Disney Cancels Two Beloved Shows After Questionable Renewals

When it launched in November 2019, Disney+ became the ultimate place to indulge in all your favorite Disney movies, as well as a ton of great shows that defined our youth on the Disney Channel. In addition to the classic films and television shows, Disney worked hard to make a lot of original programming that would appeal to audiences of all ages. While the most popular shows are from LucasFilm and Marvel — including WandaVision, Loki, The Mandalorian, Andor, and The Book of Boba Fett — Disney still created a number of shows for all kinds of families.

Some of the more popular kid-friendly shows on Disney+ include Owl House, High School Musical: The Musical: The Series, Doogie Kamealoha, M.D., Secrets of Sulphur Springs, Willow, and National Treasure: Edge of History. As with every streamer, there are some shows created that just don’t make the cut, and now Disney has announced that two of those shows have been canceled.

Disney has announced that it has canceled Big Shot, starring Disney superfan John Stamos, and Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, starring Josh Duhamel and Lauren Graham.

Neither Big Shot nor The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers managed to gain a following after their first season, but they were both renewed for a season two by the now-fired executive, Peter Rice. Rice’s firing was shocking to many — and fired CEO Bob Chapek was heavily criticized for the way he handled it — but some credit his “questionable” decisions, like renewing shows he shouldn’t, as one of the reasons for his firing.

Per The Hollywood Reporter:

The streamer has canceled both shows after two seasons each. The decision comes several months after the ends of their respective seasons: Game Changers concluded in November 2022, and Big Shot had a binge release in October.

The writing has perhaps been on the wall for both shows: After the surprising ouster of Peter Rice from Disney in June, a source at the company cited the decision to renew Big Shot and The Mighty Ducks after their first seasons as examples of Rice’s “questionable deal-making.”

As is usually the case with streaming series, detailed viewing data for the pair isn’t available; neither show managed to crack the top 10 of Nielsen’s streaming rankings during their runs. Outside of Marvel and Star Wars properties, The Santa Clauses is the only Disney+ show to crack those charts.

Big Shot and Mighty Ducks: Game Changers are not the only Disney+ originals to be canceled recently. In late January, Disney also announced it was canceling The Mysterious Benedict Society, which also ran for two seasons and starred Hocus Pocus 2 star, Tony Hale.