One Piece's Return With New Episodes Sets Up A New Netflix Era

Published Oct 16, 2026, 12:46 PM EDT

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New One Piece episodes officially mark a new era for Netflix. The ending of Netflix's One Piece season 2 promised an exciting future for the live-action adaptation, with Luffy and his band of Straw Hat Pirates heading to Alabasta. There, the crew aims to liberate the kingdom from its oppressors, Crocodile and the Baroque Works, and restore rule to their newfound ally, Nefertari Vivi. Subtitled The Battle of Alabasta, One Piece season 3 is one of the more exciting upcoming projects in Netflix's original roster.

One Piece's return to Netflix isn't solely exciting due to the story at hand, however. With One Piece's return, a new era for Netflix is upon us, and much earlier than the expected 2027 release date of season 3. Indeed, One Piece is coming back to the streaming service a lot quicker than many anticipated, with new episodes dropping on Netflix on September 29, 2026. These new episodes took an interesting form, though, as LEGO One Piece explored the first two seasons of the live-action show in two animated shorts.

Via the release of these animated shorts, Netflix's new era begins. Before that, One Piece was a big hitter for the streaming services in terms of viewership numbers and brand recognition. However, LEGO One Piece takes that a step further. The animated shorts are based on the live-action One Piece, which itself was based on an original manga, the anime adaptation of which is also streaming on Netflix. Furthermore, in February 2027, Netflix's own The One Piece will be released, a remake of the original anime for new audiences.

Evidently, One Piece has transitioned from one of many of Netflix's individual IPs to possibly the biggest name the streaming giant has. In many ways, Netflix has become the definitive home for One Piece as an entire franchise, from Western animated stories and rebooted anime projects to live-action adaptations and the original anime itself. The release of LEGO One Piece truly solidifies this transition, beginning Netflix's new One Piece era that is sure to continue for many years to come.

Netflix Has Proven To Be A Good Home For One Piece

What makes Netflix's One Piece era all the more exciting and promising is that the streaming service has proven to be a good home for the franchise. Starting with the live-action adaptation, the show has been incredibly well-received thus far. Netflix's One Piece is considered one of the best live-action anime adaptations ever made, with a 93% critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a 95% audience rating on the same website, and an 8.3/10 on IMDb. From a viewership perspective, One Piece is benefiting across the board.

The live-action One Piece earned just under 72 million total views upon the release of season 1 in 2023, driving the anime properties already on Netflix to garner a further 50 million views. After season 2's release in 2026, Netflix's One Piece garnered 1.6 billion streaming minutes. Undoubtedly, Netflix is only strengthening its position as the new home for One Piece, not only because of how great the live-action show is, but also because it is having a positive effect on already existing stories in the franchise.

This is also without mentioning the upcoming The One Piece remake, which will bring the anime to a whole new generation of fans. The remake is intended to freshen up the animation of the anime that began in the 1990s, while also quickening the pace of the now 1,000+-episode-long original. This is almost certain to be yet another One Piece hit for Netflix, driving home the idea that it is the one and only home for the franchise and embracing its new era as exactly that.