The Beatles have now aired all nine parts of their newly restored and expanded Anthology docuseries on Disney+, after reissuing the project’s four compilation albums and book
Beatles fans have been left ‘devastated’ and ‘heartbroken’ as the ninth Anthology episode has aired(Image: Handout)
Beatles fans have been left “devastated” and “heartbroken” after the ninth episode of The Beatles Anthology docuseries aired.
Thirty years after the original eight-part docuseries aired, the newly restored and expanded Beatles Anthology, which now includes a ninth episode, premiered over three nights on Disney+, starting on November 26. The larger project, The Beatles Anthology 2025, also includes a reissued and expanded version of the three double-album Anthology records. The coffee-table book, originally released in 2000, has also been reissued.
When The Beatles Anthology docuseries first aired in November 1995, it was a massive event as it reunited the remaining Beatles — Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr — 25 years after the group’s split and 15 years after John Lennon was killed in 1980. At the time, it contained new interviews with McCartney, Starr, and Harrison, along with archival interviews with Lennon. However, the new ninth episode has fans experiencing the full gamut of emotions.
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The docuseries allowed The Beatles to collectively tell their story for the first time. It also brought the band’s first new songs in 25 years, Free As A Bird and, later, Real Love, which were made from two of Lennon’s demos.
The ninth episode follows the three surviving Beatles as they reunite in the ’90s for the Anthology project. Director Oliver Murray said the installment had a very specific purpose. “It needed to offer a whole layer of new self-reflection that episodes 1 to 8 simply didn’t have time for,” he told People.
The Beatles Anthology docuseries has aired all nine episodes on Disney+
“Episode 9 is untethered from the chronology of the band’s story, which means it can be about how they felt to be a Beatle and what it cost. Being a Beatle is a heavy thing to carry, and they all had different ways of dealing with it.”
The distance ushered in a rare emotional candor. “This was a case of saying, ‘Okay, enough valuable time has passed. You can now see your legacy without being in its shadow. How do you feel?’ We get this privilege of being able to see it as an observer, so to hear from them, decades later, still trying to unpack it is fascinating.”
Ultimately, episode nine features the never-before-seen interaction between the “Threetles,” as they were called then. Murray said the interactions between the former bandmates “are the same as in the early days.”
The Beatles Anthology docuseries first aired thirty years ago
He pointed out that McCartney leads with his “energy and enthusiasm,” Harrison slightly sits back, being like, “Oh, I’m not so sure about that…” and Ringo says nothing, but when he does, it’s “super funny and on point.”
It’s how effortlessly the “Threetles” fell back into their old friendship and how they opened up more about their legacy in episode nine that has fans online sobbing. The Beatles shared a montage video advertising the ninth episode’s airing on their Instagram on Friday, November 28, and fans couldn’t help but voice their feelings about it.
The Beatles’ fans are emotional after watching the ninth episode of the Anthology docuseries
“The breakup heard around the world. All episodes of The Beatles Anthology are now streaming on Disney+,” The Beatles captioned the post. In the comments section, one person wrote, “Just finished the entire thing! What a Goliath of a project, so happy to relive the band’s era in their glory!”
Another added, “last episode was amazing. heartbreaking too,” as a third said, “this will be the end of me.” A fourth emotionally stated, “Episode 9 was a beautiful coda,” as a fifth penned, “I’m so glad I wasn’t alive when they broke up. I would have been devastated!”
Yet another simply wrote, “Devastating,” as another chimed in, “Thank you for all of this.”