Disney+ has confirmed today an array of new titles set to premiere exclusively on its platform in the UK and Ireland in 2023. These forthcoming additions to the streaming service’s catalogue include an intriguing mix of documentaries, comedies, dramas, and of course – Marvel blockbusters.
Among the most eagerly awaited shows is the UK Original Wagatha Christie, a documentary featuring Coleen Rooney – though the exact release date is yet to be announced.
Marvel enthusiasts will be pleased to know that the second season of Loki is set to air on October 6. The show, starring Tom Hiddleston and Sophia Di Martino, was a major hit during its first run and is now the first Marvel series to air a second season.
But that’s not all – read ahead for the full list of highlights.
Disney+ (see our review) can be streamed on most streaming devices and Smart TVs in the UK (though it’s going to be removed from NOW TV’s boxes this month).
In the UK, Disney+ includes content from the worlds of Disney, Marvel, Pixar, Star Wars, National Geographic and Star.
It’s worth noting that Star, which is Disney’s general entertainment category for more mature audiences, doesn’t exist on the US version of Disney+.
This means UK subscribers are getting more content than their US counterparts (who currently get most of the more ‘mature’ content on the Hulu streaming service, which carries an additional subscription cost – but will be combined into a single app with Disney+ later this year).
In the UK, Disney+ currently costs £7.99/month or £79.90/year –and you can subscribe directly via this link.
Later this year, Disney+ is expected to add an ad-supported tier, which may also bring with it price increases.
In its most recent earnings call, Disney announced it would be reducing its content spend on Disney+, therefore, we will eventually see fewer new shows.
But the roster for 2023, which was confirmed this week, is still quite rich.
Only Murders in the Building, the hit comedy series starring Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez, will be back for its third season on August 8.
Football fans will be eagerly awaiting the second season of Welcome to Wrexham, which continues to chart the journey of Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds with Wrexham AFC.
Alongside this, The Bear will return to Chicago for a second season, with Carmy (Jeremy Allen White) and his crew seeking to elevate their sandwich shop to new heights.
June sees the launch of the UK local original series The Full Monty, set 25 years after the original British blockbuster, on June 14, with some of the film’s original cast (including Robert Carlyle).
This nostalgic offering is set to be a summer highlight for Disney+ subscribers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FgjqX34soQ
The platform’s 2023 slate also includes Culprits, a dark comedy series starring Nathan Stewart Jarrett and Gemma Arterton, and a British sporting story, Brawn; The Impossible Formula 1 Story, narrated by Keanu Reeves.
On the animation front, the EMEA Original Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire, an animated sci-fi anthology executive-produced by Oscar-winning director Peter Ramsey, is set to premiere on July 5.
The series features creators from across Africa, including Zimbabwe, Uganda, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and Egypt.
June is also set to be a big month for blockbuster releases, featuring James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way Of Water on June 7 and Eva Longoria’s directorial debut, Flamin’ Hot, on June 9.
Secrets & Sisterhood: The Sozahdahs is a captivating new unscripted series that charts the lives of 10 Muslim American sisters navigating cultural expectations, their careers, and love in Los Angeles.
Miguel Wants to Fight promises to be an entertaining and heartwarming story about Miguel, a high school junior who, despite growing up in a neighbourhood where fights are commonplace, has never been in one.
This all changes when a series of events turn his life upside down, resulting in a series of hilarious misadventures as he tries to get into his first-ever fight.
Lions of Sicily is an eight-part series set between 1800 and 1861 that follows the Florio family. Brothers Paolo and Ignazio, once small spice merchants, strive to escape their past and seek social redemption.
In Sicily, they invent their future, turning a small, run-down shop into a flourishing business, which young Vincenzo later transforms into an economic empire.
Flamin’ Hot is the inspiring true story of Richard Montañez (Jesse Garcia) who, as a Frito-Lay janitor, disrupted the food industry by channelling his Mexican-American heritage, transforming Flamin’ Hot Cheetos from a snack into an iconic global pop-culture phenomenon.
The Jewel Thief is a remarkable firsthand account of Gerald Blanchard, one of the most accomplished criminal masterminds in modern history. The series tracks Blanchard across the globe as he perpetrates a series of increasingly elaborate heists in a quest for fame and notoriety.
Epic Adventures with Bertie Gregory is a Disney+ original series from National Geographic, featuring the 29-year-old National Geographic Explorer, Bertie Gregory.
The series takes viewers on a series of epic and nail-biting journeys into the most spectacular and secretive corners of our wild world, showcasing extraordinary, real-life animal stories captured through cutting-edge film technology.
Also, the Wildcats of East High will return to Disney+ with a fourth season of High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.
And, some more excitement from Marvel: Streaming exclusively on Disney+, the origin story of Echo revisits Maya Lopez, whose ruthless behaviour in New York City catches up with her in her hometown.
She must face her past, reconnect with her Native American roots and embrace the meaning of family and community if she ever hopes to move forward.
But wait, there’s more – Marvel Studios’ highly-anticipated espionage thriller Secret Invasion, starring Samuel L. Jackson, will also be available to stream from June 21.
Set in the present-day MCU, Nick Fury (Jackson) learns of a clandestine invasion of Earth by a faction of shapeshifting Skrulls.
Fury joins his allies, including Everett Ross, Maria Hill, and the Skrull Talos, who has made a life for himself on Earth. Together, they race against time to thwart an imminent Skrull invasion and save humanity.