Series Premiere of ‘The Mandalorian’ to Air on Disney Networks Ahead of Season 3 Debut
This is the way… to even more exposure for one of Disney+’s most-beloved shows. Disney has announced that it will send the first ever episode of “The Mandalorian” to linear networks ABC, Freeform, and FX on Friday, Feb. 24. Season 1, episode 1 of the Star Wars series — appropriately titled “Chapter 1: The Mandalorian” — will be available on platforms other than Disney+ for the first time.
Disney is hoping that by making the first episode of the series available on linear networks, it will draw even more subscribers in to catch the show’s Season 3 premiere when it hits Disney+ on March 1.
“The Mandalorian” stars Pedro Pascal (often helmeted) as the Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin living in the days immediately following the Empire’s fall. Djarin accepts a mysterious but profitable bounty, but his life is changed forever when that bounty turns out to be the bewildering but powerful infant Grogu (also known as Baby Yoda to delighted viewers). Together, Grogu and Djarin travel the galaxy, hunting down bounties, and leading a solitary life.
The series premiere of the show will air on ABC, Freeform, and FX at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, Feb. 24. The entire series is available to stream on-demand on Disney+ now, giving new fans plenty of time to sign up for the service and binge the first two series before the new episode drops.
This is not the first streaming property that Disney has sent to linear networks in an attempt to raise its profile. Its most recent Star Wars live-action series “Andor” saw its first two episodes land on the same three Disney-owned linear networks in November of 2022. Similarly, the first two episodes of the Tim Allen-helmed “The Santa Clauses” were also sent to those channels to help boost its buzz ahead of its streaming premiere.
Still, there can be no denying that “The Mandalorian” holds a special place in the hearts of Disney+ executives. The show was the first live-action Star Wars TV series ever created, and it was the crown jewel of Disney+ programming when the service first launched in 2019. “The Mandalorian” helped the service rack up 10 million paid subscribers in its first day on the market, and three years later Disney+ stands at well over 160 million global users.
If you’ve been on the fence about a Disney+ subscription, and the new $7.99 per month ad-supported tier wasn’t enough to convince you, you should make sure to check out the series premiere episode of “The Mandalorian” on ABC, Freeform, or FX on Feb. 24. Disney+ is the only other place to watch the series, as well as every other show and movie set in a galaxy far, far away.
Disney+
Disney+ is a video streaming service with over 13,000 series and films from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, The Muppets, and more. It is available in 61 countries and 21 languages. It is notable for its popular original series like “The Mandalorian,” “Ms. Marvel,” “Loki,” “Obi-Wan Kenobi,” and “Andor.”