Disney has long built its reputation upon being a film studio for the family; a go-to palace for entertainment of all ages, paved by its roots in silly cartoons.
Whether or not they’ve succeeded in balancing this goal with quality films and television, as well as respectable business practices, is a debate that can go on forever, but because of this identity, it’s no surprise that Bluey, the talk of the town in the realm of children’s television these days, has sat upon the Disney Plus charts as long as it has.
But now, all that has changed; the viewership crown is no longer held by the show viewed by little children, and instead by the show little children take time out of their day to rate one star on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes for the apparently abhorrent crime of portraying people that exist.
Indeed, The Acolyte — the latest project to come out of the Mouse House’s Star Wars front — has overtaken Bluey as the most-watched show on Disney Plus’s worldwide television charts, and frankly, it safely earns every ounce of its popularity.
It certainly isn’t without its flaws; the dialogue creaks a bit more often than it should, and not everybody will be sold on the performances, but The Acolyte‘s plot beats and storytelling developments have all been genuinely solid, and it certainly understands the franchise’s roots as a colorful sci-fi playground in which it is customary to have as much fun as possible.
That, ladies and gentlemen, is what we in the industry call “honest criticism.”
The Acolyte is now streaming on Disney Plus, with new episodes releasing every Tuesday until the season finale on July 16.