The controversy surrounding Love, Simon, now known as Love, Victor, highlights a big Disney+ problem. Announced in the aftermath of Greg Berlanti’s hit romantic comedy of the same name, Love, Simon is an upcoming series inspired by the events of the film and taking place in the same universe. The series, which is created by the film’s screenwriters Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger, will follow Victor (Michael Cimino) on a journey of self-discovery. Facing challenges at home and struggling with his sexual orientation, the new Creekwood High School student reaches out to Simon when it feels like his life too difficult to navigate. Nick Robinson, who played the title character in Berlanti’s feature, will narrate the series.
Initially, Disney+ appeared to be supportive of the spinoff. Commenting on the series back in August of last year, the senior vice president of content at the streaming service Agnes Chu said that it was an honor to bring Love, Simon’s story to Disney+. Since then however, news broke that the Love, Simon spinoff was getting a new title and, more importantly, it would be moving to Hulu. The decision to switch to Hulu, which The Walt Disney Company has a controlling stake in, was reportedly reached because Hulu was deemed a better fit for Love, Simon’s mature subject matter.
A source close to the production of the spinoff says the change in the platform is unrelated to worries about Love, Simon’s homosexual themes. Rather, it cited the general sexual content and underage alcohol consumption as areas which didn’t fit with Disney+’s family-friendly ethos. Regardless of whether or not this is true, and there are reasons to be skeptical given Disney’s relationship to censorship, it does point to a larger problem with the Disney+ platform.
The issue is that, even as Disney attempts to broaden its representation in The Eternals and Thor: Love & Thunder, it has appeared fairly skittish about what it will allow on smaller screens. Love, Simon isn’t the only program to face changes for reasons related to content and subject matter. High Fidelity, the critically-acclaimed drama starring Zoë Kravitz, was moved from Disney+ after Hulu was chosen as a more appropriate fit. While that decision might be understandable, considering that show’s occasionally bitter perspective, it makes far less sense with established teen franchises such as Love, Simon and Lizzie McGuire.
Lizzie McGuire lead Hilary Duff reacted to the Love, Simon controversy by posting a screenshot to her Instagram story. “Sounds familiar,” her caption read. Although the comment is cryptic, it lends credence to the possibility that the Lizzie McGuire reboot has stalled at Disney+ for similar reasons. Two episodes of the Lizzie McGuire revival were filmed before showrunner, and original series creator, Terri Minsky walked away from the project due to creative differences.
It’s easy to imagine a scenario where Disney+ is harmed by an inclination to sanitize its output. Faced by competition from Netflix, which releases new content on a far more frequent basis, and AppleTV+, which has already garnered major awards, Disney+ does itself no favors by gaining a reputation for playing it safe. If the notion takes hold that Disney+ is a family-friendly destination first and foremost, potential subscribers might not be compelled to pay for content which is designed to evade any real narrative risks.
There is also, separately, the issue of optics. While the plethora of MCU shows on the way might get a longer leash in terms of what subjects are tackled, and while The Mandalorian contains moments of violence already, Disney+ has stepped in to discard a show that places an LGBTQ+ protagonist at the center. It reaches that decision even as films like 10 Things I Hate About You, containing plenty of drinking and references to sex, remain available for viewing as part of the streaming library. This apparent inconsistency leads to questions about why certain mature depictions are tolerated, while Love, Simon is banished altogether.