Star Wars: Ahsoka is about to make a major change to the series’ release strategy, which should be welcome by fans, as the series is now set to premiere on Disney+ on Tuesday, August 22nd at 9 p.m. ET. Additionally, all subsequent episodes of the series are set to premiere on Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET. Previously, both Star Wars and Marvel Cinematic Universe TV shows would debut on the service at 3 a.m. ET, when many American audiences were asleep. This way, fans will get to check out the latest installment of the series in the evening and likely be able to avoid spoilers from those fans who stayed up late to watch the episodes.
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“Thank you to all the fans who celebrated with us at our Ahsoka fan events around the world last night!” the official Ahsoka account shared on Twitter. “We’re excited to announce that new episodes of Ahsoka will now launch Tuesdays at 6 p.m. PT, starting with our two-episode premiere on August 22nd, only on Disney+.”
Disney+ isn’t the only service to drop their shows at 3 a.m. ET, as Netflix is also known to unleash their shows in the early-morning hours, regardless of how passionate of a fan base a series might have. Even the beloved Stranger Things has frequently been dropping on the service at 3 a.m. ET, challenging viewers to skip out on sleep to get all the latest updates on the narrative.
With a number of Disney+ properties having worldwide appeal, these 3 a.m. release dates were typically more favorable to international audiences, who would get to see these series when they premiered in the mornings or afternoons of their release dates. While it’s currently unknown if this release strategy will become the standard, it definitely seems like an opportunity to maximize viewership for a series and, if Ahsoka is a hit with this release strategy, it could see future projects embrace a similar model.
This isn’t the only experiment Disney has been exploring with releasing their series, as they’ve also seen some of their series air on linear networks, such as ABC and Freeform, while other series have even had limited runs on Hulu. The Walt Disney Company’s ownership of all of these brands understandably offers various cross-promotional opportunities to introduce fresh audiences to the content they offer.
Star Wars: Ahsoka premieres on Disney+ on August 22nd at 9 p.m. ET.
Fan-favorite Star Wars hero Ahsoka Tano returns in the brand new series on Disney+. Rosario Dawson stars in Star Wars: Ahsoka, premiering on August 22nd on the streamer. The series picks up after the events of The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett, in which we saw the former Jedi searching for Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) and helping Luke Skywalker train Grogu. Ahsoka will be joined on her new mission alongside longtime allies Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) and Hera Syndulla (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) as they attempt to track down Thrawn, who was last seen disappearing to the far reaches of space after a confrontation with Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi). Star Wars: Ahsoka is the latest live-action series from Lucasfilm’s creative duo of Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni.
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