Why has The Legend of Korra been removed from Netflix?

The Legend of Korra, Nickelodeon’s sequel series to Avatar: The Last Airbender, has officially been removed from Netflix – and the reason is more boring than you think.

First released in 2012, the TV follows Korra (the next Avatar and reincarnation of Kang) as she learns to harness her powers and keep Republic City safe from the evil forces of the physical and spiritual worlds.

Like its predecessor, it was acclaimed by critics and fans alike and praised for its bold approach to real-world issues and representation. Another series is in the works at Nickelodeon too: Avatar: Seven Havens, which will be set after the end of The Legend of Korra.

Alas, if you were planning to catch up with the series or binge it all on Netflix, you’re out of luck.

Why The Legend of Korra was removed from Netflix

Nickelodeon

The Legend of Korra was removed from Netflix because Paramount (Nickelodeon’s parent company) didn’t renew the title’s license with the streaming platform.

It’s one of the perils of the streaming service boom: no matter how many direct debits you have for Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, Max, and any other platform, you can’t guarantee any of them will have the one thing you want to watch.

Titles change hands all of the time, and platforms need exclusivity to make them appealing to new subscribers; for example, The CW ended its agreement with Netflix in a bid to keep its programming for Max and Paramount Plus, hence why Supernatural is leaving at the end of the year.

The Legend of Korra is another casualty of this sort of decision, as it’s now no longer available on Netflix anywhere in the world.

How to watch The Legend of Korra

Nickelodeon

The Legend of Korra is exclusively available to stream on Paramount Plus, but you can also buy/rent it digitally from Amazon Prime or purchase it on DVD or Blu-ray.

In fairness, it’s not like fans weren’t warned. In an earlier interview with THR, Nickelodeon CEO Brian Robbins said licensing both Avatar shows was part of a bigger strategy: build their audience… and then take them back, forcing viewers to sign up to watch it.

“There’s two great examples of that. Avatar: The Last Airbender was a series that ran for three seasons on Nickelodeon and was never a huge show, but had an amazing following,” he said.

“We licensed that show to Netflix and it exploded. Then we put this spinoff of Avatar, The Legend of Korra, on Paramount+, and it crushed it. That led us to our new relationship and bringing the creators of Avatar back to Nickelodeon to form Avatar Studios. We are now on our way to a full-fledged franchise strategy, creating films and spinoffs out of Avatar.

“It’s not like this is some secret that we’re pulling the wool over anybody else’s eyes on other services. They’re happy to have the content and they understand the strategy. We’re very upfront about it.”

In the meantime, check out the new shows coming to Netflix in April and the biggest TV shows coming out in 2025. You can also find out where Avatar: The Last Airbender ranks in our list of the best TV shows of all time.