The best Disney+ shows and best Hulu shows have been on showcase at the glitzy Disney Upfront 2025.
Among the highlights were a dance number from the Manning brothers and Jimmy Kimmel’s annual roast, along with appearances from the likes of Emma Stone and Ryan Reynolds.
Even Disney CEO Bob Iger took to the stage after last year’s debut, being introduced by a pair of Super Bowl winners in Patrick Mahomes and Saquon Barkley. Cast members from The Bear season 4, Alien: Earth and Daredevil: Born Again season 2 delivered scoops on their respective shows and there was plenty of news to get stuck into throughout the event.
Of all the announcements though, a handful stood out, so read on for the seven announcements in particular that pique my interest – we’ve got everything from Marvel mania to live sports streaming.
1. Wonder Man and MCU shows
There was plenty of news for fans of Marvel’s TV offering to be excited about. Perhaps most exciting was the news that Krysten Ritter’s Jessica Jones is set to return after a lengthy absence, making her debut in the MCU proper in Daredevil: Born Again season 2.
The other big story was the announcement that the upcoming Wonder Man mini-series, co-produced by Onyx Collective, will comprise eight half hour episodes when it lands in December of this year. Set to be a meta exploration of Hollywood, the show will star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Simon Williams/Wonder Man, a character that James Gunn already attempted to add to the MCU with Nathan Fillion in the role, though those scenes were ultimately cut from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
It seems that 2025 is set to be somewhat of a transitional year for Marvel Television, with the current backlog of announced shows being pushed out, before settling in to a pattern of one to two shows a year going forward. There’s also set to be less synergy between the TV and cinematic offerings in the future, with the shows still set in the same universe, but pitched as stand-alone stories.
2. Trailers for The Bear season 4 and Alien: Earth
Attendees were shown new trailers for The Bear season 4 and Alien: Earth, with both shows seeing their release dates confirmed.
When we last saw Carmy (Jeremy Allen White), he had just got word that the dreaded review he’d been waiting for had gone live, and as we watched the chef read the verdict on his phone, the show dropped an almighty cliffhanger on us. But it won’t be long until we find out whether the critics' words were good, bad or indifferent, with the series set to return on June 26.
Alien: Earth, meanwhile, is set to invade on August 13. Created by Noah Hawley, the latest installment in the Xenemorph saga sees a corporate war over cyborg technology one-hundred years in the future interrupted when a research ship full of hostile alien life forms crash lands on Earth. Starring Timothy Olyphant, Alex Lawther and Adrian Edmondson, the show is set to bring all manner of extraterrestrial chaos right back home.
3. Ryan Murphy is back
Ryan Murphy continues to be one of the busiest showrunners in Hollywood with two new series showcased at the Disney Upfront.
All’s Fair, which you can watch the trailer for above, features an all-star cast in what’s set to be a gripping legal drama. Murphy regular Sarah Paulson features, alongside recent American Horror Story star Kim Kardashian, Naiomi Watts and Glenn Close.
The Beauty, meanwhile, is an adaptation of the graphic novel of the same name and is set to star Evan Peters and Ashton Kutcher in a tale of an STD that makes those affected beautiful, but eventually kills its host. Suspected of being a government plot, the story follows two detectives trying to uncover the truth in a sea of corruption and cover ups.
4. Glen Powell's Chad Powers premiere date
Glen Powell both created and stars in Chad Powers, an upcoming comedy series based on an idea from Eli Manning.
Powell plays Russ Holliday, a disgraced college quarterback who happens upon an idea to disguise himself as Chad Powers and join a struggling southern football team to revive his career.
Sounding like an NFL take on Ted Lasso with a bit of Adam Sandler wackiness thrown in, and with one of Hollywood’s biggest rising stars in the lead role, Chad Powers could prove a smash hit when it arrives on September 30.
5. Chris O'Donnell stars in 911: Nashville teaser
We’ve got our first glimpse of new spin-off 911: Nashville. Despite the recent cancellation of 911: Lone Star, the universe continues to expand, with executive producer Ryan Murphy (again) delivering a new installment following the lives of emergency responders in the titular city.
Starring Chris O’Donnell as firefighter and former rodeo rider Don Shrape, the show revolves around the Nashville firehouse he leads with his son. Details are thin on the ground at the moment, but with LeAnn Rimes also in the cast, the show is definitely hitting that Music City vibe.
6. High Potential among most streamed Hulu shows
Disney also discussed some of the most streamed Hulu shows, with High Potential breaking records on the platform.
Originally airing on ABC, High Potential stars Katlin Olson as Morgan, a police station cleaning lady who gets brought on board as a consultant when her gifted intellect sees her solving cases out of hours.
Available to stream on Hulu after broadcast, the show proved a smash hit, gaining a huge following and racking up over 13 million streaming viewers for its finale, becoming ABC’s best drama episode ever on the streamer.
7. ESPN launches new streaming service
Finally, the most exciting piece of news for sports fans was the announcement that ESPN will be launching a new streaming service in latter half of this year.
The service – not be confused with ESPN+, which costs $11.99 per month, and will be rebranded as ESPN Select – will have a completely new redesigned app to house all of the broadcaster's live content.
The big change comes with the ‘Unlimited’ plan, which will cost $29.99 per month and deliver all things ESPN, including ESPN 2 and ESPN 3 alongside more niche offerings and a new slate of college sports-focused networks.
With executives promising an immersive new experience, it’s game on for live sports streaming.
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