It looks like the decision to move Marvel's Loki series to a Wednesday release schedule was more of a broader test than a single decision. If it was a test, whoever was taking it passed with flying colors, as Loki was the most-watched series premiere for Marvel and Disney+. Now, all of the new Disney+ shows arriving in the future will be following in Loki's footsteps. In other words, Friday is no longer the new release day for Disney+.
Going forward, all Disney+ original TV shows will be debuting on Wednesdays, with new episodes being released in subsequent Wednesdays. It seemed like this might be the case after Monsters at Work, premiering next month, had its debut shifted from Friday to Wednesday.
Shows that are already releasing new episodes on Fridays will be staying there going forward, until the completion of their respective seasons. That means shows like Star Wars: The Bad Batch will still have new episodes released heading into the weekend.
Upcoming shows that will make the switch to Wednesdays include Monsters at Work, Turner & Hooch, Behind the Attraction, Chip 'n' Dale: Park Life, Turning the Tables with Robin Roberts, The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse, Growing Up Animal, and Short Circuit. This likely also includes future Marvel shows like Hawkeye and Ms. Marvel.
With the Disney+ shift becoming official, three of the biggest streaming services on the market now release their originals on three subsequent days. Disney+ will have new originals on Wednesdays, followed by HBO Max originals on Thursdays and Netflix originals on Fridays. This eliminates some competition between the services while also providing subscribers with new movies and TV throughout the second half of each week.
While this move does seem permanent, Star Wars fans will likely wonder how it affects shows like The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett. Friday seemed to become a staple for new Star Wars stories, as evidenced by the success The Bad Batch is still finding. Will Star Wars titles buck the trend and continue their Friday releases? We won't know until The Book of Boba Fett arrives later in the year.
Of course, this shift doesn't apply to the Disney+ Premier Access program, which allows subscribers to purchase certain blockbuster movies the day they're released in theaters. If anything, the shift actually puts more attention on titles like Black Widow and Jungle Cruise, as they won't have titles like Loki to compete with.
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