Movie and TV creators have been unhappy with Disney for removing their shows from Disney+ and Hulu.
In May 2023, Deadline announced that Disney would be removing a large number of films and TV shows from their streaming services. This action was performed as a cost-cutting measure to increase profitability for Disney+ and Hulu. Among the movies and shows removed were Disney+ originals Willow, Turner & Hooch, The Mysterious Benedict Society, and The World According to Jeff Goldblum. With Hulu, Y: The Last Man, Dollface, The Hot Zone, Maggie, Pistol, and Little Demon were all removed.
Eliza Skinner — creator of Disney+ series Earth to Ned — didn’t know her show would be taken off the streaming service until she got a text in a writers’ group chat. As the show was a streaming variety series, the writers did not receive residuals; Skinner won’t be able to use this as a calling card project for future movies and shows.
“It’s part of this overall mindset of the value of art and creativity that like, ‘Wow, you spent all this time on this, then you at least deserve a phone call,'” Skinner tells The Hollywood Reporter. “You at least deserve to understand a little bit [about] what’s happening with your work. But it’s a whole climate of devaluing.”
“I would certainly just be curious to know more about what influenced the decision,” says filmmaker Ashley Avis. Her 2020 film Black Beauty was taken off of Disney+ in the purge. “It’s tough as an artist to try to know where to navigate.”
Like Skinner, Phoebe Robinson — star and creator of the comedy series Everything’s Trash — was not notified when her Freeform series was taken off Hulu.
“It’s quite curious that at a time when TV shows are, at a somewhat glacial pace, becoming more inclusive in front of and behind the scenes, there is suddenly no money left,” she says. “We’re out here, worked hard to develop our skill sets, got in the room — and now there’s no coins?”
