We’ve covered this before on Twitter and in an April article, but it bears repeating because with each passing month it becomes more unbelievable. When Disney first launched, subscribers were forced to wait a few months after seasons of Nat Geo shows aired before they would appear on Disney+. In summer 2021, Disney began an awesome new format of distribution that, while not as commendable as next-day or even consistently scheduled episodes, still helped get the episodes to consumers sooner.
After all, CEO Bob Chapek has mentioned a few times that he’s identified the importance of getting content to consumers sooner as that’s what today’s marketplace demands. This is why he claims to have eradicated the theatrical window and he’s done a pretty good of doing the same to the television windowing structures as well. In summer 2021, Disney Channel, Disney Junior, and Nat Geo shows began to appear on Disney+ through “in-season” batches. In other words, episodes would arrive in a clump before the season had concluded airing. This resulted in a lot more content each month and quicker access to Nat Geo library. They quietly ended the practice (for Nat Geo shows only) in December 2021.
Wicked Tuna Outer Banks (Season 8) got caught in the middle. It was the last show to receive a partial batch drop before they stopped. 10 episodes arrive on December 8th and the remaining 8 were left at sea. The season finale (episode #18) aired November 20th making the situation even more bizarre. With the 8 month anniversary of the season finale looming on Wednesday, we can safely say Disney has forgotten that the show was left incomplete.
Further evidence comes in the realization that multiple months ago the full season was removed from NatGeoTV.com. Not just the first 10 episodes they added to Disney+. This usually only happens when it’s been added to streaming. They even updated their banner as they do once a season has been added to Disney+ suggesting all 8 seasons were now streaming. This is not completely true.
Not only that, they’ve since moved on to adding seasons of shows that premiered and concluded after this one. They forgot. It’s understandable (we guess) that these episodes got lost in the shuffle of the strategy change. We’re hoping they figure it out and fix it soon. We’ve submitted feedback before, but you know how effective that is… By the way, this isn’t the only situation like this. Somehow between episodes batches of Mira, Royal Detective, they forgot season 2 episode 15.
Drew Ryan is a film, TV, and Disney geek. He has degrees in English, Student Personnel Administration, and Library & Information Science from Lawrence University, Concordia University-Wisconsin, and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Interested in the minutia and licensing of streaming service content, he is always publishing lists, suggestions, and advocating for Disney’s missing library to be added to Disney+. Drew subscribes to Disney+, Hulu, Netflix, HBO Max, and Paramount+. You can find him waxing nostalgic over classic Disney Channel or geeking out over Marvel, CW shows, & Disney on Twitter.
