Combining elements of the magical girl genre, tokusatsu and anime, Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir has become an international success over the years. Featuring the adventures of two teenage superheroes -- the titular bug and cat-themed characters also known as Marinette and Adrien -- the series is a fun time for all ages, but especially those who enjoy foreign takes on animation.
Unfortunately for American fans, Miraculous has not been the easiest show to catch on TV over the past several years. Originally brought to the West in 2015, the fact that it ever became as big as it has is kind of a shock. Thankfully, the series has indeed returned for a new season (its fourth), with many more episodes on the way. Here's a look back at the spotty airing history of Miraculous, where it can now be watched, and what the future holds for the internationally popular series.
Miraculous' International Origins
The idea for Miraculous came when French animator Thomas Astruc was inspired after seeing a woman in a ladybug costume. Drawing on his many years of reading comic books -- namely American superhero characters like Spider-Man and Catwoman -- he envisioned what would become Miraculous, but as a comic book. This changed when producer Jeremy Zag believed that the idea would work better in animated form, especially by combining it with elements of magical girl anime.
Though the show is French in origin and now incredibly well-known in America, neither of these countries were the first to air it. That honor instead went to South Korea, which aired the first season between the end of 2015 and the middle of 2016. It first aired on EBS1, with SK Broadband, one of several companies that helped in the show's production, also later airing it through IPTV's B TV platform. Miraculous would then hit France and finally America and Canada before being similarly exported to several other regions around the world. Despite being the third country to host the show, however, America wasn't initially kind to Miraculous in terms of ratings.
Miraculous' Rocky Road to Success, and Season 4 & 5's Status
It's a miracle of its own that Miraculous has been able to attain a fanbase in the West, what with its erratic airing schedule. From 2015 to 2019, it aired on Nickelodeon, namely KidsClick's lineup of programming. There, however, it achieved fairly low ratings, and once Disney acquired the rights, it would air the first two seasons again as well as the then-new third season. However, the gap between Season 3 and the current fourth season was two years long. Some fans worried that the show had been canceled as a result but it is in fact still on the air, with several episodes of the season still being unaired. Season 4 premiered in France in April, hitting the U.S. a month ago in June.
The concerns over season breaks are both justified and unjustified. Though it's longer than fans likely would want to wait, there was also a one year break in between the second and third seasons. Disney USA would acquire exclusive rights to it in the States, though the show is still available on Netflix as well as Hulu and Disney+. Disney has also handled the show's distribution in other countries, such as in the United Kingdom and in India, as well as different parts of the Middle East and Africa. Walt Disney France also licenses the show in Japan, Latin America, Eastern Europe and Scandinavia.
With Disney pushing the series harder and in more places than ever, ending anytime is unlikely for Miraculous. That's not even addressing the fact that the already confirmed fifth season is due to come out in 2022, and there are up to two more seasons to follow (making a total of seven) as Astruc recently teased on Twitter. So, not only can fans rest easy about this, but now they can watch the show more easily than ever, too.
