The Best Disney+ Original Series You Should Add to Your Binge List ASAP
Nov 17, 2022 • Matthew Arcilla
Nov 17, 2022 • Matthew Arcilla
At long last, the world’s most powerful entertainment conglomerate has delivered Disney+ to the Philippines. The streaming service offers films, television, and other forms of video content from brands such as Pixar, National Geographic, Walt Disney Animation, and more and is set to do battle with services like HBO Max and Netflix for our precious entertainment pesos.
When Disney+ first launched, it was a bare-bones service flexing mostly legacy content like classic Disney films and the entire portfolio of Marvel and Star Wars. After celebrating its third anniversary, the service arrives to us with offerings from 20th Century Studios, and Star and has also begun licensing productions from CBS Television Studios and Fox Family.
Of course, with so much content dropping into, a new subscriber to Disney+ can become easily overwhelmed. That being said, the real juice to be had from any streaming service will always be its original content. You can only watch all 107 hours and 51 minutes of Marvel Cinematic Universe content so many times, after all. Here are the best original series on Disney+.
This charming series serves as a sort of sequel to the 2018 film Love, Simon. Set in the same universe (and high school), the series focuses on Victor Salazar who tries to make sense of his sexuality while living with the pressure of having a very Catholic family and navigating social life at a new school. Victor reaches out to Simon via e-mail who acts as his coming-out guide. The third and final season brings the journey of Victor and his friends to a close as they get ready for life after high school.
Watch it here.
After twelve-year-old Evan Morrow is cut from the eponymous Mighty Ducks – now a powerhouse name in junior hockey – he and his mother set out to build their own group of lovable underdogs and bring some honest-to-goodness rivalry back into the sport. In the first season, they secure the help of Gordon Bombay (Emilio Estevez) who was the original Ducks coach, and in the second season former NHL player Colin Cole (Josh Duhamel, Transformers) takes charge.
Watch it here.
Although it’s been seventeen years since the Proud Family went off the air on the Disney Channel, this revival sees Penny Proud a mere two years older. Louder and Prouder is a retooled version of the same animated sitcom, in which Penny deals with normal teenage girl problems but this time in the 2020s. Her hilarious but overprotective father Oscar (Tommy Davidson) serves as her biggest foil, but an ensemble cast of friends and family bring wholesome, progressive laughs to the fore.
Watch it here.
In this short documentary comedy series, eccentric actor Jeff Goldblum stammers and shrugs his way through a collection of quirky subjects. “I know nothing, that’s the premise,” says the Oscar-nominated star of Jurassic Park movies in the trailer, which just about covers it. Watch Goldblum stumble his way through topics like swimming pools, ice cream, tattoos, and urban legends while saying “wow.” It sounds like utter nonsense, but the ever-languid Goldblum is utterly hypnotic.
Watch it here.
Don’t let the bonkers name fool you, this series is a clever meta use of the High School Musical property. It’s a mockumentary comedy about students staging a version of High School Musical: The Musical, and lore has it that the original film was based on the lives of former students. It’s crazy, it’s messy, and features a pre-fame Olivia Rodrigo who, before she became a world-famous pop star, dated and broke up with co-star Joshua Bassett and now writes dozens of cryptic songs about their romance.
Watch it here.
Based on the children’s book series, this one is a comfortable watch for kids and parents alike, and has attracted a strong following from even ‘adult-sized kids.’ It follows four orphans who have been recruited by the eponymous Mr. Benedict (Tony Hale, Arrested Development) to go undercover at a boarding school while they work to save the world from catastrophe. It’s Umbrella Academy with a touch of A Series of Unfortunate Events and features a quirky Wes Anderson-like aesthetic.
Watch it here.
Another instance of Disney taking an old property and using it for mostly inspiration, this all-ages drama taps into the premise of Doogie Howser, M.D., the early 90s series about a genius kid turned underage medical practitioner. Peyton Elizabeth Lee is Lahela “Doogie” Kameāloha, a teenage doctor who earns her nickname from the TV show. The show deftly balances its divergent influences to deliver an expert blend of teen drama and medical procedural.
Watch it here.
This wholesome reality/docuseries sees adults go back to high school and get a second chance at the musicals they used to put on as kids. Each episode features a new school and a new classic musical with plenty of heartfelt drama as once-shy teenagers show how they’ve grown, parents get to flaunt their musical flair for their kids and former sweethearts reunite on stage. Kristen Bell (The Good Place) makes occasional appearances to present these stories, but it’s the everyday folks who’re the stars.
Watch it here.
Which of these series will you be binging first?
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