Netflix has renewed its ‘best new show’ a month after quietly adding it

Netflix has just renewed one of its best new shows of the year – a month after quietly adding it to the service.

The streaming service releases a bunch of new movies and TV series each month, many of which have been heavily promoted. However, there are also plenty of projects that arrive without much fanfare that end up becoming sleeper hits.

One such series – Blue Eye Samurai – was released on 3 November. The animated series is a French-American production from husband and wife duo Michael Green and Amber Noizumi.

Set in 17th-century Japan, it follows a half-white half-Japanese swordsmater named Mizu (Maya Erskine) as she hunts down four white men who illegally remain in Japan ahead of the closing of its borders by the Tokugawa shogunate

Shortly after its release, word-of-mouth generated excitement around the series, with many calling it “the best Netflix show of the year” – and that positive chatter has led to a season renewal.

“When we started this project, we made a commitment to take this very personal story set in Edo-period Japan and bring it to life in the most authentic and beautiful way possible,” Green and Noizumi said.

“Our animators, historians, musicians, martial artists, and voice cast made this a reality beyond our expectations. We are thankful to our entire team and to our viewers from all over the world who have shown such passion for Mizu and her path of revenge.

They promised: “Mizu has a lot more blood to spill! We are deeply grateful to our incredible partners at Netflix for letting the journey continue.”

The renewal of Blue Eye samurai, which has 100 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes, is a win for the show’s cult following. In recent years, the streaming service has increasingly seemed hesitant to renew acclaimed shows that don’t top the service’s most-watched charts and clock a certain number of hours viewed.

Over the years, series including Mindhunter, The OA and, most recently, Shadow and Bone have been cancelled, without being able to conclude the story for fans.

Blue Eye Samurai arrived one week after another animated show being called one of the best recent examples of the genre – the Japanese manga adaptation PLUTO.

It’s currently unknown whether PLUTO will return for a new run.