Beloved Disney Show’s Creator Blames Piracy as One Reason It Was Canceled

The Ghost and Molly McGee co-creator Bill Motz is blaming piracy for the show’s cancellation. Following the Season 2 finale of the animated Disney Channel show, which previously had fans worried due to its ominous title, “The End,” Motz confirmed that the series has been canceled. Premiering in 2021, the supernatural comedy centered on 13-year-old human Molly McGee who befriends a ghost named Scratch who lives in her new house.

In Motz’s original explanation on X (formerly known as Twitter), he shared that viewership was the reason for the decision to cancel Molly McGee. However, he later challenged his followers to ask him about “all the people who pirated our episodes, costing the show views that could have changed the equation.” In a series of posts, Motz shared that a “certain McGee named bootleg site has over 2.6 million views. Our episodes were downloaded tens of thousands of times on the dark web and shared from there to more. If you’re looking for blame, start here.”

Motz explained that while he’s not trying to scold anyone who loved the show and watched it as much as they could and however they could, his “ire is directed at those who stole the show by leaking it and/or creating bootleg YouTube, Google Drive, or other servers.” It’s definitely frustrating, as it seems increasingly troubling that shows and movies are getting leaked and uploaded to illegal sites, no matter how hard one may try to prevent it.

“The television/film industry is trying to figure things out the same way the music industry had to after Napster,” Motz continued. “It helps when content can be released everywhere at once and on multiple platforms. Still, lots of people would rather bootleg than pay or watch a commercial.” After being asked why they didn’t alert the higher-ups so they could do something about it, Motz admitted they did.

“A LOT happened behind the scenes, some of which felt like a spy movie,” he explained. “But once something is leaked, it’s very difficult to scrub it completely. And legal steps take time, especially internationally.” It’s unfortunate that it happened, especially given the fact that there wasn’t much they could do about it. If fans had watched Molly McGee on Disney+ rather than a bootleg site, it’s entirely possible a third season would have happened.

As with any show that’s canceled, there is always the possibility it could be picked up elsewhere, maybe even have a permanent spot on Disney+. For now, though, it seems like “The End” really is the end, and viewership may not be the only thing to blame.