Disney+ scraps The Spiderwick Chronicles

The streamer has also canceled two-seasoner Doogie Kamealoha, M.D. amid recent cost-cutting moves.
August 28, 2023

Disney+ has scrapped The Spiderwick Chronicles, an upcoming live-actioner from Paramount Television Studios and 20th Television that was first announced in 2021. 

This six-ep fantasy series is based on the same-name kidlit franchise by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black, and follows three children who stumble upon a world of fairies after their family moves to a country estate.

Filming on Spiderwick was completed before the strikes started, so it’s nearly ready to air. In the wake of the cancellation, the show’s producers are seeking a new buyer, according to social media statements by Black and DiTerlizzi. 

This is the first TV adaptation of the best-selling book series, which previously inspired a 2008 Nickelodeon feature film. 

Disney has also canceled Doogie Kameāloha, M.D. after two seasons (20 x 30 minutes). This coming-of-age reboot of ABC sitcom Doogie Howser, M.D. is about a Hawaiian girl juggling teen life and a medical career. Disney+ ordered the series in 2020 from ​​20th Television, debuted it in 2021, and rolled out a second season this March. 

Both cancellations are part of a broader cost-cutting strategy that Disney has been implementing over the past year to make its streaming business profitable. To achieve this goal, the media giant has also removed dozens of other shows from Disney+ as part of a write-down valued between US$1.5 billion and US$1.8 billion.

During a Q2 earnings call in May, CEO Bob Iger explained: “We realized that we made a lot of content that is not necessarily driving [subscriber growth], and we’re getting much more surgical about what it is that we make.” By the end of May, Disney+ had purged dozens of kids and family titles, including feature films like Artemis Fowl and Stargirl, as well as original series such as The Mysterious Benedict Society and Big Shot

Pictured: The Spiderwick Chronicles: The Seeing Stone (courtesy of Simon and Schuster)

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