‘Arcane’ Creator Says Season 2 Was Inspired by Broken Politics
Christian Linke, the creator of Netflix’s ‘Arcane,’ admits he was inspired by America’s two-party political system and their inability to communicate with each other.
‘Arcane’ is set in a utopian city called Piltover and the wasteland that lies beneath it, called Zaun. The citizens live off the scraps of wealthy Piltover residents who are oppressed by a police force. In attempts to close this rift, or broker some kind of peace through a partnership between these two cities, all-out war ensues, as season 2 will reveal.
When asked at the second season premiere in Los Angeles if the series drew any inspiration from real life or specific historical events, Linke said, “If you ask me if we are inspired by two sides of one nation that not being able to even talk to each other at some point, yes.”
He continued to explain that this fact was exacerbated by the election: “It just got worse,” he said. “When we started this, I thought, ‘Yes, there is a certain inability to coexist.’ But I mean, you know, the election isn’t far away. And it has only gotten worse. So I think there’s definitely a bit of a mirror like at the end of the day.
Writer Amanda Overton also shared sentiments about being inspired by contemporary issues: “We always felt this kind of growing left-wing wealth gap throughout our lives, and it felt like we could do that in a really inspiring, imaginative, fun way.”
The League of Legends-inspired animated series premiered on Netflix in 2021 and became the number one series in 52 countries. It is the first of three parts of the second and final season that will be available on the streaming service on November 9. The next act premieres on November 16, followed by the final one on November 23.
