Entertainment
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.
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Hey Creatorverse readers,
Daddy is cleaning house. On Sunday, word got out that “Call Her Daddy” host and Unwell co-founder Alex Cooper left UTA back in July, the creator’s home for the past six years.
Any time a major client leaves an agency, it’s big news, but this latest chapter in the “Call Her Daddy” and Unwell saga is especially complicated. News of Cooper’s departure emerged after Unwell hit a $500 million valuation thanks to an investment from WTSL, the firm from WME co-founder Patrick Whitesell. Cooper’s departure also comes while Unwell is in the midst of a series of toxic workplace allegations and Cooper is publicly feuding with fellow creator and former Unwell talent Alix Earle. It’s a lot, especially since Cooper and Earle seem hellbent on making snarky comments rather than explaining their beef.
So today I’m running the uninitiated through what we know, what we suspect and what could happen next.
It all goes back to 2018 when Cooper started “Call Her Daddy” alongside co-host Sofia Franklyn. The original iteration of the podcast was owned and distributed by Barstool Sports, which is how owner Dave Portnoy is connected to this story. Following a disagreement about compensation and IP rights (Cooper reportedly wanted to take Barstool’s deal of $500,000 for one year before walking away with the “Call Her Daddy” IP; Franklyn thought that was too low), Franklyn left the podcast. Cooper then started hosting the podcast alone in 2020.
Portnoy brought the Barstool era of “Call Her Daddy” back into public light earlier this month after his memoir claimed Cooper and Franklyn planned to get out of their contract by claiming they experienced sexual harassment. Cooper pushed back on that allegation during a CNBC interview, saying, “Dave’s got his version, I’ve got my version, and we’re all good.”
As “Call Her Daddy” grew, Cooper set her sights on building a media empire for young women, which led to the creation of Unwell Network in 2023. Enter rising star Alix Earle. That year, Earle signed with Unwell for her first podcast, “Hot Mess.” That one-two punch of buzzy podcasts helped Unwell sign a $125 million deal with Sirius XM in 2024.
But roughly a year after that deal was signed, Earle walked away from Unwell with the IP rights to “Hot Mess.” This is where things get murky, as neither Cooper nor Earle have explicitly explained their fallout even though Earle isn’t under an NDA. It’s widely believed — and Portnoy has speculated — that their divide came down to contract disputes. Earle has since said that the feud is “exaggerated,” and Cooper called out Earle for creating “fake drama.” Both Portnoy and Earle are UTA clients.
That brings us to this summer, which started with a Vanity Fair report accusing Unwell of cultivating a hostile work environment. Cooper’s husband as well as Unwell co-founder and co-CEO Matt Kaplan was called out in particular for calling employees “stupid” and threatening to ruin their careers. About two months after the Vanity Fair article, WTSL’s investment launched Unwell to its half a billion dollar valuation.
Cooper is now meeting with several agencies as she determines her next move.
It seems as though Unwell’s next chapter is going to involve a lot more production and more investments into the company’s growing creative agency. In addition to Netflix’s “Let’s Marry Harry,” Cooper is producing adaptations for “Deep End” and “Icebreaker” for the streamer and will be releasing “Unwell Winter Games” later this year. As for the creative agency side, that division of Unwell is on track to rival the company’s podcasting business by the end of 2027 and counts Google among its clients. But Cooper isn’t safe from headlines just yet. Franklyn’s memoir “Daddy Issues” is slated for a November release, and she’s made it known that she will be addressing her fallout with Cooper.
Now onto the rest.
Kayla Cobb
Senior Reporter
kayla.cobb@thewrap.com
What’s New
Alix Earle hints at Cooper feud again in “Earle Meets World” trailer
Whoops — we’re not out of the Cooper/Earle woods just yet. Netflix released a new trailer for Earle’s reality show “Earle Meets World” today, which features the creator throwing some serious shade at Cooper. Naturally, there are no specifics.
“She’s trying to paint it as I’m just like this crazy lunatic who is like hating her for no reason. There’s a reason,” Earle says. Maybe we’ll finally learn that reason when the show premieres on Sept. 4.
Digital Brand Architects acquires V1sion Ventures, and Acast acquires podcast network Backyard Ventures
Two big deals in the creator universe this week. DBA acquired the creator management firm V1sion Ventures, which represents several notable creator clients like Keith Lee (17.4 million TikTok followers), Leigh Soriano (1 million Instagram followers) and Joy Burnett (731,000 TikTok followers). V1sion Ventures founder and CEO Alina Benun will join DBA’s network and work alongside senior talent managers Veronica Avalos and Alina’s brother Jake Benun as well as talent manager Caroline Tollar and team members Arianna Robles and Tatum Crampton.
Podcasting hosting company Acast acquired the podcasting network Backyard Ventures in a deal reportedly worth $20 million. Backyard Ventures is home to about 200 creators and includes Ryan Holiday (1.2 million Instagram followers) and SB Mowing (3.4 million YouTube subscribers) as part of its lineup.
The Motion Picture Association Agrees to TikTok AI guardrails
The Motion Picture Association and ByteDance — the company originally behind TikTok — reached an agreement on Monday about how intellectual property from studios will be used in AI-generated content. Specific guardrails outlined in this agreement have not been shared, but the agreement applies to generative AI use on TikTok, the TikTok joint venture in the U.S., CapCut and Dreamina.
Platform Updates
YouTube will start counting views as soon as a video starts
Previously, YouTube only counted a view on a longform video if someone actively clicked on the video and continued to watch after 30 seconds. That’s changing starting Aug. 24, which is whenYouTube will start counting autoplay videos as views and removing the 30 second threshold. Counting autoplays as views is how Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and even YouTube Shorts count views.
It’s a bit uncertain how this will play out. On one hand, every YouTuber is about to get a massive viewership spike. That’s probably going to help cushion the panic around YouTube’s new monetization standards, which will soon require creators to have at least 8,000 qualified watch hours over the past year. But the move will also likely devalue views, which means engagement and retention are probably going to become the hot YouTube metric.
Twitch auto-enrolls streamers to have their content scraped by Amazon AI
Last week, every Twitch streamer was automatically enrolled into a new feature that’s being used to train Amazon’s generative AI program. Surprise: Creators aren’t happyabout it. Even Twitch’s chief product officer admitted the program is opt out because “nobody would opt in.”
Speaking of Twitch, Spotify brought the podcast “Ringer Wise Guys” to the livestreaming platform. The music streaming service also introduced a badge for AI-generated artists earlier this month after user backlash. Spotify will exclude AI artists from algorithmic or editorial recommendations on the app.
Meta’s $1.4 trillion child safety case started yesterday
At long last, the biggest child safety trial when it comes to social media is underway. The trial, which is taking place in Oakland, pits Meta Platforms against several states that accuse the company behind Instagram, Facebook and Whatsapp of designing its apps to be addictive to young users. Legal experts have estimated that the penalties for this case could be as high as $1.4 trillion, and the case is being compared to the landmark trials in the 1990s against cigarette companies. No matter how this one shakes out, it’s going to have a massive impact on social media and the creator economy as we know it.
Movers and Shakers
Jacksepticeye and Alanah Pearce partner on independent horror movie “Godmother”
Two more creators are trying their hand at horror movies. Sean McLoughlin, aka Jacksepticeye (31.2 million YouTube subscribers) and Alanah Pearce (684,000 YouTube subscribers) explained to me why they went the independent financing route for the upcoming movie “Godmother,” which is directed by John Veron and written by Veron and Pearce.
“When we initially tried to get funding for Godmother, we had numerous conversations with more traditional studios and financiers. Most of them required us to attach A-list actors in order to mitigate financial risk — one company even specified that we cast J.K. Simmons,” Pearce told me. “We could have pursued those options further, but in doing so, we would not have made ‘Godmother.’ We would have made some studio-mandated cash grab Frankenstein version of ‘Godmother.’ What’s the point?”
McLoughlin, who serves as an executive producer on this project, also told me he’s open to directing his own horror movie. After 10 years in the making, here’s how the upcoming movie came about.
The Design Network renews its multi-year agreement with Hulu
The Design Network, the hub for DIY, home and lifestyle creators, renewed its content agreement with Hulu on Friday. The brand is behind shows like Rachel Taylor and Tyler Banken’s “Backyarding,” Drew Lachey’s “Date My House” and Jillian Rose Reed’s “Alt House.”
“Backrooms” director Kane Parsons is back on YouTube
You can bring the YouTuber to theaters, but you can’t break his posting streak. After setting a box office record for A24 with “Backrooms,” director Kane Parsons posted a new Backrooms video yesterday. Take that, every Hollywood bozo who thought that the YouTube thing was just a stepping stone.
Who to Watch
Reckless Ben
As mainstream media becomes less stable, creators have taken over a lot of the boots-on-the-ground work that used to be reserved for journalists. And no one is doing that work quite like Ben Schneider, aka Reckless Ben (1.8 million YouTube subscribers). As part of his latest stunt, Schneider enrolled at Provo Canyon School, the Utah youth treatment facility where Paris Hilton alleged she was abused. Even though he’s a 30-year-old man, the facility accepted Schneider as a 17-year-old, and when he fled the facility after two days, Provo Canyon didn’t help Schneider’s “father” look for his missing son.
Of course, since Reckless Ben is an entertainment channel rather than a true journalistic institution, all of this should be taken with a grain of salt. But so far Schneider’s investigation has led to the closing of Provo Canyon School, and the institution is evaluating legal action against him.
Bonus Content
Want more? Explore WrapPRO now.
This report provides a weekly deep dive into the creator economy. It highlights key trends, political and technological developments, data points and industry leaders all with the goal of making you smarter about this constantly evolving space.
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What are the entertainment offerings that consumers are most excited about? It’s a question that marketers, distributors, advertisers and media publications are always asking.
ScreenShare, a data partnership between Screen Engine/ASI and TheWrap, tracks the Top 10 most-mentioned entertainment options every week and whether each has gained or lost momentum compared to the prior week. The chart lives on the Data & Analysis page of the WrapPRO Members Hub.
For the week of Aug. 8–14, “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” remained the leader in entertainment mentions at 11.2%, heading into its third weekend of release. “NFL Football” jumped to second at 5.6%, as preseason Week 1 kicked off on Aug. 13 across all 32 teams. “Grand Theft Auto VI” held third at 4.2%, continuing to build ahead of Rockstar and Netflix’s “Extended Look” special premiering Aug. 27, roughly three months before the game’s Nov. 19 launch.
“The Odyssey” slid to 3.8% as Christopher Nolan’s film moved into its fourth week of release. HBO’s “House of the Dragon” dipped slightly to 2.6% following its Season 3 finale, which aired Aug. 9, with the show’s fourth and final season still to come. Prime Video’s “Reacher” entered the Top 10 at 1.9% as the first three episodes of Season 4 premiered Aug. 12.
“Obsession” rose to 1.7% during its SVOD run on Peacock, while “Avengers: Doomsday” eased to 1.7% even as Marvel unveiled new footage and a poster at D23 on Aug. 14 ahead of the film’s December 18 release. Apple TV’s “Ted Lasso” climbed to 1.5% following its Aug. 5 Season 4 premiere. “Special Ops: Lioness” closed out the Top 10 at 1.4%, continuing its weekly episodic release following its Aug. 2 Season 3 premiere on Paramount+.
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Cecily Strong called on SAG-AFTRA and President Sean Astin to address members’ concerns over the union’s new insurance polices around mental health, decrying in an Instagram post Wednesday that changes made earlier this year have led to “super high bills that are no longer being covered in the same way.”
“Mental health services are HUGELY important in our industry,” the “Saturday Night Live” and “Schmigadoon!” alum said. “Many of us have been with our amazing, invaluable, out of network therapists for years and found out recently that in January of this year the ‘allowed amount’ for these services dropped dramatically leaving many of us with super high bills that are no longer being covered in the same way.”
In January, SAG-AFTRA changed from Carelon Behavioral Health to Anthem for the union health plan’s behavioral health provider network, which unified mental health and medical healthcare under one umbrella and advertised at the time a larger choice of behavioral health providers.
According to the SAG-AFTRA website‘s October 2025 breakdown of the change, members receiving mental health care in-network at the end of 2025 who would fall out-of-network with continued care with the same provider under the new plan could “qualify for a Transition of Care period of up to 90 days at in-network benefit levels.”
Still, the change apparently caught many members by surprise and led to higher bills and less reimbursement for their 2026 mental health care.
“Many of us didn’t know this change would be happening and so didn’t budget for our therapy or mental health services becoming out of pocket expenses, equaling hundreds to thousands of dollars a month,” Strong continued. “I know my privilege, for sure, but I also know I’m not alone here.”
Strong’s Instagram post featured a screenshot of a letter from the union explaining the move from Carelon to Anthem and why impacted members’ medical bills may look different than expected. Strong clarified that the letter wasn’t hers and she’s “still waiting on my letter to explain my drastically smaller reimbursement amounts from therapy which has been invaluable to my life, especially postpartum.”
“Please please please fix this for us. I know health insurance is a damn cruel battle in this country and this is one tiny part of it, but I believe in our union and our union’s dedication to protecting actors.”
Read the full post below:
“Please make this right and protect our mental health services,” the actress’ post concluded. “A good therapist/doctor/social worker can be life changing and more importantly — life-saving.”
Strong has become a vocal mental health advocate in recent years while candidly sharing her own experience with depression, anxiety and grief, notably with her 2021 memoir “This Will All Be Over Soon.”
Representatives for SAG-AFTRA did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
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