# Niko and the Sword of Light
**Niko and the Sword of Light** is an American animated fantasy-adventure television series for children, produced for Amazon Prime Video and based on a 2013 motion graphic comic app of the same name. It follows ten-year-old Niko, the last of his kind in a strange world, who wields a magic sword on a quest to defeat the darkness and bring light back to his land.[1](https://press.aboutamazon.com/2017/6/amazon-original-kids-series-niko-and-the-sword-of-light-premieres-july-21-on-prime-video) The series premiered on July 21, 2017, ran for two seasons and 23 episodes, and concluded on September 6, 2019.[1](https://press.aboutamazon.com/2017/6/amazon-original-kids-series-niko-and-the-sword-of-light-premieres-july-21-on-prime-video) • [2](https://whichott.com/tv/niko-and-the-sword-of-light-2017-72898)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Format | Animated half-hour fantasy adventure for kids ages 6–11, rated TV-G, about 24 minutes per episode[1](https://press.aboutamazon.com/2017/6/amazon-original-kids-series-niko-and-the-sword-of-light-premieres-july-21-on-prime-video) • [3](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/tv-series/niko-and-the-sword-of-light) |
| Origin | Based on a fully animated, hand-drawn motion comic app funded by a February 2013 Kickstarter campaign by Imaginism Studios[4](https://techcrunch.com/2014/01/26/imaginism-studios-on-building-niko-and-the-sword-of-light-reimagining-digital-narrative/) |
| Pilot | Released January 15, 2015; won the 2016 Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Children's Animated Program, the first Amazon Original to win an Emmy for its pilot before the series launch[1](https://press.aboutamazon.com/2017/6/amazon-original-kids-series-niko-and-the-sword-of-light-premieres-july-21-on-prime-video) |
| Run | Season 1 (13 episodes) premiered July 21, 2017; Season 2 (10 episodes) began December 28, 2018; finale "The Balance of Power" aired September 6, 2019[1](https://press.aboutamazon.com/2017/6/amazon-original-kids-series-niko-and-the-sword-of-light-premieres-july-21-on-prime-video) • [5](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZt-bhHupjI) • [6](https://thetvdb.com/series/niko-and-the-sword-of-light/seasons/official/2) |
| Production | Animated by Titmouse; executive produced and showrun by Rob Hoegee; created by Jim Bryson, Adam Jeffcoat, Bobby Chiu, and Kei Acedera[1](https://press.aboutamazon.com/2017/6/amazon-original-kids-series-niko-and-the-sword-of-light-premieres-july-21-on-prime-video) • [7](https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/comic-con-2017-sigmund-and-the-sea-monsters-danger-and-eggs-niko-and-the-sword-of-light) • [16](https://studionx.com/portfolio/niko-and-the-sword-of-light-ios-app/) |
| Main cast | Andre Robinson (Niko), Kari Wahlgren (Lyra), Tom Kenny (Mandok), Steve Blum (Nar Est), Jim Cummings (Narrator), Dee Bradley Baker (Flicker)[8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3952772/) |
| Reception | IMDb rating 7.6/10 from about 578 users; 3 wins and 17 nominations overall[8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3952772/) |
## Spoilers
### Premise
A plague of shadows has swept across the land, turning innocent creatures into monsters. Niko, a ten-year-old boy and the last of his people, is a legendary champion destined to banish the darkness. Armed with his magic sword, he journeys toward the Cursed Volcano to face the evil sorcerer Nar Est and free his people from their magic prison.[1](https://press.aboutamazon.com/2017/6/amazon-original-kids-series-niko-and-the-sword-of-light-premieres-july-21-on-prime-video) • [9](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/niko-and-the-sword-of-light)
Niko's awakening is premature: instead of a fully grown Champion of Carondolet, his guide, the ghostly princess Lyra, finds a ten-year-old boy and must teach him what he needs to survive the quest.[9](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/niko-and-the-sword-of-light) He travels with companions including Mandok and the creature Flicker, and the season titles themselves trace the journey, from "From the Temple of Champions to the Bridge of Doom" onward.[10](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/niko-and-the-sword-of-light/umc.cmc.1i7bzu45bcpv03hiuoq27r0r) Season 2, titled *The Amulet of Power*, sends the team across the land, under the sea, and beyond the realm of the living as Niko seeks his true purpose and a way to rid the world of darkness for good.[6](https://thetvdb.com/series/niko-and-the-sword-of-light/seasons/official/2)
## From app to series
The project began as an experiment in digital storytelling. In February 2013, Toronto's Imaginism Studios launched a [Kickstarter](https://www.edgepedia.org/kickstarter) campaign for an app that combined full-scale animation with comic-book panels for mobile devices; the campaign succeeded, and the resulting app earned a featured spot on Apple's App Store along with strong downloads on iOS, Android, and the [Amazon Appstore](https://www.edgepedia.org/amazon-appstore).[4](https://techcrunch.com/2014/01/26/imaginism-studios-on-building-niko-and-the-sword-of-light-reimagining-digital-narrative/) The app kept the trappings of a comic book, including panelled artwork, word bubbles, and manually turned pages, while the panels sprang to life with animation and sound; the first three chapters were free, with the rest of the story unlocked for $3.99.[11](https://www.cartoonbrew.com/ipad/niko-and-the-sword-of-light-walks-the-line-between-comic-book-and-animation-91650.html)
The four creators, Adam Jeffcoat and Jim Bryson of StudioNX and Bobby Chiu and Kei Acedera of Imaginism, had met in animation school and built the project themselves rather than pitching it. They deliberately made Niko of uncertain ethnicity so that children of many backgrounds could see themselves in him, and they cited *The Goonies* and 1980s cartoons as tonal touchstones.[7](https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/comic-con-2017-sigmund-and-the-sea-monsters-danger-and-eggs-niko-and-the-sword-of-light) Amazon had followed the project since the Kickstarter campaign, greenlit a pilot in 2014, and picked up the series; showrunner Rob Hoegee, previously a story editor on *Teen Titans* and head writer on *Thunderbirds Are Go*, noted that unlike broadcast television, the streaming model let each episode build on the one before rather than standing alone.[12](https://www.cartoonbrew.com/interviews/interview-rob-hoegee-chris-prynoski-new-amazon-original-series-niko-sword-light-152570.html) • [7](https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/comic-con-2017-sigmund-and-the-sea-monsters-danger-and-eggs-niko-and-the-sword-of-light)
## Awards
The pilot episode won the 2016 Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Animated Program, credited to Kei Acedera, Jim Bryson, Bobby Chiu, Rob Hoegee, Adam Jeffcoat, Chris Prynoski, Shannon Prynoski, and Ben Kalina, making the show the first Amazon Original to win an Emmy for its pilot before the series itself launched.[1](https://press.aboutamazon.com/2017/6/amazon-original-kids-series-niko-and-the-sword-of-light-premieres-july-21-on-prime-video) The series went on to collect Annie Award nominations for Best Animated Television/Broadcast Production for Children in 2018 and 2020, plus 2019 nominations for character design, directing, and production design, and a 2020 Daytime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Children's Animated Series.[13](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3952772/awards/) StudioNX, which worked on every aspect of production from scripts and storyboards to animation and character design, states that the series gathered 11 nominations across the Annie and Emmy awards.[14](https://studionx.com/portfolio/niko-and-the-sword-of-light/)
## Reception and availability
The series holds a 7.6/10 rating on IMDb from roughly 578 users.[8](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3952772/) Common Sense Media rated it for ages 6 and up, calling it a family-friendly cartoon with strong role models: the story's central message is that courage and heroism are unrelated to physical appearance, and both Niko and Lyra are praised for facing dangerous tasks with courage and determination. The review notes that battle scenes carry some edgy violence, but defeated creatures do not die; dark forms escape and the creatures revert to innocuous shapes such as small rodents and insects.[9](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/niko-and-the-sword-of-light)
The show streams on Amazon Prime Video, which carries it in HD with audio tracks in more than a dozen languages.[3](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/tv-series/niko-and-the-sword-of-light) Listings disagree about the season count: most sources, including the episode database and streaming guides, record two seasons and 23 episodes ending in 2019,[2](https://whichott.com/tv/niko-and-the-sword-of-light-2017-72898) • [6](https://thetvdb.com/series/niko-and-the-sword-of-light/seasons/official/2) while some regional [JustWatch](https://www.edgepedia.org/justwatch) pages list a third season of five episodes.[15](https://www.justwatch.com/pl/serial/niko-and-the-sword-of-light)
## References
1. [Amazon Original Kids Series Niko and the Sword of Light Premieres July 21 on Prime Video, Amazon Press Center (June 29, 2017)](https://press.aboutamazon.com/2017/6/amazon-original-kids-series-niko-and-the-sword-of-light-premieres-july-21-on-prime-video)
2. [Niko and the Sword of Light streaming FAQ, WhichOTT](https://whichott.com/tv/niko-and-the-sword-of-light-2017-72898)
3. [Niko and the Sword of Light streaming details, JustWatch UK](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/tv-series/niko-and-the-sword-of-light)
4. [Imaginism Studios On Building Niko And The Sword Of Light, TechCrunch (January 26, 2014)](https://techcrunch.com/2014/01/26/imaginism-studios-on-building-niko-and-the-sword-of-light-reimagining-digital-narrative/)
5. [Niko and the Sword of Light Season 2, Part 1 Official Trailer, Prime Video Kids (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZt-bhHupjI)
6. [Niko and the Sword of Light Season 2, TheTVDB](https://thetvdb.com/series/niko-and-the-sword-of-light/seasons/official/2)
7. [Comic-Con 2017: Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, Danger & Eggs, Niko and the Sword of Light, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/interviews/comic-con-2017-sigmund-and-the-sea-monsters-danger-and-eggs-niko-and-the-sword-of-light)
8. [Niko and the Sword of Light (TV Series 2015–2019), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3952772/)
9. [Niko and the Sword of Light Parents' Guide, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/tv-reviews/niko-and-the-sword-of-light)
10. [Niko and the Sword of Light, Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/niko-and-the-sword-of-light/umc.cmc.1i7bzu45bcpv03hiuoq27r0r)
11. [Niko and the Sword of Light Walks the Line Between Comic Book and Animation, Cartoon Brew (December 5, 2013)](https://www.cartoonbrew.com/ipad/niko-and-the-sword-of-light-walks-the-line-between-comic-book-and-animation-91650.html)
12. [Interview: Rob Hoegee And Chris Prynoski On The New Amazon Original Series, Cartoon Brew (July 26, 2017)](https://www.cartoonbrew.com/interviews/interview-rob-hoegee-chris-prynoski-new-amazon-original-series-niko-sword-light-152570.html)
13. [Niko and the Sword of Light Awards, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3952772/awards/)
14. [Niko & The Sword Of Light, StudioNX portfolio](https://studionx.com/portfolio/niko-and-the-sword-of-light/)
15. [Niko i Miecz Światła, JustWatch Poland](https://www.justwatch.com/pl/serial/niko-and-the-sword-of-light)
16. [Niko & The Sword Of Light iOS App](https://studionx.com/portfolio/niko-and-the-sword-of-light-ios-app/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Animated television series (individual series) › Children's animated adventure and fantasy series › Fantasy and magical series*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license