In order to keep loyal fans happy, Disney+ needs an option to watch shows in the correct order. While the launch of Disney+ has largely been a success, the streaming service has faced some criticism since its November debut for showing its popular television series out of order. Some of the series are even missing episodes, causing gaps within story arcs.
These issues have created confusion among viewers hoping to enjoy their favorite TV series from start to finish. Shows such as Star Wars: The Clone Wars and X-Men: The Animated Series are meant to be viewed in order because of their more serialized nature. Unfortunately, at the moment Disney+ only gives its viewers the option to view shows in their release order, which doesn't fully match-up. Devoted fans are forced to use other online sources to understand the proper viewing orders for The Clone Wars and other series.
The list of shows that are either out of order or missing episodes is fairly extensive. Around 20 shows (via Reddit) are presented in mixed or release order rather than the chronological story order they should be in. Among them are popular series such as Duck Tales (1987) & (2017) and Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, alongside the aforementioned Clone Wars and X-Men: The Animated Series (1992). Many other shows are missing episodes, including The Simpsons and Darkwing Duck. While the latter is a little trickier to fix, it shouldn't be too difficult for Disney+ to install an option that allows viewers to watch series in the right order.
By doing this it would allow fans to watch their favorite shows without any confusion. Fans would no longer have to use online sources to understand the viewing orders of their favorite shows. Some missing episodes might not be available - The Simpsons' Michael Jackson episode won't be added, for instance - but in other cases they should be able to be added to the service over time. Even then, a chronological viewing option would go a long way to solving many problems.
At the moment, no streaming services offer an option to view shows in their correct order. If Disney listens to the criticism from its fans, they would be breaking new ground. By setting themselves apart from their competition, Disney could bring in additional subscribers and even steal subscribers from their competitors. Currently Disney has no plans to add an option for viewing shows on Disney+ in their correct order. However, this doesn’t mean that it isn’t possible. With Disney looking to reach 90 million subscribers by 2024, adding this feature could help them reach that goal. For now, Disney+ fans can only continue to voice their opinions in hopes that Disney will one day listen.