Update 4/11/19:
At today’s Investors Day event, Disney announced a documentary series titled Into the Unknown: Making Frozen 2, which will show the hard work and imagination that go into making one of the most highly-anticipated Walt Disney Animation Studios features.
Original 4/10/19:
Disney has announced a two-year deal between Disney+ and Supper Club to create premium franchise-based and original-concept nonfiction programming for the streaming service, including Marvel’s 616, an anthological documentary series exploring the intersection between Marvel’s rich legacy of stories, characters and creators and the world outside your window.
- Supper Club founders David Gelb, Brian McGinn and Jason Sterman (pictured above) entered the exclusive deal to create these new series for Disney+.
- Specializing in the development and production of original scripted and documentary content, Supper Club is dedicated to elevated storytelling across all platforms and formats.
- Marvel’s 616, which is currently just a working title, will be told through the lens of a diverse group of filmmakers.
- Each documentary will dive into the rich historical, cultural and societal context that has become inseparable from stories of the Marvel Universe.
- Marvel’s 616 will be produced by Marvel New Media in partnership with Supper Club and Executive Produced by Joe Quesada, Stephen Wacker, Shane Rahmani, John Cerilli, Harry Go and Sarah Amos for Marvel and David Gelb, Brian McGinn and Jason Sterman for Supper Club.
- Supper Club will also produce Earthkeepers, a cinematic documentary series that centers on the adventurous lives of the people changing the way we see the animal kingdom.
- The episodes focus on conservationists and the animals they’ve devoted their career to studying, diving deep into the personal trials and professional breakthroughs of protecting the planet’s most endangered species.
- The two Supper Club projects will lead a slate of nonfiction programming being created for Disney+, including:
- Be Our Chef – What if your family had the chance to create the next great Disney Parks dish? Hosted by Angela Kinsey (“The Office”), “Be Our Chef” invites families from diverse backgrounds to join a positive and playful Disney-inspired cooking competition at Walt Disney World. In each episode, two families will participate in a themed challenge based on their family traditions and the magic of Disney. The finalists will apply what they have learned to create a dish that represents their family through a Disney lens. The winner’s magical food creation will become a signature dish or treat served at Walt Disney World.
- Cinema Relics: Iconic Art of the Movies (working title) – An anthology series that takes a unique look at beloved films through the props and costumes (now modern ‘artifacts’) that made them unique – from the craftspeople who created them, the actors who interacted with them, and the collectors / archives who own and cherish them.
- Encore! – Executive producer Kristen Bell brings together former castmates of a high school musical, tasking them with re-creating their original performance in a high school reunion like no other. Emotions run high as the former students face faded friendships, former flames, self-doubt, and killer choreography. Through it all, these unlikely groups of friends—with the help of Broadway’s best—just might pull off a standing-ovation-worthy performance of beloved musicals like “The Sound of Music,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Annie,” and more.
- Marvel’s Hero Project – Marvel’s Hero Project reveals the remarkable, positive change several young heroes are making in their own communities. These inspiring kids have dedicated their lives to selfless acts of bravery and kindness, and now, Marvel celebrates them as the true Super Heroes they are.
- (Re)Connect – In (Re)Connect, each episode features one family with a modern day, relatable issue that’s driving a wedge between them. Issues range from workaholic parents, overly competitive siblings, technology addiction, or a family secret that has recently been revealed. All of these families have reached a breaking point, and it’s time for them to disconnect from their busy lives, devices and outside influences in order to address their issues head-on. With the help of a specialized expert, each family will go on a unique journey that organically ties to the issues they are facing in order to confront the family’s dilemma head-on. Can they finally come together as a family to overcome their obstacles … and reconnect?
- Rogue Trip – A travel guide to all the places the average tourist is least likely to venture – the roguish, often misunderstood and frequently overlooked corners of the world whose hidden corners surprise, amaze and inspire. This is the family vacation most of us are unlikely to take – but we do so vicariously with the intrepid Bob Woodruff and his 27-year old doppelgänger son, Mack.
- Shop Class (working title) – A new competition series, “Shop Class” features teams of inventive students who are tasked with designing, building, and testing new contraptions. In each episode, a panel of experts will rate their work based on engineering, design, and the final test of the build. In the last episode, one team will be named Shop Class Champs.
- Untitled Walt Disney Imagineering Documentary Series – The documentary series chronicles the 65+ year history of Walt Disney Imagineering with parallel storylines of the people, the craft, and the business. Created by Academy Award and Emmy nominated director and producer Leslie Iwerks, the series includes exclusive interviews and never-before-seen footage from Disney’s parks around the world.
- Disney+ is slated to launch in late 2019.
What they’re saying:
- Agnes Chu, senior vice president, Content, Disney+: “We are thrilled Jason, David and Brian will bring their distinct perspectives and genuine narrative vision exclusively to Disney. As some of the world’s greatest nonfiction storytellers, Supper Club will be a crucial, creative force for Disney+ as we build a platform for compelling, personal, and authentic programming.”
- Jason Sterman, partner, Supper Club: “The storytelling legacy of The Walt Disney Company had a formative and lasting impact on us growing up, and we are honored to be welcomed into this exciting new chapter of such a storied studio. To become a part of the Disney family is any filmmaker’s dream, and David, Brian and I are looking forward to working alongside Ricky, Agnes, Dan and the entire Disney+ team to bring audiences dynamic new nonfiction stories from all of Disney’s legendary brands.”