Sure, why not a 3-part post? LOL. Sorry, I don't intend to do this all the time. Like I said, just catching up.
The most surprising omission has been an almost total lack of shows produced by ABC Studios. It’s not surprising that Netflix-owned TV-MA shows like
Daredevil aren’t there, but where’s
Agents of SHIELD? Also surprising that shows like
Once Upon a Time and even Touchstone’s family-friendly TV classic
Home Improvement aren’t there. The only ABC show I’ve found so far is the 2015
Muppets series.
Of course the focus has mainly been on new films and shows, but there are a lot of obscure offerings if you look around. We watched 1976’s
Candleshoe a while back, and as I’m typing this, the site is suggesting 1964’s
The Moon-Spinners to me, a film that I was only vaguely aware existed.
Some people have complained that their favorite old show or movie isn’t on the site (there’s a surprisingly vocal contingent that wants the 1985 one-season wonder
The Wuzzles on Disney+), but I think much content will be added eventually (not all, but more than is currently there).
Many folks apparently expected to see the anthology series known under various names but most often called
The Wonderful World of Disney on the streaming service. That’s definitely a benchmark show for the company, but many of the episodes were simply network TV airings of feature films available elsewhere on the site. I suppose they could show more of the unique content and specials offered, but it’s not likely that Disney will ever put decades’ worth of that show on the site so you can watch every episode, including the feature films cropped from widescreen and cut for commercials.
Intriguingly, Disney+ sent out a survey to many of its customers (but weirdly, not all--I never got one) to see if they were interested in edgier content appearing on the site--not R-rated material like
Deadpool, but shows that push the further end of the TV-14 rating, such as
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and
How I Met Your Mother. While I like many of the shows and movies mentioned, they may not be a good fit for the Mouse House. They could risk diluting their brand if concerned parents don’t know for sure what’s safe and what isn’t on the site. But, hey,
Hamilton just premiered on the site to much popularity and acclaim despite the rough language and violence, so what do I know? (There has been a bit of controversy about that, though.)
A possible solution to this would be stricter parental controls; while the kids’ account can be set up with restrictions, there’s nothing to keep a kid from clicking over to their parents’ account. Maybe the parents’ account could be password-protected or something. Not a big problem in my house since everyone’s over 18, but that’s one way to handle it for households with younger viewers.
Here’s an article on the survey:
https://screenrant.com/disney-plus-buffy-firefly-survey-adding-mature-shows/
Anyway, I’ve had the service since November and I’m pretty happy with it, especially at this price. There’s room for improvement, but hey, isn’t there always?