Disney+, Disney Channel and National Geographic Content marked the Winter 2023 TCA Press Tour with a robust slate of premiere dates and first looks across linear and streaming.
What’s Happening:
- Panels showcased throughout the day included American Born Chinese, Star Wars: The Bad Batch, 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.
Disney+
The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder
- The second season of The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder is set to premiere will all episodes on February 1st, only on Disney+
- A brand-new trailer for the new season was unveiled at TCA:
American Born Chinese:
- Based on the graphic novel by Gene Luen Yang, American Born Chinese is a genre-hopping action comedy that tells the story of JinWang, an average teenager juggling his high school social life with his home life. When he meets a new foreign student on the first day of the school year, even more worlds collide as Jin is unwittingly entangled in a battle of Chinese mythological gods.
- American Born Chinese premieres Spring 2023 on Disney+.
- Some first look images from the series have been showcased, featuring stars Ben Wang, Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan.
National Geographic
Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller:
- Season Two premieres Wednesday, January 18th at 9/8c on National Geographic, streaming the next day on Hulu.
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. It was Miep who 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.
- The limited series premieres Spring 2023 on National Geographic and Disney+.
- A video showcasing the production of A Small Light has been released:
Restaurants at the End of the World:
- Adventurous chef, entrepreneur and global trailblazer Kristen Kish travels the world in search of the people, places, culture and traditions behind the world’s most remote restaurants. From local purveyors, farmers and herders to 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.
- The series premieres Tuesday, March 21st on National Geographic, with all episodes to be added to Disney+ at some point in the spring.
Secrets of the Elephants:
- Elephants are powerful, loving and wise, but we are only starting to unlock their deepest secrets. The ground-breaking, 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 Savannas 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.
- Secrets of the Elephants premieres Friday, April 21st on National Geographic, streaming the next day on Disney+.
- Check out a new trailer for Secrets of the Elephants:
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 Puerto learn about these extraordinary, feathered creatures and show us the remarkable world in the sky above.
- The series premieres Saturday, June 17th on Nat Geo Wild, then on Disney+ in Summer 2023.
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.
- The series premieres Sunday, July 9th on National Geographic, then on Disney+ in Summer 2023.
Disney Channel
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 10th on Disney Channel, with the first six episodes streaming Wednesday, February 15th on Disney+.
- The official trailer for the new Marvel series has been released:
Prom Pact:
- The Disney Original Movie Prom Pact, 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 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 that she has 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 begins to realize there's more to him than she thought and perhaps something more to life than Harvard.
- The movie stars:
- Peyton Elizabeth Lee (Doogie Kamealoha, M.D.) as Mandy
- Milo Manheim (ZOMBIES 3) as Ben
- Newcomer Blake Draper as Graham
- Monique Green (Big Shot) as LaToya
- Margaret Cho (Good on Paper) as Ms. Chen
- Arica Himmel (mixed-ish) as Zenobia
- Jason Sakaki (Devil in Ohio) as Charles
- David S. Jung as Tom
- Wendi McLendon-Covey (The Goldbergs) as Alyssa
- Anya Adams directed Prom Pact and is also an executive producer along with Jake Kasdan (Doogie Kamealoha, M.D.), Melvin Mar (Doogie Kamealoha, M.D.), Julie Bowen (Modern Family) and Rachael Field (Modern Family).
- Prom Pact premieres Thursday, March 30th at 8:00 p.m. EST/PST on Disney Channel, streaming the next day on Disney+.
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 he 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.
- The series stars:
- Jalyn Hall (“Josh ‘Filthy’ Bell”)
- Amir O’Neil (Jordan ‘JB’ Bell”)
- Sabrina Revelle (“Crystal Bell”)
- Derek Luke (“Chuck Bell”)
- Deja Monique Cruz (“Maya”)
- Trevor Bush (“Vondie”)
- Skyla I’Lece (“Alexis”)
- Daveed Diggs (“Narrator”)
- The Crossover premieres Tuesday, April 4th on Disney Channel, streaming the next day on Disney+.
- A new teaser for the series was showcased:
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