Walt Disney Animation Studios has officially scrapped the animated Tiana series, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The series was to follow Princess Tiana from Disney’s 2009 film The Princess and the Frog. This decision is part of a broader shift away from producing long-form content exclusively for the streaming platform. We were looking forward to a Tiana series, as she is one of our all-time favorite Disney princesses, so we’re sad to hear it’s been canceled.
Disney canceled more than just the Tiana series. The studio also shelved a feature-length animated film that would go straight to Disney+. As The Hollywood Reporter stated, Disney’s Vancouver studio expects layoffs due to the shift away from streaming-specific content. The rush for streaming exclusive content began during the pandemic. Then-CEO Bob Chapek pushed for original content from Disney’s various studios.
Disney announced the Tiana series back in December 2020. Its original concept was to be a musical, with Anika Noni Rose reprising her role as the titular character. Sources close to Disney+ revealed that despite multiple changes in the creative team, the show could not surmount the estimated production costs.
Despite the Tiana series’ cancellation, a The Princess and the Frog-inspired special is currently in development at Disney. Currently though we know few details about this project. However, the special will supposedly feature an all-new story based on the original The Princess and the Frog film, with Joyce Sherri directing and Steve Anderson writing the story.
This isn’t unexpected for Disney, as last year, the company announced that Pixar would no longer prioritize developing long-form episodic content for Disney+. We learned this news after the release of Dream Productions and Win or Lose. However, Disney Animation is reportedly still aiming for one theatrical release every year in addition to other smaller projects.