piece is going to face a renewal or not. The positive reception gives it the potential to grow through strong word-of-mouth and we’ll have to see if the series also had people watching the full way through. The inclusion of elements from future seasons and a variety of Easter eggs for new and familiar fans of the series could give some incentives to rewatch the series.
They also added the Japanese dub later on that could have some hardcore fans give it at least one more watch. There is enough here that its audience can grow throughout the next few weeks, as there is also no real competition with other major releases. So, we’ll also have to see if Netflix makes a grand statement on its performance similar to what they did with Wednesday shortly after its release.
Some time ago, Netflix made the big appointment that Wednesday was tying with Stranger Things‘ fourth season for the most #1 positions in the world with 83 countries. Considering the iconic IP and Jenna Ortega leading the show, it was definitely a statement but it seems a new entry may have potentially found a new contender as the live-action adaptation of One Piece reportedly already managed to become the No. 1 in 84 countries and seemingly rising due to strong word-of-mouth.
As such, One Piece has broken the record set by other iconic Netflix series and is continuing to grow its potential to continue on the platform with at least a second season. However, the question is if it is also reflected in the total viewership numbers. Netflix didn’t unveil Wednesday’s record numbers until at least a week later and there’s a chance that they are going to count that same timeline which means the big challenge is for this new series to also keep up that very momentum throughout the coming weeks.
Netflix evaluates different factors even if not every detail on when they decided to renew a series. One Piece was an expensive production with a massive marketing push. Yet, they also already have merchandise ready for this series, which can push it to become quite profitable for the studio. So, we’ll have to keep a close eye on its performance for a bit more time if the series manages to dethrone Wednesday and Stranger Things.
It’s been seven years since One Piece was first announced to be getting a live-action adaptation. The production survived a pandemic, constant delays, a long production in South Africa, one of Netflix’s biggest marketing strategies, and so much more. On August 31st, it finally made its way to Netflix as a binge-drop. Was the wait worth it or did Tomorrow Studios repeat the same mistakes that sank Cowboy Bebop?
To get the easiest comparison out of the way fast: it’s not another Cowboy Bebop (though to be upfront, I felt it as actually decent if taken as its own thing). Showrunners Steven Maeda and Matt Owens managed to do what seemed impossible and bring a goofy but heartfelt series to live-action like One Piece in this new take on the iconic East Blue saga that started it all.
The manga series by Eiichiro Oda is somewhat special in many ways: it is a very goofy, almost childlike story that has some of the most heartfelt moments that truly tug on your heartstrings while managing to still tell the same story for over 26 years at this point. Yet, East Blue is very distinct when compared to the rest as it was the time when Oda was still figuring out the story he wanted to tell with very distinct stories that only loosely connect through the first recruits for Luffy’s journey to the Grand Line.
So, the showrunners are given quite a daunting task having to bring such an iconic series to life and stay true to the original while having to establish a more Western-style connected adaptation of the saga that has the least connective tissue. And, somehow, they managed to pull it off. The smartest move they did was to ensure that the main cast where perfect for their respective characters, which became one of its biggest selling points. Netflix was smart to make good use of pre-recorded interviews and videos of the caster interacting to further sell their dynamic as a team.
Inaki Godoy was a perfect choice for the loveable Monkey D. Luffy. He has just the right energy to play the character and also has that inspiring energy that keeps the story going. Mackenyu is a more subdued Zoro who is inspired by his later appearances but actually adds a bit more variety to the cast with his straight-man reactions and dry humor. Jacob Romero Gibson is a lot of fun and they do more with him than just being comedic relief; they also really embrace his cowardly habits.
Emily Rudd is a standout for her more emotionally-centered performance; not too surprising given the importance of this arc and her story. Lastly, Taz Skylar is a great rendition of Sanji that finds that right balance but given when he is introduced, we sadly don’t get a lot of time with him. However, they make good use of his “new guy” dynamic and want to prove himself. The Straw Hats are the selling point of this series and are definitely the highlights throughout, as you just want to spend time with them even when the show’s first season wraps.
The rest of the cast is also great and outside of maybe one or two, they are probably the most accurate castings I’ve seen in an adaptation. They also give some great and varied performances with Jeff Ward truly being the stand-out as the always loveable but terrifying Buggy. Arlong (McKinley Belcher III) is also a stand-out who has a lot more depth and wasn’t done justice in the trailers. Overall, the villains were great even if one really deserved way more screen time but at least got a slight spotlight. Vincent Regan’s Garp is also a great character who is given a bigger role inspired by a later arc.
One thing many were a bit concerned about early on was the CG and outside of maybe one or two shots, there’s some fantastic work in this show. News Coo and the Lord of the Coast are visually impressive. There’s a scene of swords falling apart that looked off later on in the series but the big surprise is just how well they pull off Luffy’s stretchy powers. They don’t shy away from it and make good use of it whenever they can. Even the Gum Gum Balloon looks convincing which is impressive given how even big-name studios avoid those kinds of powers like with Ms. Marvel.
The most impressive aspect of this series is how they keep this tight balance of having it grounded but the series still has its goofy elements. It makes it stand out from other adaptations that either go too serious or generally just replicate the original source material. There are iconic moments in here but they changed enough that allow it to connect more effectively with an overarching plot and set-up. There are a lot of changes that are here to focus more on the character dynamics and overarching thematic plotline.
Speaking of, the smartest move was to give it a strong connective tissue through the theme as a way to also explore a story that is a bit removed from our main Straw Hat’s journeys. While some of the parts with Garp and the Marines seem disconnected, the way the story comes together actually gives it a strong meaning on why it is being told here and now. The scenes are a bit slower and can break the overall pace, but don’t feel like they overstay their welcome; especially with some great moments from Garp and Helmeppo. Personally, the pay-off of these sequences gives it a lot more weight and made me like the addition to further elevate the themes.
The biggest challenge with these adaptations is the direct comparison to the original. A lot of minor and even some bigger characters were removed which is a shame, but after leaving behind the “I missed this from the original” makes sense in how the story is being told this time around. It’s a different adaptation that feels like how Oda might’ve told it given how his storytelling has evolved since he first worked on the East Blue back in the 90s. Especially in how some characters get a bit more screen time to flesh them out more. The early introduction of characters like Mr. 7 is also a clever way to establish elements that might pay off quite a bit later for new viewers and give reasons to rewatch.
I do have some gripes which are likely due to this being the first season to begin with, as the show is trying to finds its identity. They have created a variety of lenses just for this series but tend to overuse them at times, especially at the beginning of Syrup Village it feels unnecessary. However, the strong use of face close-ups feels inspired generally by Oda’s love for showing expressions that’ll get better with more time. There are also some moments that perhaps could’ve used some additional work to balance it out better as it tends to slip into being a bit goofier than necessary.
Though,t these elements don’t take away from what the team behind One Piece accomplished. With this first season, I believe that Netflix should give this show multiple seasons moving forward to allow it to grow just like the original. I would even go as far to say that this season gives us a stronger East Blue saga even if some characters could’ve used a bit more love and some iconic scenes were sadly missing to add relevance. Still, this might be one of Netflix’s strongest first seasons which makes the small issues I have just a way to truly refine it going into the next arc that is famous for doing the same for the manga.
One Piece truly stands out from most series nowadays with its style and wacky world. Small details like the cast interacting with the wanted posters that introduce them give it a lot of charm. Even if some CG looks a bit wonky, the practical sets are really impressive and it has such distinct style that makes it stand out from other projects out there. If this is the first season; I cannot wait to see a lot more in the future and hopefully spend more time with this cast for many seasons to come.
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