Disney Branded Television’s 2022 Television Critics Association’s winter panel included announcements of new series, casting updates, and renewals. Disney Branded Television President Ayo Davis revealed Rita Ora has joined the cast of the Beauty and the Beast prequel limited series. Plus, Catherine Zeta-Jones will star in the National Treasure series and Daveed Diggs will narrate The Crossover.
Disney+ has greenlit a new original Halloween-themed film sequel to Under Wraps as well as a holiday adventure titled The Naughty Nine. New unscripted series will include Growing Up from Brie Larson and Rennervations from Jeremy Renner.
“With each one of these projects, we see an opportunity to build upon the strong foundation of storytelling that is a hallmark of the Disney brand. I am so proud to be working with some of the most creative and diverse talent in the industry, both in front of and behind the camera, to bring these fresh, inventive and impactful stories — new and reimagined — to life for our audiences to enjoy, regardless of platform,” stated Davis.
ORIGINAL MOVIES:
PROM PACT (Working Title) (Disney+ Original Movie)
Executive Producers: Melvin Mar, Julie Bowen, Jake Kasdan and Rachael Field
Written by: Anthony Lombardo
Directed by: Anya Adams
It’s the height of prom season, and high school senior Mandy Coleman and 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 her acceptance has been deferred, she is determined to do whatever she can do to get herself off the waitlist, 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 begins to realize there’s more to him than she thought and perhaps something more to life than Harvard. Peyton Elizabeth Lee stars as Mandy, and Milo Manheim will play Ben.
THE NAUGHTY NINE (Disney Channel and Disney+)
Executive Producers: Suzanne Todd, Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas
Written by: Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas
Directed by: Alberto Belli
The Naughty Nine is a holiday heist movie — think Ocean’s 11 at the North Pole — that follows fifth grader Andy, who has been a bit of a troublemaker this year. When Christmas morning rolls around and Andy gets stiffed by Santa, he realizes he’s on the “naughty list.” Feeling unfairly maligned, Andy pulls together a crack team of fellow “naughty listers” to execute an elaborate heist to get the presents he and the others feel they deserve.
The determined ensemble includes Dulce, Andy’s best friend and archery expert; North Pole conspiracy theorist Lewis; daredevil “wheel woman” Ha-Yoon; animal whisperer Rose; master-of-disguise Jon Anthony; adorable charmer Albert; and Andy’s older sister, Laurel, a talented gymnast seeking to regain her confidence. Andy also enlists the help of Bruno, a disgruntled cargo pilot who claims to have witnessed Santa’s sleigh. However, in the process of finding their gifts, the gang begins to realize that Christmas is more about giving than taking. “The Naughty Nine” stars Winslow Fegley, Camila Rodriguez, Anthony John Joo, Clara Stack, Imogen Cohen, Madilyn Kellam and Deric McCable.
UNDER WRAPS 2 (Disney Channel and Disney+)
Produced by: MarVista Entertainment
Executive Producers: Todd Y. Murata and Fernando Szew
Written by: Josh A Cagan
Directed by: Alex Zamm
The sequel to Under Wraps, the remake of the very first Disney Channel Original Movie, Under Wraps 2 picks up as Amy is preparing for her father’s Spooktacular Halloween-themed wedding to his fiancé Carl. However, plans soon go awry when Amy, Gilbert and Marshall discover that their mummy friend Harold and his beloved Rose may be in danger. Sobek, an evil mummy with a thousand-year-old grudge against his best friend-turned-bitter rival Harold, is unexpectedly awakened and out for revenge. With help from his hypnotized lackey Larry, Sobek kidnaps Rose, and Amy, Gilbert, Marshall, Buzzy and Harold must use their skills once again to save her and get back in time to attend the wedding.
Under Wraps 2 stars Malachi Barton, Christian J. Simon, Sophia Hammons, Phil Wright, Melanie Brook, T.J. Storm, Rryla McIntosh, Jordan Conley and Adam Wylie.
UNSCRIPTED:
GROWING UP (Disney+ Original Series)
Produced by: Culture House
Executive Producers: Brie Larson, Nicole Galovski, Raeshem Nijhon and Carri Twigg
Episode Directors: Brie Larson, Yara Shahidi, Sydney Freeland, Elegance Bratton, Ashley Eakin, Ekwa Msangi, Smriti Mundhra, Rudy Valdez, Bernardo Ruiz, Kishori Rajan and Nicole Galovski
Growing Up is a groundbreaking hybrid docu-series that explores the challenges, triumphs, and complexities of adolescence through ten compelling coming of age stories. The series uses narrative, experimental, and documentary filmmaking to follow one casted individual, ages 18-22, as they tell their story. They represent a wide range of lived experiences, giving audiences emotionally powerful narratives that offer an engaging look at teenage-hood and the diverse social, familial, and internal obstacles young people face on their path to self-discovery and acceptance. Each 30-minute episode features one young person, or “hero,” and their experience growing up.
Each episode is anchored by a deeply personal interview that allows our heroes to walk us through their childhood and teenage years. Alongside these interviews, creative cinematic reenactments help bring their major inflection points to life.
RENNERVATIONS (Disney+ Original Series)
Produced by: Boardwalk Pictures
Executive Producers: Jeremy Renner, Rory Millikin, Romilda De Luca, Andrew Fried, Dane Lillegard, Sarina Roma, Patrick Costello
RENNERVATIONS is an original four-part series that embraces Jeremy’s lifelong passion for giving back to communities around the world by reimagining unique purpose-built vehicles to meet a community’s needs. Behind the big screen, Jeremy is a construction aficionado. He is heavily invested in the highly creative fabricator culture that exists across the globe and hopes to change lives with these skills and inspire others to do the same.
SCRIPTED SERIES:
GOOSEBUMPS (Disney+ Original Series)
Produced by: Sony Pictures Television Studios
Executive Producers/Writers: Nick Stoller and Rob Letterman
Executive Producers: Neal H. Moritz, Pavun Shetty, Conor Welch, Iole Lucchese, Caitlin Friedman
Director (first episode): Rob Letterman
Based on R.L. Stine’s best-selling book series, Goosebumps combines teen comedy with horror, action-adventure, mystery and psychological thrill. The series follows a group of five high schoolers who unleash supernatural forces upon their town and must all work together — thanks to and in spite of their friendships, rivalries and pasts with each other — in order to save it, learning much about their own parents’ teenage secrets in the process.
Published by Scholastic, Goosebumps is one of the best-selling book series of all time, with more than 400 million English-language books in print, plus international editions in 32 languages. The television series is influenced by five of the most popular Goosebumps books.
SERIES RENEWAL:
SECRETS OF SULPHUR SPRINGS SEASON 3 (Disney Channel and Disney+)
Produced by: Gwave Productions, LLC.
Creator/Writer/Executive Producer: Tracey Thomson
Executive Producer/Showrunner: Charles Pratt Jr.
A live-action, time-travel mystery series, Secrets of Sulphur Springs follows 12-year-old Griffin Campbell, whose family has uprooted their lives to move to a new town and take ownership of an abandoned hotel, The Tremont, in hopes of restoring it back to the lively vacation destination it once was. Not long after, Griffin learns that the hotel is rumored to be haunted by a ghost. Griffin and his best friend Harper, a bright-eyed, mystery-obsessed classmate, and Savannah, a girl who lives in the 1960s, work together to solve the mysteries of the supernatural forces at The Tremont by traveling through time via a secret portal in the basement of the hotel.
Season two of the series took Griffin, Harper and Savannah back to the 1930 and 1962 to learn more about Harper’s family’s deep-seated connection to the hotel. In Season Three, a new ghost will torment The Tremont. Also, Griffin will travel to the future and then back to his present, where he and Harper will have to change the timelines of their lives in order to save their friendship and their families.
PREMIERE UPDATE:
THE PROUD FAMILY: LOUDER AND PROUDER
(Disney+ Original Series Premiering Feb. 23, 2022 – NOW WITH TWO EPISODES)
Executive Producers: Bruce W. Smith and Ralph Farquhar
A continuation of the acclaimed series, The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder follows the adventures and misadventures of newly 14-year-old Penny Proud and her Proud Family as they navigate modern life with hilarity and heart. The 2020s bring new career highs for mom Trudy, wilder dreams for dad Oscar and new challenges for Penny, including a socially woke neighbor who thinks she has a lot to teach her, bullying social media influencers who want to cancel her, and her own teenage hormones.
Penny’s friends return, including Dijonay, LaCienega, Zoey and Michael. Penny’s Suga Mama also returns, ready as ever to dispense tough love or a gentle hand whenever Penny needs it. Among the new faces are Maya and KG, who not only have to deal with the struggles of being the new kids but also having two dads, a first for Smithville.
PROJECTS IN DEVELOPMENT:
PAOLA SANTIAGO AND THE RIVER OF TEARS (Disney+ Original Series)
Produced by: 20th Television
Executive Producers: Eva Longoria and Ben Spector for UnbeliEVAble Entertainment
Executive Producer/Writer: Kevin Rodriguez
Executive Producer: Tehlor Kay Mejia
A fantasy/adventure television series based on Paola Santiago and the River of Tears, the critically acclaimed novel by author Tehlor Kay Mejia and published by Disney-Hyperion under the Rick Riordan Presents imprint. Inspired by the legend of La Llorona (the Weeping Woman), the story introduces a teen girl, Paola Santiago, who has always relied on hard science and logic to make sense of the world, unlike her mother, who believes in magic. But folklore becomes fact when Paola’s best friend goes missing, and to save her, Paola has to enter a world of mind-bending monsters and relentless spirits steeped in Latin folklore that defy both logic and legend.
TINY TRAILBLAZERS (Disney Junior Original Series)
Produced by Hello Sunshine in Association With Disney Junior
Executive Producers: Reese Witherspoon, Claire Curley
Geared towards kids aged 2-7, the entertaining stories model positive attitudes about the great outdoors and highlight the importance of environmental conservation and wildlife protection. Partners from National Geographic are consulting on the project. Academy Award-winning actress Reese Witherspoon serves as executive producer and will voice one of the mom characters, Fern, a wildlife specialist. The main characters are two girls, an adventurous city kid named Tilly and the more risk-averse Birdie, who befriends her when Tilly’s family moves to a campground while her scientist mom is doing field research on forest streams.
As the girls observe their mother’s careers and interests and begin to explore and discover the magic of nature all around them, they develop a supportive friendship and a deep understanding of and appreciation for the natural world. The series also highlights age-appropriate social and emotional lessons about thoughtfulness, self-esteem, good instincts and trying new things.
SUPERFUDGE (Disney+ Original Movie)
Produced by: The Russo Brother’s AGBO
Written by: Amos Vernon and Nunio Randazzo
Based on the global, best-selling book by Judy Blume and from Joe and Anthony Russo of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Superfudge centers on The Hatcher family. Twelve-year-old Peter Hatcher almost has it all — two boomer parents, a perfect though slightly odorous turtle, his very own bedroom in a cramped Manhattan apartment, a ride-or-die best friend Jimmy and eight whole weeks of summer vacation ahead of him — with just one massive problem. Farley Drexel Hatcher, his 3-year-old brother, aka Fudge.
Fudge isn’t just a problem; he is a tornado, a tsunami, a superstorm, an arctic bomb of chaos and destruction. And when Fudge runs away under Peter’s watch, an epic family adventure across NYC ensues. One that ultimately brings these two together just as their world is turned upside down by the arrival of a brand-new problem — an infant baby sister — reminding us all that nothing is ever constant … except change.
