20 May 2023, 09:02 by Karzal

Disney+ is removing many Disney and Hulu series from its streaming service

Disney is starting to pull content from their streaming service, with dozens of series and specials set to leave Disney+ on Friday, May 26.

The titles, which will be removed from Disney's streaming services worldwide, include Disney+'s Willow, Big Shot (2021), Turner & Hooch, The Mighty Ducks (2021): Game Changers, Just Beyond, Diary of a Future President, The Mysterious Benedict Society and The World According to Jeff Goldblum and Hulu's Y: The Last Man, Dollface, The Hot Zone, Maggie, Pistol and Little Demon.

The list largely includes short-lived series, specials, and direct-to-streaming movies.

Willow

The move, which comes with a write-down of $1.5 billion to $1.8 billion, was announced during a recent Disney earnings call on May 10.

“We are in the process of reviewing the content on our DTC services to align with the strategic changes in our approach to content curation,” CFO Christine McCarthy said. At the time, no details were provided on the content that would be removed.

Disney is the latest media company to purge content from its streaming platforms in a cost-cutting measure as the industry is rethinking costs and strategy in that arena with a renewed focus on profitability. Warner Bros. Discovery removed a slew of series from HBO Max, with AMC and Showtime also undergoing a similar scale back.

Here's a list of some of the titles that will be removed:

Big Shot (2021) (Disney+)
Turner & Hooch (Disney+)
The Mysterious Benedict Society (Disney+)
The Mighty Ducks (2021): Game Changers (Disney+)
Willow (Disney+)
The Making Of Willow (Disney+)
Diary of a Future President (Disney+)
Just Beyond (Disney+)
The World According to Jeff Goldblum (Disney+)

Marvel's Hero Project (Disney)
Marvel's MPower (Disney+)
Marvel's Voices Rising: The Music of Wakanda Forever (Disney+)
Rosaline (Disney+)
Cheaper by the Dozen-remake (Disney+)
The One and Only Ivan (Disney+)
Stargirl (Disney+)
Encore! (Disney+)
A Spark Story (Disney+)
Black Beauty (Disney+)
Clouds (Disney+)
Weird But True! (Disney+)
Timmy Failure (Disney+)
Be Our Chef (Disney+)
Magic Camp (Disney+)
Howard (Disney+)
Earth to Ned (Disney+)
Foodtastic (Disney+)
Stuntman (Disney+)
Disney's Fairy Tale Weddings (Disney+)
Wolfgang (Disney+)
It's a Dog's Life With Bill Farmer (Disney+)

The Premise (Hulu)
Love in the Time of Corona (Hulu).
Everything's Trash (Hulu)
Best in Snow (Hulu)
Best in Dough (Hulu)
Maggie (Hulu)
Dollface (Hulu)
The Quest (Hulu)
The Hot Zone (Nat Geo/Hulu)
Y: The Last Man (FX/Hulu)
Pistol (FX/Hulu)
Little Demon (FX/Hulu)

Comments (6)

JanWillemK • 20 May 2023, 09:48

I don't plan to watch any of these series, so I won't be concerned whether they stay, but it is still striking that streaming services find it necessary to remove content. I can understand that you delete series for which you purchase a license that you would have to renew annually, but you can leave your own series there, right? And they are all doing this just after it has been announced that Disney has once again lost a huge number of subscribers, something like 6.5 million subscribers in the past 9 months, if I'm not mistaken. Disney has also indicated that it will roll out new content less quickly, which means that fewer new shows will be made. Let's hope they make less Marvel and Star Wars junk. I think the stretching of those franchises is a bit over. Marvel hasn't been fun since the end of phase 3 and The Mandolorian is the only good thing Star Wars has made in the last 10 years (I'm told).

2Translated from Dutch.

Hattrickmaster • 20 May 2023, 18:11

Those 6.5 million come from India. Where they lost an important sport from India. So actually things aren't going that bad. You think it's junk. I enjoy the mandalorian and andor. Wandavision, Loki, Moon Knight & Hawkeye were also very good series. The special presentations were also good. Others were entertaining not per the good or bad.

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RonSchoonwater • 20 May 2023, 10:41

Hmmm, we still have to make do with (the policy of) those streaming services. On this list, only Willow is on my 'to watch' list. Unfortunately, the reactions and reviews are not so good that I have not watched it yet. So it probably won't happen again ;) What is striking is that they announced this so short in advance. Couldn't this have been done before?

2Translated from Dutch.

BlackBiker • 20 May 2023, 14:40

Of course, this couldn't continue to go well. The streaming landscape has become so fragmented in recent years that if you want to be able to watch everything you like, you have lost your money. In these times of high inflation and other financial suffering, such a streamabo is something that many households will cut back on. I have never taken out a streaming subscription myself. Exactly for these reasons. If I like something, I want to be able to watch it again a few years later. With the policies of the streaming services, there is a good chance that this is no longer possible, or that you will have to switch to another streamer. That's why I stick to physical media for my favorite films and series in an old-fashioned way. From the list mentioned, I have only seen (and wanted to see) Pistol. Good series about the illustrious rise and fall of the Sex Pistols. Other than that, Disney has little to offer me. Like JW, I have been done with Marvel since phase 3 and Star Wars has become a milking concept of which only The Mandalorian is (more than) worth watching. Even if they stop completely, I won't miss them. Just like those dozens of other streaming services. Long live BR, DVD and BT :-)

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SLP • 20 May 2023, 15:34

This news doesn't mean much to me either. The only reason I still have Disney+ is for The Mandalorian haha. In general, I don't care much for what's on offer on Disney+, unlike Hulu.

1Translated from Dutch.