Beloved Disney Channel Show Returning to TV 19 Years After Cancellation

A Disney Channel series is making a TV comeback nearly 20 years after it was canceled.

The network has revealed that on Thursday, a.k.a. “Stitch Day,” Lilo & Stitch: The Series will be airing.

Beginning at 11 a.m. ET on Thursday, Disney Channel will be airing a Lilo & Stitch: The Series marathon until 7 p.m. ET, which will be followed by an airing of the 2002 animated film. Premiering in 2003, Lilo & Stitch: The Series serves as a sequel spinoff of Lilo & Stitch and a direct follow-up to the 2003 direct-to-video sequel, Stitch! The Movie. The show ran for two seasons from 2003 to 2006 and saw Lilo and Stitch collecting Jumba’s 623 missing experiments and changing them from bad to good, finding them a place where they truly belonged.

The voice cast saw Chris Sanders, Daveigh Chase, Tia Carrere, David Ogden Stiers, Kevin McDonald, Dee Bradley Baker, Liliana Mumy, Kevin Michael Richardson, Zoe Caldwell, Jeff Bennett, and Rob Paulsen returning to their respective roles. Additionally, Lilo & Stitch: The Series’ second season crossed over with four other animated Disney shows, such as American Dragon: Jake Long, The Proud Family, Kim Possible, and Recess.

Following the show’s cancellation, Disney released a follow-up film, Leroy & Stitch, to serve as a finale to both the television series and original Lilo & Stitch canon. Throughout its run, Lilo & Stitch aired on Disney Channel, ABC Kids, and Toon Disney. It also aired on Disney XD and Disney Junior after it ended, and all episodes can currently be streamed on Disney+ alongside the four films.

Lilo & Stitch: The Series’ return to Disney Channel comes just over a month after the live-action Lilo & Stitch film released in theaters, with Sanders reprising his voice role as Stitch. It’s unknown if the series will air on Disney Channel again after tomorrow or if it’s just a one-time thing for “Stitch Day,” but at the very least, people can watch it in full on Disney+. Lilo & Stitch was actually one of a few Disney movies to get the show treatment in the ‘90s and ‘00s, with other shows including Timon & Pumbaa, 101 Dalmations: The Series, Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series, Hercules: The Animated Series, The Legend of Tarzan, and The Emperor’s New School, to name a few.