Kena: Beyond the Horizon

Kena: Beyond the Horizon is an American animated action fantasy television series created by Mike and Josh Grier. Serving as a sequel to the 2021 video game Kena: Bridge of Spirits by Ember Lab, the series follows the titular character who meets other spirit guides like her, and have to work with them to eliminate the biggest corruption their world has faced.
After the release of Kena: Bridge of Spirits, an interview with the Griers mentioned that Ember Lab was considering expanding into other mediums such as film or television. At the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con, it was announced that a television series based on Kena was in development, with an estimated release date of early 2026. Dewa Ayu Dewi Larassanti reprises her role as Kena, while joined by newcomers Art Parkinson and Charlyne Yi.
Kena: Beyond the Horizon was released on Netflix on January 29, 2026. Two episodes were released weekly. It received widely positive reviews, with praise for the animation, emotion weight, music, and voice acting, though some criticized the characterization and pacing. A second and final season was greenlit in May of that year.
==Premise==
After helping the spirits of Taro, Adira, and Toshi move on into the afterlifeAs depicted in Kena: Bridge of Spirits (2021), Kena meets two other spirit guides who are trying to eliminate a corrupt demigod who is corrupting the land they live in. Willing to offer help, they try to work together in order to stop this spirit from taking over their world and turning it into corrupt life.
==Voice cast==
===Main === 
*Dewa Ayu Dewi Larassanti as Kena
*Art Parkinson as Joni
*Charlyne Yi as Gemi
*Fred Tatasciore
===Supporting===
*JB Blanc
*Roman Griffin Davis
*Scott Porter
*Tania GunadiGunadi played the titular character in the film adaptation of Kena: Bridge of Spirits.
==Episodes==
==Production==
===Development===
Prior to the release of Kena: Bridge of Spirits, Ember Lab co-founder Josh Grier mentioned that a direct sequel to the game was unlikely, but implied that "Kena and the universe we built has a lot of storytelling potential. So exploring and taking it into a more linear experience like a TV show or film is a possibility.”
After the announcement of the film adaptation of Kena: Bridge of Spirits in 2022, ideas for a new story based on the game were being considered. One plot had Kena going on a journey through the spirit realm in order to find her father, but was scrapped due to being "too confusing for audiences to understand." After the plot of Kena meeting other spirit guides to help them stop an evil overlord was brought up, the series was put into development. 
===Writing===
The narrative for Kena: Beyond the Horizon begins after the events of Bridge of Spirits. To help those who have never heard of or played the game get a better understanding of the series, a quick recap is featured in episode one, detailing the major events that happened in Kena: Bridge of Spirits.
===Casting===
At San Diego Comic-Con, it was announced that Dewa Ayu Dewi Larassanti would reprise her role as Kena from Bridge of Spirits, and was joined with Art Parkinson and Charlyne Yi, who would voice characters in undisclosed roles. Their respective characters were later revealed to be Joni and Gemi. On January 12, 2025, it was announced that Fred Tatasciore, JB Blanc, Scott Porter, Roman Griffin Davis, and Tania Gunadi (who played Kena in the live-action film adaptation) had joined the cast.
===Animation===
For the animation, Ember Lab once again partnered with French-Vietnamese animation studio Sparx, who worked on Bridge of Spirits' art design and layout.
===Music===
Main article: Kena: Beyond the Horizon/Soundtrack
Jason Gallaty, who served as the composer for Kena: Bridge of Spirits, returned to compose the series' original score. The first half of the soundtrack was released on February 6, 2026, a day after the release of the third and fourth episodes, and the second half on February 20, a day after the final two episodes of the series were released.
The series' theme song, "Beyond the Horizon", was written and composed by Nicholas Britell.
==Broadcast==
===Release===
Kena: Beyond the Horizon was scheduled for a June 2025 release, but was delayed into January 2026. The first two episodes were released on Netflix on January 29, 2026, with the other six being released every week in pairs through February 19.
===Home media===
On March 9, 2026, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment announced plans to release the series on digital, Blu-Ray, and Ultra HD Blu-ray at a future date.
==Reception==
===Critical reception===
Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 88% with an average rating of 8.17/10 based on 24 critic reviews. The site's critical consensus reads: "Upbeat and dark, Kena: Beyond the Horizon is bound to bridge the gap between its predecessor and itself." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 77 out of 100 based on 12 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
==Trivia==
Main article: Kena: Beyond the Horizon/Trivia
== Notes ==
Category:Television Series
Category:TV Series
Category:TV series based on video games
Category:Sony Pictures Television
Category:Animated Series
Category:Animated action
Category:Fantasy shows
Category:The Indie User's ideas
Category:Netflix
Category:Netflix Original Series
Category:Netflix shows