Yahoo News Netflix Renews ‘Spirit Rangers’ for Season 3, Former U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo to Pen an Episode (Exclusive)
Spirits Rangers‘ little heroes will continue protecting California land — and now, water.
Netflix has renewed the history-making animated preschool series for a third season, which will expand on the season two finale’s water protectors storyline. Created by Karissa Valencia, Hollywood’s first California Native showrunner, Spirit Rangers debuted its first 10-episode run in 2020 before releasing a second season in May. Beyond its Native-led cast on and offscreen, the show also features TV’s first all-Indigenous writer’s room and more than 100 Native or Indigenous crew members from the U.S. and other parts of the globe.
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The show follows Kodi, Summer and Eddy Skycedar, three Chumash and Cowlitz siblings who, after activating beaded necklaces, can portal and transform to a magical dimension. Once there, their “spirit” ranger forms — a grizzly bear cub, red-tailed hawk and a turtle — use elemental powers to protect their California National Park. The second season introduced three new spirit forms for its leading trio — a stingray (Kodi), an octopus (Summer) and Orca (Eddy) — who will be featured in season three alongside a slew of new voice actors, including Michael Greyeyes (Rutherford Falls), Dallas Goldtooth (Rez Dogs), Lane Factor (Rez Dogs) and Tamara Podemski (Outer Range).
“As much as I’m happy to put California back on the map and show off our art and culture, indigeneity can be celebrated all over the world,” Valencia tells The Hollywood Reporter. “We’ve expanded different stories based on a lot of the writers that we’ve had in the room and what tribes they were from because they had that direct connection. But for season two, the kids get their ocean powers, so we can open up to different tribes, like those in Hawaii. There’s room for so much. The show could go on forever, with different seasons all over the world.”
In line with season two’s finale, which saw the spirit rangers battling trickster spirits who started an oil spill in the park and ocean, the new set of stories will feature several environmentally focused episodes. That includes “Sage Advice,” about protecting white sage; “Wild Flowers,” centering on California species; and “Blizzards and Blankets,” an episode that discusses climate change and features a polar bear that gets lost in California. In general, viewers can expect more water episodes, with an expansion of the show’s visual and musical world.
“We’re talking about our wildflowers — don’t crush the poppies. Thanks to social media, we’ve seen all the photos and need to get a grip on that,” the Spirit Rangers EP and showrunner says. “White sage is very commercialized and stolen from places. Urban Outfitters has so much white sage, and it’s like, how do you get? Probably illegally. So we tried to talk about that.”
Additionally, Valencia co-wrote an episode celebrating elders with Joy Harjo, who served three terms as the 23rd Poet Laureate of the United States. Harjo will also voice a character in “The Great Oak Tree Spirit” episode.
“She’s another Native woman writer that I’ve looked up to for so long, one of the few in her space,” Valencia tells THR. “We wrote a script together, all celebrating our Native elders. That was a story that’s really special. I think there’s a misconception on what Native elders look like. They’re like the cigar store Indian or the mystic. So tackling all that with her was really fun.”
Valencia and Chris Nee executive produce Spirit Rangers, a Netflix Animation, Laughing Wild and SuperProd Animation co-production.
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