Classic ABC Show Finally Heading to Streaming

By Daniel S. Levine

One of the best television shows ever made is finally going to be ready for streaming. Moonlighting creator Glenn Gordon Caron said he is working with Disney to make the dream come true. The iconic series ran from 1985 to 1989 on ABC, turned Bruce Willis into a household name, and revived Cybill Shepherd's career.

Caron started a frenzy on Twitter Tuesday by teasing a "big announcement," adding a photo of Shepherd and Willis from their Moonlighting days. There was plenty of speculation about what he was preparing to announce, and those who guessed the show was being prepared for streaming were correct. "Can't keep it under my hat any longer--the business of getting all 5 seasons of Moonlighting starring Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd ready for streaming has begun," Caron tweeted.

Unfortunately, it could be a while, and Caron did not say if Disney plans to put Moonlighting on Disney+ or Hulu. "It's an ambitious project. Lots of moving parts. And it could take quite a while. But I wanted you to be the first to know," Caron wrote. "No word yet on where or when you'll be seeing it... but it's happening!"

After Willis announced he was retiring from acting because he was diagnosed with the brain disorder aphasia earlier this year, interest in Moonlighting was revived. However, fans who wanted to relive the series or Willis fans hoping to see it for the first time were out of luck. The DVDs have been out of print for years and the show has never been available to stream.

Caron, who would go on to create Medium and recently worked on Bull, told TheWrap that Disney said music rights have been a problem. Disney wanted Caron to replace some of the iconic songs in the series, but he refused. "The last conversation that I had with them, which I'm guessing was probably about two years ago, the music was really the financial reason," Caron said in April. "But I think the economics have obviously changed in the last two years in terms of what streaming's become."

Moonlighting starred Shepard as Maddie Hayes, a former high-fashion model who was left bankrupt by an accountant, so she decides to run a detective agency she owns as a tax write-off. Willis played David Addison, a detective who becomes her partner. Allyce Beasley played their quirky receptionist, Agnes DiPesto. The show won six Primetime Emmys, including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Willis in 1987. Moonlighting also featured a famous, Grammy-nominated theme song by Al Jarreau and produced by Niles Rodgers. 

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