Love Death + Robots Season 4 - What We Know So Far
Whether exploring what it means to be a human "skin bucket" through the eyes of a robot, delivering a hypnotic power dynamic dance, or forcing us to reflect on our increasing and increasingly terrifying dependence on technology, Netflix's episodic "Love Death + Robots" never fails in its profundity. As its title suggests, creator Tim Miller's collection of diverse, animated narratives investigates our ambivalent relationship to ourselves and to one another — and to our creations and the worlds we inhabit — in tones that range from the inspiring and optimistic, to the foreboding and heartbreaking, to the downright gruesome and horrifying. Relevantly, the highly-rated phenomenon (via Rotten Tomatoes) does this all through a series of concise, 10-to-22-minute standalone episodes capable of captivating even our most modern (read: short) attention spans — a structure every bit in-keeping with the subtext of so many of its storylines.
With the help of supervising director Jennifer Yuh Nelson (of "Kung Fu Panda 3"), who joined the team prior to its second season back in 2019, Miller's unique adaptation of a variety of lesser-known short stories has earned itself a litany of both Annie and Emmy awards and nominations, not to mention the love of a fiercely devoted and ever-growing fandom. It came as no surprise, then, when Netflix Geeked announced on Instagram that the series had officially been renewed for a 4th season.
Netflix says Volume IV is official
"Love Death + Robots Volume IV is a GO," the caption reads, while a neon box flashes Volume F***!. A show with this much clout needs little more than that to attract a shower of comments, and the cheers and enthusiastic inquiries came pouring in, with some asking when they could expect the upcoming installment to debut, and others looking for clues in the post itself.
It's too soon to say, and there has yet to be an official announcement regarding when the upcoming season will debut. However, the series' 2nd and 3rd volumes were released almost exactly a year apart, on May 14th and 20th of 2021 and 2022, respectively (via IMDb). While it's tempting to assume that fans should anticipate a May 2023 launch date, it's important to keep in mind that as a series evolves and its popularity grows, higher ratings often translate to higher expectations and a bigger budget, both of which can impact the timeline of a series in numerous ways. That, too, can apply to animated shows.
Given what "Love Death + Robots" has managed to deliver thus far, it's safe to say that — barring some major shift in the series' purport — Volume IV will continue to investigate the complex themes encapsulated in its deceptively simple title. Though we don't know how those themes will look just yet, Miller and Yuh Nelson's revealing interview regarding Volume III does give us some insight into what goes into, and will continue to go into, keeping us on our toes.