Pokemon Concierge has been officially renewed at Netflix, with the streamer announcing new episodes are already in production. The slice-of-life stop-motion series veered away from what you would normally expect from the franchise, and the approach has proven to be worthwhile.
Pokemon Concierge Renewed For Season 2
Pokemon Concierge has been officially renewed for Season 2 and more episodes are currently in production.
Netflix confirmed the news via social channels on February 19, 2024:
NEW EPISODES OF POKÉMON CONCIERGE ARE IN PRODUCTION!!! ? pic.twitter.com/XiJrY1vA4q
— Netflix (@netflix) February 19, 2024
This decision as almost a foregone conclusion given the popularity of the Pokemon brand and the success of the first four episodes.
So far, there have been some great and positive reviews for the show. Collider praised the production, saying it is “the franchise’s most beautifully animated series”. The Verge also chimed in, stating that “Pokemon Concierge is a beautiful reminder to take some time off”.
Polygon claims the show is “chicken soup for the soul,” following on by saying, “Pokemon Concierge is the perfect show to stream and a real must-watch”. The viewers on YouTube also seem to be on board with this new approach to the franchise, with comments on both the trailer and a behind-the-scenes feature praising the stop-motion animation, the music, and the change in tone.
It seems that there has been a lot of support for this short series, and critical reviews are hard to find. How refreshing.
Viewership-wise, according to Netflix Top 10, Pokemon Concierge spent two weeks in the global top ten, topping the individual lists in 18 countries and amassing several million views. While these numbers aren’t astronomical, especially for an IP with this kind of cultural cache, they were presumably way above expectations for an unusual stop-motion show.
Why was Pokemon Concierge Season 1 only four episodes?
It is unclear why there were only four episodes of Pokemon Concierge, but the reasons may be more obvious than we think. First of all, the experimental nature of the series, especially the stop-motion animation, may have led the production team to hedge their bets, and only invest in four short episodes, just in case it didn’t take. Better to try out four episodes and see what the response is, before committing to a larger, more expensive full series.
On top of that, story-wise, there may have been only enough material to fill four episodes. With the slower pacing and more character-based style, four episodes may have been just enough.
However, it is much likelier that the first season was envisaged as a proof-of-concept for Netflix to gauge interest in this kind of project within one of the world’s biggest IPs. Thus far, the experiment seems to be a resounding success.
Pokemon Concierge was directed by Iku Ogawa, who has had some experience in short-form films after directing I Think You’re a Little Confused, I Wanna be Your Friend, and Hidari.
Netflix also provided some background on the animators, saying:
“Annie Award-winning artist Tadahiro Uesugi, who crafted the concept design for the Pokémon Resort as well as the character design for Haru and other human characters, wanted to add an element of surprise to the setting of the Pokémon world.”
He adds, “Most importantly, we wanted people to actually see it and say, ‘That looks fun.’”
