Why Disney+ Is Leaning Harder on Millennial Nostalgia Than Ever

In the early 2000s, an average Disney Channel viewer — millennial kids, at the time — could come home from school and catch new episodes of “Hannah Montana,” “That’s So Raven,” “The Proud Family,” “Wizards of Waverly Place” and more. That night, they might see “The Cheetah Girls,” “Camp Rock” or “High School Musical” as the 8 p.m. movie.

In 2026, an average Disney+ viewer can not only revisit all of those, but they can also check out the “Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special” and new episodes of “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place.” There are also complete, years-long runs of “Raven’s Home,” “The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder,” and “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.” If it’s movie night, they can stream “Camp Rock 3,” and, soon, “The Cheetah Girls: Next Gen.“

It all feels very familiar, and it has sparked confusion from some millennials over social media: we’re still doing this? They aren’t the target demo of Disney series anymore, they know that. And yet, it’s the titles they grew up with that the streamer is still leaning in on, at a time when most others are catering more to Gen Z and Gen Alpha.

Banking on nostalgia is nothing new to Hollywood, with varying degrees of success depending on the target generation. Studios have run the age gamut trying to find what works. So why has Disney+ planted its feet on millennial nostalgia? (After all, “Raven’s Home” premiered almost a decade ago now). According to executives and creatives behind several of these projects, as well as academics in the field, it’s millennials’ functionality as a bridge between past and future. Marketing to this demographic — which ranges in age from 30 to 45 — offers an easy marketing hook for parents of preteens and kids, luring them with a familiar property in hopes they will show it to their kids, thus activating a new audience.

“Nostalgia can be a powerful starting point because fans already have a deep connection to these stories, which can help drive immediate awareness and excitement,” Ayo Davis, Disney Kids & Family president, told TheWrap.

The OGs

In 2026, the audience Disney+ actually wants to “super serve” is indeed Gen Alpha. But, by leaning in on millennial nostalgia, the streamer is grabbing both demographics at once.

“Many of these longtime fans are now introducing them to their own kids, extending that connection across generations,” Davis explained. “The key is building on that love in a way that feels fresh, relevant and compelling for today’s viewers.”

To choose which projects earn a reboot today, Disney looks at its various libraries, and notes which ones are earning the most rewatches. “Camp Rock” and “Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam” remain among the Top 10 Disney Channel Original Movies of all time, and thus “Camp Rock 3” is now streaming.

Of course, there’s a pressure to getting it right. Millennials are fiercely protective of the stories they love, which “Camp Rock 3” writer Eydie Faye recognized immediately. Having also written on Netflix’s “Fuller House,” a sequel series to beloved ’80s sitcom “Full House,” she told TheWrap that approaching millennial nostalgia was far more “daunting.”

“I’d be lying if I said it was the same level of pressure,” she said. “We definitely leveled up for ‘Camp Rock.’”

In many cases, it’s the stars of the original projects who are bringing the ideas to Disney themselves. Such was the case for the “Hannah Montana” anniversary special earlier this year.

“[Miley Cyrus] came to us with that idea,” Charlie Andrews, EVP, Live Action, Disney Kids & Family told TheWrap. “She willed it to happen, and she saw that happening culturally, that there was a need to revisit Hannah through Miley’s memories. And the vision for that really came from her, and then it was built that way.”

It worked. That anniversary special pulled 6.3 million views in three days of streaming, which is about half of what a new teen-focused Netflix series might debut to but an impressive number for a kid-focused property like “Hannah Montana.” And Cyrus is far from the only example of a millennial Disney star using their influence to lead the way on an updated version of their property.

“Wizards of Waverly Place” stars Selena Gomez and David Henrie were executive producers on the new series “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place”; Raven-Symoné was an executive producer on “Raven’s Home”; and Demi Lovato and the Jonas Brothers are executive producers on “Camp Rock 3.”

Their involvement is key in sparking the interest of millennials, but their own primary focus is passing the baton.

“When we talk to Demi and the Jonas Brothers, and Brandy [Norwood, who returned as Cinderella in the ‘Descendants’ franchise], and Miley, and Selena … they all talk about Gen Alpha, and how they want to do for Gen Alpha what was done for them when they starred in these,” Andrews said.

Indeed, David Henrie told TheWrap back in 2024, when “Wizards Beyond Waverly Place” first premiered, that “preserving the spirit of the original show was really important” but the goal was to give the show to the next generation of wizards.

“We always wanted this to be something in the spirit of the original, so for a similar demographic, but a co-viewing experience with a parent or with a fan of the original show,” Henrie explained.

The halo effect

There’s also a distinct halo effect that comes from these projects. Once millennials and their kids finish watching the new versions, they often end up watching the originals too.

Following the premiere of the “Hannah Montana 20th Anniversary Special,” Disney+ saw a nearly 1,000% increase in viewing of the “Hannah Montana” catalog during premiere week.

When the “Malcolm in the Middle” revival, “Malcolm in the Middle: Life’s Still Unfair,” hit Hulu in April, the original series over on Disney+ got a 107% increase during launch week.

Following the premiere of “Camp Rock 3” on Aug. 13, the original “Camp Rock” promptly found its way back into the Trending Searches” category on Disney+.

Not only is the streamer doubling its audience, but that doubled crowd is then sticking around longer.

The perfect nostalgia target

At the end of the day, millennials also remain prime targets for nostalgia, if it’s done well and hits the right timeframe. Disney itself has experimented to find what hits.

Where “The Santa Clauses,” “The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers” and “Doogie Kameāloha, M.D.”, Disney+’s reboot of 1989’s “Doogie Howser,” only got two seasons, “The Proud Family” revival “The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder” and “High School Musical” spinoff “High School Musical: The Musical: The Series” — shows that skew a bit younger than the shorter-lived reboots — lasted for four seasons each.

Millennials may not be the Disney+ target demo anymore, but pop culture historians can certainly see why this particular brand of nostalgia seems to be pulling them in.

For one thing, reboots aren’t exactly unfamiliar territory, as author and pop culture historian Gabrielle Moss points out.

“We’re also the first generation who came of age surrounded by reboots,” she said. “‘The Addams Family,’ ‘The Brady Bunch,’ ‘The Beverly Hillbillies,’ ‘Mission: Impossible,’ ‘The Nutty Professor,’ ‘Starsky and Hutch’ — all of these older properties were rebooted in our youths, so we don’t find reboots strange or alienating the way an older audience might.”

Lauren West-Rosenthal, a pop culture writer and expert who specializes in the Y2K era, and recently worked as a writer/story producer on the Disney+ Hulu Throwbacks podcast, points to having young stars and human characters to connect to as a major piece of the puzzle.

“The ’80s and ’90s relied heavily on toy-driven IP nostalgia (He-Man, GI Joe, Gem) that felt like a commercial,” she said. “But ‘Cheetah Girls,’ ‘Lizzie McGuire,’ ‘Hannah Montana,’ ‘HSM,’ ‘Camp Rock,’ etc. were built around real emotions, real coming-of-age stories, characters you could relate to and see yourself in. Not to mention that stars such as Miley Cyrus, Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan embrace their Disney roots, are proud of the community they built with fans — and those fans truly feel like we grew up with them.”

For Faye, it’s the whole “growing up” thing that seems to be the biggest force driving millennials in, as “they’re kind of looking forward and backwards at the same time.”

“Think about it. 18 years ago, when ‘Camp Rock’ came out, social media was in a different place. I mean, if we remember where we all were, take away the cell phone usage, and the smartphones, and the emails, and the Instagram, and the TikToks, and the comments, and the Twitter, it can be a little daunting and heavy and it was just a simpler time. And how wonderful to be able to remember not just the movie, but what you felt like when you were watching the movie, and what a simpler, easier time that was.”

No matter the reason, it’s working for Disney+. As a result, Andrews teased, viewers shouldn’t be surprised to see more in the future.

“We are constantly ideating around what are the right franchises to bring back to life in really fresh and relevant ways, and we have some coming down the pipe that I am incredibly excited about,” he said.

2022 brought the long-awaited “Hocus Pocus 2” as a direct-to-Disney+ movie, and a third installment in the millennial-beloved witchy franchise is well in the works.

More to come indeed.