Disney Cuts Popular Shows, Widespread Content Is Removed

Nothing is off the table in terms of cancellations, whether that be Disney shows, Disney movies, or much more.

Though Disney CEO Bob Iger previously shared that the future is bright for The Walt Disney Company– which is currently celebrating 100 years of storytelling, innovation, and entertainment– there are many umbrellas under the company’s massive reach that are facing extensive issues.

The Disney Parks & Resorts remains the major revenue generator for the company. The Disney Parks & Resorts reportedly brought in more than $8.7 billion in the first quarter of 2023 and while there are some stockholders who are concerned about the future of the Parks, the major issues lie in the entertainment industry. Though Disney, through Marvel Studios and 20th Century, has had some successes in the last few months, including Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022), Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), and Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3 (2023), the box office has been more of a “miss” than a “hit” for the company, especially in animation.

Disney’s last three animated films– Lightyear (2022), Strange World (2022), and Elemental (2023)– have all been busts at the box office. As a matter of fact, the box office numbers were so bad for Disney Pixar in Lightyear that the movie’s director was one of the thousands of Disney employees to be laid off in the company’s latest round of layoffs. If these layoffs– which have affected every single umbrella of The Walt Disney Company, including Disney Animation, Disney Parks, ESPN, ABC, and much more– haven’t been enough, Disney has attempted to cut costs by removing several shows from its streaming platform, and discontinuing many other projects.

Inside the Magic have covered in-depth the content that was purged from Disney+, and the subsequent belief that more content could be removed in the future. Disney recently cut a popular ESPN show from its programming, and now the purging has made its way to Freeform.

Two popular shows on Freeform have been canceled permanently. Single Drunk Female and The Watchful Eye were officially terminated by Disney, Deadline reports. Single Drunk Female premiered its second season this past April and all of its episodes are available to stream on Hulu currently. The Watchful Eye premiered in January, and won’t be renewed after just one season.

Though the exact reason has not been confirmed by Disney, it can be assumed that this is another measure from the company to save on costs.  Hulu will fall under the Disney+ umbrella beginning later this year. The details on the streaming merger have not been released as of yet.

“While we continue to offer Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ as standalone options, this is a logical progression of our DTC offerings,” CEO Bob Iger said. He asserted that this move would “provide greater opportunities for advertisers while giving bundle subscribers access to more robust and streamlined content, resulting in greater audience engagement and ultimately leading to a more unified streaming experience.”

What do you think of these Disney shows being canceled? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments!