Sources familiar with details of the production pegged the cost of the first nine 40-minute episodes at north of $80 million; the second batch of nine about to air has a price tag approaching $100 million. What drove the cost far beyond typical animation expenses, insiders say, were both a labor-intensive approach and frequent cost overruns triggered by delayed script deliveries after the second season was put into production with only a fraction of the season written.
But even more eyebrow-raising than the production cost was that Riot spent $60 million of its own money to promote the first season of “Arcane,” exponentially more than a studio would typically spend for a show it isn’t distributing — and far more than Netflix itself spent ($4 million per episode). Reps for the streaming service declined to comment for this article.
