Two weeks ago, word emerged that in the United States, Disney was creating a super version of Disney+ . The content from Hulu would be combined into it. Hulu would remain as a standalone service for consumers that only wanted Hulu and not Disney+ and for those that use the Hulu live television service.
But along with that news came the word that some shows and movies would be purged, basically gone forever, as Disney would receive a $1.5 to $1.8 billion impairment charge, which sounds a lot like the tax write-down that Warner Bros. Discovery got for scrapping the Batgirl movie. This would seem to imply that this material will not be released ever again for legal reasons.
Now the list of these doomed TV shows and movies has emerged, although keep in mind, Disney has not yet confirmed it.
The current list of shows being removed from Disney+ and Hulu:
• America the Beautiful
• Among the Stars
• Artemis Fowl
• Be Our Chef
• Best In Dough
• Best In Snow
• Better Nate Than Ever
• The Big Fib
• Big Shot
• Black Beauty
• Cheaper by the Dozen (2022)
• Clouds
• Diary of a Future President
• Disney Fairy Tale Weddings
• Dollface
• Earth To Ned
• Encore!
• Everything’s Trash
• Foodtastic
• Harmonious Live!
• It’s a Dog’s Life With Bill Farmer
• Just Beyond
• Little Demon
• Love In The Time Of Corona
• Maggie
• Magic Camp
• The Making Of Willow
• Marvel’s Hero Project
• The Mighty Ducks
• More Than Robots
• The Mysterious Benedict Society
• The One And Only Ivan
• Own the Room
• Pentatonix: Around the World for the Holidays
• Pick of the Litter
• Pistol
• The Premise
• The Princess
• The Quest
• The Real Right Stuff
• Rogue Trip
• Rosaline
• Shop Class
• Stargirl
• Stuntman
• Timmy Failure
• Turner & Hooch
• Weird but True!
• Willow
• Wolfgang
• The World According To Jeff Goldblum
• Y: The Last Man
As anticipated most of these were original creations that failed to find an audience, although if you noticed the movie Stargirl (not to be confused with The CW’s DC superhero show of the same name) received a sequel, Hollywood Stargirl, so the first had to have done pretty well on some level.
There was an initial list released with a few titles on it that have since been revealed will NOT be leaving. Those include Howard, a documentary about The Little Mermaid composer Howard Ashman, A Spark Story, Marvel’s MPower, and Marvel’s Voices Rising: The Music of Wakanda Forever.
Why These Shows Are Being Removed
The highest-profile show getting the chop is Willow, the sequel series to the 1988 Lucasfilm/Ron Howard film of the same name. Not only was this an expensive show to make, but Disney+ went so far as to release a companion documentary The Making of Willow that will also be departing, which makes sense. It seemed that Disney had super high hopes for Willow but it just doesn’t appear that it made enough of an impact. (It doesn’t help that we’re experiencing a glut of fantasy series across the board right now.)
Artemis Fowl was one of the first Disney movies (possibly THE first) that was meant for theatrical release but dumped on Disney+. Most speculated that this was because it was so bad… and they were right. Despite promoting Artemis Fowl when it dropped, word quickly spread that this was a turkey and after the initial batch of views, it’s entirely believable that viewership plunged and never recovered.
Another YA adaptation, The Mysterious Benedict Society, was originally set for Hulu but was shifted over to Disney+. Once again, this had to have done at least a little well because it got a second season. But… both are departing. If you watched that first season, and just never got around to the second, you’ve got a matter of days.
One last notable inclusion on this list is The World According to Jeff Goldblum a docuseries hosted by the famous actor which also lasted for two seasons. What’s notable is that this was one of the very first Disney+ series, available on the first day of the service’s launch in November 2019.
In the beginning, Disney+ famously had VERY little to offer in terms of original programming, so The World According to Jeff Goldblum did pretty well. But with the eventual surge in original programming including the never-ending stream of Star Wars and Marvel shows, it got lost in the shuffle. You’ll notice that a lot of the other shows, specials, and movies that are on the chop list are also things like documentaries and docuseries that just compete with… you know, stuff that doesn’t make you think.
Note these aren’t cancellations. These projects are going away and are likely never to be seen again. What shows or movies are you most going to miss?
