(Photo: Disney+)
The Spiderwick Chronicles is not coming to Disney+ after all. Ordered to series by the streaming service in November 2021, production on an eight-episode season of The Spiderwick Chronicles wrapped earlier this year.
The fantasy series is based on the novels by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black and stars Christian Slater, Jack Dylan Grazer, Lyon Daniels, Noah Cottrell, Joy Bryant, and Mychala Lee. The story revolves around a family that moves into their ancestral home and then finds themselves in a fantastical world.
Deadline reports that The Spiderwick Chronicles’ cancellation is based on the company’s strategy to focus primarily on Disney-owned properties, like the Marvel and Star Wars franchises.
Dropping the show is reportedly part of the major content write-off that was announced by Disney in May. Doogie Kamealoha, MD was cancelled last week, the latest in a long line of cuts.
Disney CFO Christine McCarthy said the following about the decision to cut costs:
“We are in the process of reviewing the content on our DTC services to align with the strategic changes in our approach to content curation. As a result, we will be removing certain content from our streaming platforms, and currently expect to take an impairment charge of approximately $1.5 to $1.8 billion.”
Paramount Television Studios, which co-produced the series with Disney’s 20th Television, is shopping the episodes to other outlets.
What do you think? Did you want to see The Spiderwick Chronicles on Disney+? Will you watch the series if it lands on another outlet?