Disney+, Disney Channel, and National Geographic have announced a slew of upcoming new and returning shows, including a few first looks at the Television Critics Association (TCA) in 2023.
While hosting several panels for series like Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Retrograde, Prom Pact, The Crossover, A Small Light, Explore the World with the Next Gen of Nat Geo Storytellers, Nat Geo Documentary Films Directors, and Secrets of the Elephants, upcoming premiere dates and new trailers were revealed.
Check out the list of shows, old and new, appearing across Disney’s linear channels and streaming services.
Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller season 3 premieres January 18 at 9/8c on National Geographic and the next day on Hulu.
The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder
The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder picks up the story of its central character, Penny Proud, and her family: parents Oscar and Trudy, twin siblings BeBe and CeCe, and grandmother Suga Mama (and Puff!). By Penny’s side is her loyal crew: Dijonay Jones, LaCienega Boulevardez, Zoey Howzer, Maya Leibowitz-Jenkins, and Michael Collins. Building off the success of the series debut, season two of The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder continues to tell entertaining and laugh-out-loud stories while highlighting culturally specific experiences of the Black community and addressing universal topics. Various storylines this season include self-worth, interracial dating, and Juneteenth.
Season two of the Disney+ Original series will premiere all episodes on February 1. (U.S. only, international to follow).
Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur
Marvel’s Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur, based on Marvel’s hit comic books, follows the adventures of 13-year-old super-genius Lunella Lafayette and her 10-ton T-Rex, Devil Dinosaur. After Lunella accidentally brings Devil Dinosaur into present-day New York City, the duo works together to protect the city’s Lower East Side from danger.
Premieres Friday, February 10, on Disney Channel, with the first six episodes streaming Wednesday, February 15, on Disney+ (U.S. Only, International to Follow).
A Small Light
A Small Light, a powerful, eight-episode limited series, tells the remarkable true story of 20-something secretary Miep Gies (Bel Powley), who didn’t hesitate when her boss Otto Frank (Liev Schreiber) asked her to hide him and his family from the Nazis during World War II. For the next two years, Miep, her husband Jan (Joe Cole), and several other everyday heroes watched over the eight souls hiding in the secret annex. Miep found Anne Frank’s diary and preserved it so that she and Otto could later share it with the world. The series title comes from something Gies said late in her life: “I don’t like being called a hero because no one should ever think you have to be special to help others. Even an ordinary secretary or a housewife or a teenager can turn on a small light in a dark room.”
Premieres Spring 2023 on National Geographic and Disney+.
Restaurants at the End of the World
Adventurous chef, entrepreneur, and global trailblazer Kristen Kish travels the world searching for the people, places, culture, and traditions behind the world’s most remote restaurants. From local purveyors, farmers, and herders to the kitchen crew, managers, and chefs, Kristen is going behind the scenes to meet the people, hear the stories and see the day-to-day balancing act required to keep food on the table in the most remote outposts on earth.
Restaurants at the End of the World premieres Tuesday, March 21, on National Geographic; all episodes begin streaming in Spring 2023 on Disney+.
Prom Pact
Disney
The Disney Original Movie Prom Pact is a heartwarming romantic comedy set during the emotion and excitement of high school prom season. It’s the height of prom season, and high school senior Mandy Yang, her best friend, and fellow outsider Ben are surrounded by over-the-top ’80s-themed Promposals. However, Mandy keeps her eyes focused on a different goal: her lifelong dream of attending Harvard.
When she finds out that she has been put on the waitlist, she is determined to do whatever she can do to get herself accepted, even if that means asking for help from the one person she abhors – popular all-star jock Graham Lansing, whose father is a powerful senator and Harvard alum. Once Mandy becomes Graham’s tutor, she realizes there’s more to him than she thought and perhaps something more to life than Harvard.
The movie stars Peyton Elizabeth Lee as Mandy, Milo Manheim as Ben, newcomer Blake Draper as Graham, Monique Green as LaToya, Margaret Cho as Ms. Chen, Arica Himmel as Zenobia, Jason Sakaki as Charles, David S. Jung as Tom and Wendi McLendon-Covey as Alyssa.
Premieres Thursday, March 30, at 8:00 pm et/pt on Disney Channel and the next day on Disney+ (U.S. only, international to follow).
The Crossover
Based on the critically-acclaimed best-selling novel in-verse by Kwame Alexander, The Crossover introduces teen brothers Josh and Jordan Bell, widely considered basketball phenoms. Through his lyrical poetry, an adult version of Josh, aka Filthy McNasty, narrates the story of him and his brother’s coming of age, on and off the court, as their former professional basketball player father adjusts to life after basketball and their mother finally pursues lifelong dreams of her own.
Premieres Tuesday, April 4, on Disney Channel and Wednesday, April 5, on Disney+ (U.S. only, international to follow).
Secrets of the Elephants
Elephants are powerful, loving, and wise, but we are only starting to unlock their deepest secrets. The award-winning natural history franchise Secrets of returns with its next installment, Secrets of the Elephants. From Academy Award-winning filmmaker and National Geographic Explorer-at-Large James Cameron, the series travels the world —from the Savannahs of Africa to the urban landscapes of Asia —to discover the strategic thinking, complex emotions, and sophisticated language of elephants, shaping a unique and dynamic culture.
Narrated by Academy Award-winning actress Natalie Portman and featuring renowned National Geographic Explorer and elephant expert Dr. Paula Kahumbu, the four-part series not only reveals the extraordinary lives of different families of elephants but also highlights how similar they are to us. Secrets of the Elephants will change everything you thought you knew about elephants forever.
Premieres Friday, April 21, on National Geographic, and the next day on Disney+ (U.S. only, international to follow)
Extraordinary Birder with Christian Cooper
Life-long birder Christian Cooper takes us into the wild, wonderful, and unpredictable world of birds. Whether navigating rocky lava terrain in Hawaii for elusive honeycreepers, trekking into rainforests in Puerto Rico for parrots, or scaling a bridge in Manhattan for a peregrine falcon, he does whatever it takes in Puerto Rico to learn about these extraordinary, feathered creatures and show us the remarkable world in the sky above.
Extraordinary Birder with Christian Cooper premieres Saturday, June 17, on Nat Geo Wild, Summer 2023, on Disney+.
Never Say Never with Jeff Jenkins
Travel journalist Jeff Jenkins didn’t step foot on a plane until he was 20 years old, but once he did, he started living by his mantra, “life begins where your comfort zone ends.” His mission is to inspire those who look like him to travel without fear and push past their perceived limitations to experience everything the world has to offer.
Never Say Never follows Jeff as he travels the world testing the limits of his physical abilities —from attempting to climb 70-foot mountain faces to rafting class 5 rapids culminating in 20-foot drops to sailing in a windstorm at the end of the world. Throughout his global odyssey, Jeff makes deep connections with locals and learns not just about the world but also about himself.
Premieres Sunday, July 9, on National Geographic, Summer 2023 on Disney+.
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