Disney+ Original Series Move From Fridays to Wednesdays

Loki just changed Disney+ for good. The success of the newest Marvel series — Loki episode 1 is Disney+’s most-watched series premiere to date — has convinced Disney to move release dates for every Disney+ original series from Fridays to Wednesdays. Loki was the first to make the switch. But that’s reportedly not the only reason, as it’s also meant to help Disney+ accommodate its growing content volume. Only Disney+ original series are moving to Wednesdays, with Disney+ original movies continuing to debut on Fridays. That means the likes of The Mandalorian season 3 and Ms. Marvel will premiere on Wednesdays, while movies like Luca and Black Widow will stay on Fridays.

The Hollywood Reporter first brought word of the Disney+ move from Fridays to Wednesdays, noting that it’s a response to the streaming clutter. While Netflix and Amazon Prime Video have largely stuck to Friday premieres — they do experiment with releases on other days from time to time — the other American competitors began moving off Fridays even before Disney+. All of WarnerMedia-owned HBO Max (Justice League Snyder Cut, Friends: The Reunion), NBCUniversal-run Peacock, and ViacomCBS’ Paramount+ (Mark Wahlberg’s Infinite) have landed on Thursdays for their original premieres. Disney-owned Hulu shows bow on Wednesday, with premieres from FX landing across the week.

Disney+ seems to be further pre-empting the Thursday competition by a day with its Wednesday premieres decision. I can totally imagine this eventually cascading into a weeklong format, as streamers struggle to carve out breathing room for their prized originals. Pretty soon, we might be back to a TV broadcasting-style schedule. For those of us in India, don’t expect this to impact Hotstar Specials that will continue to do their own thing. While Amazon India has been laser focused on Friday premieres, Netflix India and Hotstar have taken liberty with their scheduling. Arjun Kapoor-led Sardar Ka Grandson debuted on a Tuesday in May, and the next Hotstar Specials Grahan is slated for a Thursday release.

With Disney+ originals, here are the release date changes for those that were announced with a Friday premiere:

Monsters at Work from Friday, July 2 to Wednesday, July 7
Turner & Hooch from Friday, July 16 to Wednesday, July 21
Behind the Attraction from Friday, July 16 to Wednesday, July 21
Chip ‘n’ Dale: Park Life from Friday, July 23 to Wednesday, July 28
Turning the Tables with Robin Roberts from Friday, July 30 to Wednesday, July 28
The Wonderful World of Mickey Mouse season 2 from Friday, July 30 to Wednesday, July 28
Short Circuit season 2 from Friday, July 30 to Wednesday, August 4
Growing Up Animal from Friday, August 20 to Wednesday, August 18