On Friday, just days before the August 23 premiere of Ahsoka, Disney+ revealed that episodes will stream on Tuesdays at 6 p.m. PT / 9 p.m. ET instead of Wednesdays at midnight PT / 3 a.m. ET. Previously, it was standard practice for new episodes of Disney+ original series to stream at midnight on Wednesday on the West Coast. Unlike with Obi-Wan Kenobi or The Mandalorian, you won’t have to stay up past your bedtime to watch Ahsoka.
As thrilled as I am about this change, I’m honestly shocked that it took Disney this long to adjust the release timing. Why wouldn’t Disney and Lucasfilm want thousands of fans to log on to their streaming service as soon as a new episode drops? Now, you and your friends can watch the episode simultaneously and discuss it as soon as you finish.
Personally, I thought Obi-Wan Kenobi started far too slow but picked up significantly in the back half. My tune might have changed if I had been watching the show every week at a set time and knew my friends would be ready to talk about it right away.
Instead, my girlfriend and I waited until Wednesday nights to watch the latest episodes after we both spent the entire day dodging spoilers on social media. And if we were busy on Wednesday night, what did it matter? No one else was sticking to any real schedule, so the show was never able to generate the kind of water cooler conversation HBO shows often do.
I will be baffled and frustrated if Disney+ doesn’t stick to this new schedule. As lauded as Andor was by critics, I think it would have been far more popular with Disney+ subscribers if every new episode didn’t pop up in the middle of the night. Hopefully, this is a successful experiment so we don’t have to pick between sleeping and streaming in the future.
Ahsoka episodes 1 and 2 premiere at 6 p.m. PT / 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday, August 22.
