‘Avatar: Seven Havens’ Opens With a Perfect Critics Score, but Is Paramount+’s Spinoff Flawless?
Few fandoms are as protective of their world as the one built around ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender,’ and few franchises have faced as much pressure to get a return right. After the ‘Avatar Aang’ film and poorly received live-action adaptations, fans have been waiting for a new chapter that feels like the real thing. ‘Avatar: Seven Havens’ now arrives with exactly that burden on its shoulders.
The project was first announced on February 20, 2025, with original creators Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko co-creating and executive producing under the Avatar Studios banner. The announcement was tied to the 20th anniversary of the original series, and the show was set up as a 26-episode 2D animated series split into 2 books of 13 half-hour episodes. Ethan Spaulding is also an executive producer, with Sehaj Sethi as co-executive producer.
Now it is here, and early reaction is glowing. ‘Avatar: Seven Havens’ premiered on Paramount+ on October 9, and its Rotten Tomatoes page currently shows a 100% average Tomatometer alongside a 96% average Popcornmeter. The listing also notes that the next episode arrives on October 16.
Book 1 is rolling out in weekly blocks, with episodes 1 to 3 on October 9, episodes 4 to 6 on October 16, episodes 7 to 9 on October 23 and episodes 10 to 13 on October 30. That means fans only get a taste of the story at first, which should keep the conversation going all month.
The series takes place 225 years after ‘The Legend of Korra,’ in a world broken by a cataclysm. A young Earthbender named Pavi, voiced by Saheli Khan, learns she is the new Avatar, only to find that the role now marks her as humanity’s destroyer rather than its savior. Hunted by both human and spirit enemies, she must uncover her origins alongside her long-lost twin, Nisha, voiced by Aishu Devan, and save the Seven Havens.
The voice cast also includes Akshay Khanna, Major Curda, Sakina Jaffrey, Darren Barnet, Dianne Doan and Dee Bradley Baker. Composer Jeremy Zuckerman returns to score the series.
TheWrap’s review is very positive, based on the first 6 episodes sent to critics, and calls the show a standout spinoff that was worth the wait. The critic praises the writing and world-building, a mystery that deepens without becoming convoluted, and Easter eggs tied to the original series. The review also singles out Zuckerman’s score as his best work yet and applauds the predominantly Asian voice cast and writing team as a meaningful step forward for the franchise.
The same review does raise one caveat, which is the animation. It describes the art as simpler than ‘Korra,’ with fewer shadows, less facial detail and more basic movement, though it still finds the visuals beautiful, especially the auroras and desert landscapes.
Other critics have been just as enthusiastic. But Why Tho gave the first 3 episodes a 9.5 out of 10, praising the carefully seeded mysteries, the isolated and self-doubting Pavi, the grittier Nisha and the Indian-inspired architecture of the city of Ellora.
Exclusive clip from ‘AVATAR: SEVEN HAVENS’. The series follows Earthbending twins after a world-shattering disaster where one discovers she’s the new Avatar after Korra. Releasing October 9 on Paramount+ https://t.co/E5JCKFehpM
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) October 8, 2026
Not everyone is completely sold, which is worth remembering behind a 100% score. Twin Cities Geek offered mixed praise, admiring the hand-drawn animation and the premise of a public-enemy Avatar but arguing that characters often announce their feelings instead of showing them. That review also felt the first 6 episodes leaned on exposition and minor conflicts before the plot picked up.
The reviewer compared the situation to early ‘The Legend of Korra,’ which also took time to find its footing, and said guarded optimism depends on the later episodes delivering. It is a useful reminder that early scores reflect first impressions, not the full arc.
For a franchise that has had a bumpy road since its original run, a fresh animated entry that critics are embracing is a big deal. TheWrap’s critic sees the series as a return to the episodic animated format that made ‘Avatar’ successful in the first place.
Has Avatar: Seven Havens lived up to the legacy of the original series?
Have something to add? Let us know in the comments!
