Adventure Time: Side Quests Season 2 Lands October 2026 Adventure Time: Side Quests returns for season 2 on October 2, 2026. The soft reboot continues with 20 new episodes on Hulu and Disney+. Adventure Time: Side Quests, the latest spin-off in the Adventure Time franchise, will return for its second season on October 2, 2026. The new season will consist of 20 episodes and will be available on Hulu and Disney+. The first season premiered on June 29, 2026, with 20 episodes. The news was announced as part of the ongoing expansion of the beloved animated series. Background of Adventure Time FranchiseAdventure Time, created by Pendleton Ward, originally ran for 10 seasons between 2010 and 2018. The fantasy comedy adventure series followed Finn the Human and Jake the Dog as they traveled the magical Land of Ooo, encountering strange creatures and cosmic beings. The show developed a deep, interconnected lore over its run and became a modern animation triumph.The franchise has since expanded with several spin-offs. Distant Lands, an anthology of extra-long episodes, aired in 2020 and 2021. Fionna and Cake, featuring alternate-universe versions of Finn and Jake, premiered in 2023 and is still ongoing. Adventure Time: Side Quests is the latest addition, with its first season debuting on June 29, 2026.How Side Quests Connects to Original ShowAdventure Time: Side Quests is not a prequel, nor is it set within the same universe as Adventure Time in the way that Fionna and Cake and Distant Lands are. Instead, it is a soft reboot of the series, following most of the same characters and bringing back most of the original cast. It could be read as something of a prequel, beginning just a bit before the first season of the original show, but not much earlier, and the timelines eventually match up.Unlike the other shows in the franchise, Side Quests has not shown an interest in serialized storytelling, instead operating within a traditional, story-of-the-week style of television. The animation and art of the series are also different. Compared to the original and the other spin-offs, Side Quests is more simplistic, with less detail in character designs. However, these simple designs allow for a wide range of character emotions and overly-stylized moments which work wonderfully with the fantastical storylines.Nate Cash, longtime creative director of the original Adventure Time, serves as showrunner for Side Quests. Pendleton Ward is no longer the showrunner but remains involved as a writer. The cast includes directors Victor Courtright and Niki Yang, and writers Keith Pakiz, Matthew Yang, Niki Yang, and Pendleton Ward.Reaction and Future of Side QuestsAdventure Time: Side Quests, in some regards, could be seen as a cynical attempt to repeat the success of the original and bring in another generation of young viewers whose family is subscribed to Disney+ and Hulu, not HBO. But it is far from that, and the series is a clear labor of love. Though it retreads the beginning of Adventure Time, Side Quests manages to refresh the story and give more reasons to watch.This series is certainly more reminiscent of the early seasons of the show, where the serialized nature of Adventure Time and the darker parts of the lore were not as present. This has led to frustration from some fans, who see the series as a step back for the franchise, rather than an extension. The tone of Adventure Time: Side Quests may be a bit lighter and looser than what Adventure Time ended up becoming, but it is still very much in line with the tone the series took off with.With season 2 already set for October 2, 2026, fans can look forward to more episodic adventures in the Land of Ooo. The show continues to explore the quirky and fantastical world that has captivated audiences for over a decade.