Picture: Netflix
Alice in Borderland returned for its third season last September. Since then, the show’s future has been unclear, but the final nail in the coffin has likely just been discovered. However, as we discuss below, it appears season 3 was always designed to be the show’s send-off.
ScreenRant recently reported—garnering significant attention—that season 3 will be the final season, citing a new report. We should note that ScreenRant has developed a habit of citing reports without linking to them. In fact, they offer little indication of what the report is, where to find it, or its specific contents. Presumably, this is an SEO strategy where withholding links convinces Google that they are the source. Either way, it’s sloppy work, but I digress.
What report are they referring to? It is the “What We Watched: The Second Half of 2025” engagement report, which dropped on January 20th alongside Netflix’s Q4 earnings. This is the sixth such report, including viewership data for the previous six months. The “final season” confirmation comes from a specific mention regarding Japan. They wrote:
“Fans also flocked to titles from Japan like Last Samurai Standing Season 1 (21M) and third and final season of Alice in Borderland (25M). The Elixir (23M) from Indonesia and The Ba***ds of Bollywood Season 1 (10M) from India also stood out.”
For readers of What’s on Netflix, the designation of season 3 as the final chapter isn’t news. In fact, we updated our post in November 2025—a couple of months after the season 3 premiere—with new intelligence. We covered that director Shinsuke Sato was working on a new Netflix project (a live-action adaptation of My Hero Academia) expected to begin production in 2026, suggesting plans for season 4 had been put on hold.
The smoking gun, however, emerged when we discovered that Netflix was running ads with influencers in the United Kingdom. One ad explicitly stated season 3 was the final season. Presumably, these collaborations utilized approved copy from PR and marketing teams, ruling out a mere slip of the tongue.
The confusion stems from Netflix’s failure to clearly communicate in advance that this was the final season, even though it appears this was always the plan.
Arguably, the closest thing to an official announcement prior to release was the main trailer for the third season, which featured the title “The Final Card.” This was perhaps the first indication of a conclusion, but honestly, beyond that subtle hint, you’d be forgiven for thinking it wasn’t the end. Even TUDUM, Netflix’s own fan site, failed to label it as the final season.
Of course, labeling it a “final season” feels now like a cancellation, considering the ending of season 3 included a cliffhanger that definitely set the stage for more albeit they have now adapted the manga in full. However, given what we know now, that ending was almost certainly a setup for a spin-off (similar to Squid Game season 3’s ambiguous setup for a US spin-off) rather than a fourth season. Whether such a project is in active development or ever come to fruition remains unknown.
The good news is that Netflix is prepping its Japanese slate for 2026 and beyond. With releases scheduled before the end of January, there is plenty to look forward to from the region. Fingers crossed a spin-off of some kind eventually surfaces.
