Disney Might Have Just Upset ‘Frozen’ Star Kristen Bell

Kristen Bell might be giving Disney the cold shoulder following the company’s most recent move. The Frozen star is among the list of celebrities to be affected by Disney’s upcoming purge of content from Disney+ and Hulu later this month, with dozens of titles set to be removed on Friday, May 26 as part of cost-cutting measures. On the roster of titles to be axed is Encore!, the Disney+ series Bell executive produced.

Encore! premiered on Disney+ on November 12, 2019 and was inspired, in part, by Jason Cohen’s lifelong love of musical theater. The series was hosted and executive produced by Bell and reunited 12 high school musical casts for one final performance years after graduation. The series was based on a pilot special aired on ABC on December 10, 2017 that was hosted by Bell and reunited the cast of a 1997 South Hills High School production of Into the Woods.

Encore! was met with positive reactions from critics and audience members alike. The series boasts an 88% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and a 70% critics score, with a critics consensus reading, “While it at times feels more like a dress rehearsal, Encore! has just enough charm to keep theater lovers in their seats.” The Los Angeles Times‘ Robert Llyod called the show “a machine for dredging up deep feelings, in which the cast of a high school musical reunites after many years to stage it again,” with Andy Denhart writing for Reality Blurred, “it’s a smoky fireplace of a reality show that radiates warmth and consistently caused my eyes to water.”

Despite the show’s positive reviews, Encore! mostly faded out. The series did not air any further episodes other than its original 12 episodes. Asked about the show’s future when speaking to Deadline in June 2020, Cohen said, “Obviously, things right now are a little bit funky, with the coronavirus, and things have been thrown into flux a bit. But we are hoping we can do more.

Unfortunately for fans of Encore!, new episodes will not be coming. The series is among a list of titles being removed from both Disney+ and Hulu in a cost-cutting measure. Also set to be pulled from Disney+ are Willow, Big Shot, Turner & Hooch, The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, and The Mysterious Benedict Society, as well as several others. The move was originally announced by Disney CFO Christine McCarthy during the company’s earnings call on May 10, though no details regarding what titles would be pulled were provided at the time.