While most people think of Disney and think of classic animated movies, the reality is that the House of Mouse has been a powerhouse of television as well. Many of the shows on the Disney Channel over the years are nothing short of iconic and in the streaming era, Disney+ has put out some great series as well with programming that covers just about every genre and geared to every demographic as well.
But while there are a lot of great Disney shows that people do think about and even revisit regularly — think things like Kim Possible, Lizzie McGuire, and more current programs like Disney+’s Daredevil: Born Again, there are series that were not only cancelled too soon, but not nearly enough people talk about how great and promising they were when they were on the air. Here are seven such shows — and we’re willing to bet there is at least one on this list you’ve never even heard of.
7) Teen Angel (1989)
While ABC (which, ironically, is now owned by Disney) had their own television series named Teen Angel in the late 1990s that also ran for just one season, The Disney Channel series from 1989 is the one we’re talking about here. Airing for just one season consisting of 12 episodes, Teen Angel starred future Beverly Hills, 90210 heartthrob Jason Priestley as Buzz Gunderson, a teen killed in a car accident in 1959 who is now a guardian angel who is given various tasks that he must complete before being admitted to heaven.
What’s interesting about Teen Angel is that, despite the main series only running for 12 episodes, it actually had a sequel series, Teen Angel Returns, that also starred Priestley and aired just a few months after Teen Angel ended. That series co-starred another future Beverly Hills, 90210 star, Jennie Garth. Despite both series having a wholesome if not somewhat serious premise, the series has largely been entirely forgotten — and finding episodes is nearly impossible.
6) Hailey’s On It! (2023-2024)
The only animated series to make this list, Hailey’s On It! is a series that has a fun premise: 14-year-old Hailey Banks — who decidedly does not like taking risks — is informed by a time traveling scientist that she’s essentially the chosen one, destined to save the world by reversing global warming. The catch is that she has to get over her fears by completing a series of tasks in order to do so which would be hard enough by itself, but time-traveling robots are also trying to stop her.
It was a wacky, fun, and heartfelt series that really examined Hailey’s efforts to overcome her own anxiety to not only grow as a person, but also the whole saving the world thing. The series featured a solid voice cast, including Auli’i Cravalho, Manny Jacinto, Julie Bowen, and Sarah Chalke (as well as a special guest vocal appearance from Al Yankovic as himself). The show also did well with critics but was unfortunately cancelled after one season and seems to have been forgotten.
5) Willow (2022-2023)
Image courtesy of Disney+
The 1988 film Willow is an absolute fantasy adventure classic so fans were both surprised and thrilled when Disney+ announced that a sequel series was coming to the streaming platform. Set more than 20 years after Queen Bavmorda’s defeat, the series followed six unlikely heroes on a dangerous quest far beyond home where they have to face inner demons and come together in order to save the world from the Gales, an evil force working for the Crone and allies of the Wyrm. The series even brought back Warwick Davis as Willow Ufgood and featured a guest appearance from Joanne Whalley as Queen Sorsha as well. Critics loved it, fans did, too.
But the series was gone almost as quickly as it arrived. Despite a second season having been written, Disney+ cancelled Willow after its first, eight-episode season with Disney citing cost reduction. Just a few months after the final episode aired, Disney+ also removed the series from the platform entirely so not only do not enough people talk about how great this series was, but they can’t even go back and revisit it.
4) American Born Chinese (2023)
This is one we wish people had talked more about when it was airing because, if they had, we might have gotten more than just one season. American Born Chinese debuted on Disney+ in 20023 and ran for just eight episodes. The series was based on Gene Luen Yang’s fantastic graphic novel also titled American Born Chinese and followed Jin Wang (Ben Wang), a teen having a hard time fitting in with his peers. However, when he’s asked to show the new exchange student Wei-Chen (Jimmy Liu) around, Jin finds himself in the middle of a battle between mythical Chinese gods.
American Born Chinese was fantastic. Not only did it have a lot of great action and a solid cast (Michelle Yeoh played Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy while Ke Huy Quan played former actor Jamie Yao) =, but it was praised by many for being one of the best shows on Disney+. Despite this, it was cancelled over low viewership, which particularly sucks because the series ended on a huge cliffhanger.
3) Renegade Nell (2024)
There is a very good chance that you have never heard of Renegade Nell, which is unfortunate because it was a deeply underappreciated historical fantasy adventure. The series debuted on Disney+ in 2024 and ran for just one, eight-episode season following Nell Jackson (Louisa Harland), a young woman who becomes a feared highwaywoman after she’s framed for murder. However, with the help of the magical sprite Billy Blind, Nell discovers that she has a much larger destiny than she could have ever imagined.
Renegade Nell was a lot of fun. You had action, you had magic, you had a swashbuckling good time. The show was critically acclaimed and the audiences that did watch the series also sang its praises. But, as has been the case with many Disney shows, low viewership and performance as compared to the production costs led to its demise. Even with just having one season, however, Renegade Nell is still a great series and is worth seeking out.
2) The Muppets Mayhem (2023)
Someday, we’re going to get a Muppets program that sticks, but sadly, that wasn’t The Muppets Mayhem — and even worse, it seems like people have largely forgotten this one even existed. The final Muppets production made by ABC Signature before that company was folded into 20th Century Television, The Muppets Mayhem followed a record executive, Nora (Lilly Singh) as she works with Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem as the group tries to record their first-ever album. It’s a hilarious clash between the Electric Mayhem and the modern music industry and, as you can guess, there’s plenty of Muppet chaos to go around.
There was plenty of hype for The Muppets Mayhem in the lead up to its debut and the series got positive reviews but while there was a passionate fanbase, the series didn’t get the high numbers Disney+ wanted and so the streamer pulled the plug. Some have cited that a key issue with viewership for The Muppets Mayhem comes to a lack of marketing for the show as well as a lack of overall awareness which serves as a reminder that talking about shows actually matters.
1) Girl Meets World (2014-2017)
The follow up to the iconic Boy Meets World, Girl Meets World is the rare entry on this list that was actually somewhat successful. Debuting in 2014 and running for three seasons on the Disney Channel, Girl Meets World follows Riley Matthews, the daughter of Cory and Topanga from the original series. In the series Riley (Rowan Blanchard) and her best friend Maya (Sabrina Carpenter) navigate life and school as teens.
While the show was popular and had a devoted fanbase — and starred Carpenter, who has since become a major music star — no one really talks about it now. If anything, the original Boy Meets World continues to overshadow it.
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