Disney+ is back with a rare deal that offers its entire TV and film library for less than £2. Until September 27, new and returning customers can join the Disney+ Standard with Ads plan for £1.99 a month for three months.
Usually priced at £4.99, the deal lets members stream the biggest new films and shows in full HD 1080p on two devices simultaneously for the equivalent of 50p a week. After the three-month promotional period, the plan will auto-renew at the then-current monthly retail price – currently £4.99 – but at this point, members are free to cancel.
Since launching in 2019, Disney+ has become the go-to streamer for the biggest franchises like Star Wars, Marvel and Pixar. But it’s home to so much more, including several must-see dramas that cleaned up at this month’s Emmy Awards.
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It also offers a raft of fascinating documentaries like Keanu Reeves series Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story, fashion doc In Vogue: The 90s and upcoming Bruce Springsteen film, Road Diary. If reality shows are more your thing, series The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives has been going viral as fans tune into the scandalous world of ‘MomTok’.
Disney+ has brought back its popular deal that lets new and returning customers join its Standard with Ads plan for £1.99 a month for three months.
This means members can stream hit shows like Only Murders in the Building, The Bear and Shōgun, plus countless titles from Star Wars and Marvel, for a fraction of the usual price.
So, if the new £1.99 deal hasn’t enticed you enough, here are my top TV and film picks on Disney+, including the latest blockbuster titles and several you may have missed over the past 12 months.
The Bear
One of the big winners at the 76th Emmy Awards earlier this month, this FX comedy-drama features some of the best performances and expert camera work on TV in recent years. Created by Christopher Storer, The Bear follows Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White), a successful young chef who returns home to Chicago to run his family’s sandwich shop after a family tragedy, eventually transforming it into a fine dining establishment.
The Bear has been a huge hit since it debuted in 2022 and has become one of the most highly-regarded shows in recent years. It broke the record for the most Emmy nominations in a single year in the comedy category with 23, The Hollywood Reporter reported, and is now the comedy series with the most wins in a single season with 11.
Shōgun
Another must-see show that had a big night at the Emmys is this epic samurai saga, which became the first non-English-language show to win the award for best drama. If subtitles put you off, don’t worry, because large parts of the series are in English as its story is told from the perspective of an English sailor.
Set in 1600 Japan, Shōgun centres around John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), who rises from outsider to samurai in the midst of a Japanese military leader’s epic power struggle. If you like the brutality and political scheming of Game of Thrones, you may want to give this a go.
Inside Out 2
Pixar’s latest big-screen blockbuster pulled in more than $1.5 billion worldwide to become the highest-grossing animated film of all time, and now it’s coming to Disney+ on September 25. Boasting a stacked voice-cast including Amy Poehler, Maya Hawke and Tony Hale, Inside Out 2 takes viewers back into the mind of teenage Riley (Kensington Tallman), just as headquarters is undergoing a sudden demolition to make room for new emotions.
Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust – who’ve long been running a successful operation – are now joined by a wave of new emotions: Anxiety, Ennui, Embarrassment, and Envy.
Only Murders in the Building
One of Disney’s biggest hits from the last few years is this beloved comedy-murder-mystery. It stars Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez as amateur true crime enthusiasts who come together to investigate a series of murders in their New York City apartment building and launch a podcast around the cases.
The new fourth season is streaming now and sees the trio swap New York for the glitz and glamour of Los Angeles where a Hollywood studio is readying a film about the Only Murders podcast. Only Murders in the Building is packed with A-list guest stars, with the latest instalment featuring Zach Galifianakis, Eva Longoria and Eugene Levy, among others.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
Disney+ members can stream every film from the Planet of the Apes saga, from the 1968 classic through to this latest epic. From director Wes Ball, the fourth instalment in the reboot franchise takes place generations after Caesar’s reign.
In its dystopian future, apes are living harmoniously as Earth’s dominant species, while humans are living in the shadows. As a new tyrannical ape leader builds his empire, the young ape Noa (Owen Teague) undertakes a harrowing journey that will cause him to question the past and make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike.
Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story
Even if Formula 1 isn’t your cup of tea, this fascinating four-part documentary will have you hooked. Hosted by actor and petrol-head Keanu Reeves, Brawn: The Impossible Formula 1 Story tells the story of ‘one of the greatest sagas’ in the sport’s history, beginning in 2008 when Honda’s racing team fell into administration.
In an unprecedented first for Formula 1, their rivals united and returned the team to the racetrack after buying the team for £1. In each episode of the series, Reeves interviews racing icons including Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello, who offer exclusive first-hand insights around the drama on and off the track, from the formation of Brawn GP through to their extraordinary journey that includes strategic manoeuvres and financial trials during one of the sport’s most competitive eras.
Poor Things
From The Favourite director Yorgos Lanthimos, this bizarre dark comedy was one of the most-talked-about films of the year. Emma Stone won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance as Bella Baxter, a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe).
Poor Things follows Bella’s fantastical journey – both physically and metaphorically – across continents with slick and debauched lawyer Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo). Set in late-Victorian times, Bella frees herself from the prejudices of her era, growing steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation.
Loki
This hit Marvel series takes viewers through more multiversal madness with Tom Hiddleston reprising his role from the films as the titular God of Mischief. Loki’s second and final season launched on Disney+ in October 2023 and forms part of the franchise’s epic Multiverse Saga.
Season two was even weirder, more outrageous and funnier than the first, as it follows Loki and his battle for the soul of the Time Variance Authority (TVA) across an ever-expanding and increasingly dangerous multiverse. It also saw Hiddleston and Owen Wilson joined by Oscar-winner Ke Huy Quan as the TVA’s comical chief engineer.
Elsewhere, Sky is offering something for nothing as it brings back the popular Sky Stream and Netflix free trial. Usually £31, this deal includes free access to both platforms for a month, offering hit shows like House of the Dragon and new Batman spin-off, The Penguin, absolutely free with the Sky Stream box, which allows viewers to watch TV via WiFi rather than a traditional satellite dish or aerial.
