Disney+, if you didn’t know, isn’t just for kids. With its ownership of the Lucasfilm brand and the Marvel titles, the streaming service offers plenty of grown-up content in its bid to compete with Netflix and Amazon—and we’re not just talking movies. Since launching the service, Disney has used the name recognition of Star Wars and Marvel to launch scores of TV shows, from The Mandalorian to Loki. In the list below, we’ve collected the ones we think are the best to watch, from those franchises and beyond.
Also: Because Disney+ merged its content with Hulu in 2024, most of the same shows you might like on Hulu (see our list of picks here) are also available to stream on Disney+.
Want more? Head to our best movies on Disney+ list if you’re looking for movies, and our guides on the best shows on Netflix and best shows on Apple TV+ to see what Disney’s rivals have to offer. Don’t like our picks, or want to suggest your own? Head to the comments below and share your thoughts.
If you buy something using links in our stories, we may earn a commission. This helps support our journalism. Learn more.
Fire and Water: Making The Avatar Films
For nearly 30 years, James Cameron has dominated the top of the Highest-Grossing Movies of All-Time charts—first with Titanic (1997), which still holds the No. 4 position, then with Avatar (2009) and Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), which hold the No. 1 and No. 3 spots, respectively. Will this December’s Avatar: Fire and Ash, the third film in the franchise, be yet another box office behemoth? While we wait to learn the answer, Disney+ is taking a deep dive (no pun intended) into the movie series in this two-part docuseries. While the technology behind the films has always been a huge part of their story, from the 3D camera system Cameron and his team developed to the strides made in the art of performance capture, the actors themselves are a major focus of this behind-the-scenes series. Cameron gathers up his key contributors, including stars Zoe Saldaña, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, and Kate Winslet (who joined in the second film) to discuss how—even with all that groundbreaking technology—it’s the actors themselves who make Pandora real. Think of it as an amuse-bouche ahead of Fire and Ash, which arrives in theaters on December 19.
Marvel Zombies
If Marvel Zombies gives you big The Walking Dead vibes, there’s a good reason for that: It’s based on a comic book series that was cocreated by Robert Kirkman, who cocreated The Walking Dead comics. Basically, it imagines a totally new MCU timeline in which a virus has turned most of the world’s population—including the Avengers—into zombies. Meanwhile, a determined group of survivors are doing their best to find a cure—and not get bitten. Some of Marvel’s biggest stars have come along for the ride to give voice to their characters, including Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova, David Harbour’s Red Guardian, Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda Maximoff, Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man, Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie, and Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop.
Limitless
Longevity is having a moment, and even onscreen gods like Chris Hemsworth are feeling the pressure to do whatever they can to live the longest, healthiest life possible. In this National Geographic series, which—oddly enough—was cocreated by Darren Aronofsky, the Thor star works with a range of scientists, doctors, and adventurers to push his body to the limit in order to discover its full potential. That he faces it all with his trademark sense of humor, and against the backdrop of some truly breathtaking locations around the world, makes it all the more entertaining and inspiring.
... continue reading