Disney Plus has always wanted a piece of the Netflix action, but lately the Mouse House platform has seemingly had ambitions of snatching Netflix’s crown as the most disappointing streaming service of them all. After May’s mega content purge, Disney has continued wiping multiple shows from the face of the internet, which has naturally turned a fair few subscribers away. Now, in another novel approach, the studio has decided to give up some of its most popular series for people to watch for free.
As per Variety, Disney Plus has licensed out 10 U.S. TV dramas and comedies to Channel 4’s streaming platform in the U.K. The shows in question are Alias (seasons 1-5), The Americans (seasons 1-6), Empire (seasons 1-6), Scandal (seasons 1-7), The X-Files (seasons 1-11), Bones (seasons 1-12), The Killing (seasons 1-4), Star (seasons 1-3), Grown-ish (seasons 1-6), and Abbott Elementary (seasons 1-2). With the exception of Star, all series can also be found on Disney Plus.
To be fair to D+, it’s not the only major streaming that’s starting to license out its previously exclusive content. Notably, Prime Video is planning on selling off one of its most prized possessions, The Marvelous Ms. Maisel, to outside parties for the first time. As the streaming boom dies off and the various studios realize these platforms are more costly than they initially appeared, it seems everyone’s keen to decrease their losses as much as possible, whether that be achieved by removing or giving away certain titles.
Channel 4’s streaming service will no doubt see this influx of new shows as a boon, especially as it’s struggled with branding issues over the years. Originally known as 4oD, it was renamed All4 in 2015 before relaunching simply as Channel 4 in 2022. These 10 series will become available for U.K. streamers to binge at no extra cost from later this month.