I like live action shows just fine, but I also like the recent trend of making animated spin-offs of popular live action shows. Some, like Star Trek: Lower Decks didn’t really do it for me, but this is still an idea with plenty of potential.
For example, the announcement of an animated Stranger Things spinoff seems like a perfect fit for that show’s tone and setting. So that got me thinking—what other Netflix shows should get the animation treatment?
8
Cobra Kai
The Karate Kid was an absolute staple of my childhood, and I was very happy to see the IP get a revival in the form of Cobra Kai, but given the popularity of martial arts anime on Netflix, it makes perfect sense to produce an animated series set in the same universe as these shows and movies. Cobra Kai has shown that you can just keep going with the premise and explore the legacy of the original movie. Hey, we could even have an animated series following the life of Mr. Miyagi instead, as a prequel.
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7
Wednesday
The Addams Family franchise is no stranger to animation, and my first ever contact with Morticia and the rest of the gang was in cartoon form. With Netflix’s Wednesday, the Adamses are back with a vengeance, and it’s the perfect time to supplement this super-popular show.
You know what I’d like to see? Something like The Secret Life of Lurch. I’d love to know what the big guy gets up to doing the chores during the day. I bet it’s more interesting than some light dusting.
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6
Black Mirror
Even though I’m a fan of The Outer Limits and The Twilight Zone, I feel like the streaming era is also the golden age of anthology TV series, and Black Mirror is (in my opinion) at the top of the pile. Still, I think with the medium of animation the folks behind Black Mirror could really let their imaginations run wild and do some things that live action would make too expensive, or too nonsensical.
Of course, you could argue that the excellent Love, Death + Robots is effectively an animated take on Black Mirror, but the tone and direction are significantly different.
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5
The Umbrella Academy
The Umbrella Academy has the advantage of already being based on a graphic novel, so just as with Amazon’s Invincible, we know exactly what an animated show would look like. With the success of shows like X-Men ’97 I really think an animated show set in the world of Umbrella Academy would have some legs, and fans of the live action show would be interested in spending more time in this weird world of super-powered people with some very super-psychological issues.
4
The OA
The OA is a strange one, with a heady mix of mystery, supernatural elements, controversy, and an unreliable narrator. While the show has been over for years now, I think a return to the concept in an animated series or even film could be worth it. There’s a lot of untapped potential in this dimension-hopping mystery show, and with the right visual treatment it could be really special.
3
Warrior Nun
I tried to watch Warrior Nun since the premise appealed to me on paper. A young woman with a magical artifact embedded in her body who fights demons? That’s my sort of show. Unfortunately, the show smacks of a poor live-action adaptation of an anime, so why not skip the live action part and just make an action animated show based on the same plot or set in the same world? Since the show was canceled and fans never got to see the third season, there’s even an opportunity to simply make an animated follow-up.
2
Jupiter’s Legacy
We have plenty of superhero shows that deconstruct the genre, like The Boys or Invincible come to mind, but I’m still sad that Jupiter’s Legacy was canceled, because I was just getting into it. Now, as someone will inevitably point out, Jupiter’s Legacy already has an animated spinoff in the form of Super Crooks, but apart from being set in the same universe, it’s got virtually no connection to the primary show. Honestly, I think the main show could do with an Invincible-style remake and another attempt at telling the story, so perhaps since we got the spinoff already, let’s animate the main story an get it past season one this time.
1
The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is an excellent, darker take on the Archie comic spinoff series, and much more, er, devilish than the Melissa Joan Hart show from the 90s. Which means it would also make for a pretty good modern, more adult animated series. Of course, Sabrina has been in animated form before, but this would be a whole different cauldron of newt eyeballs.
Netflix has generally hit it out of the park with its animated hows, and many of these programs under the Netflix umbrella have already proven themselves, so here’s hoping some of them will return in 2D.
