It Took Only 5 Days for Disney+'s Best New Series to Reach 4 Million Viewers

Summary

• On April 20, a new animated series set in the MCU universe debuted on Disney+.
• Despite the fact that the MCU's former popularity has faded, the show has garnered impressive ratings in its first few days of release.
• It has also received high praise from critics and viewers.

Over the past year, the phenomenon of 'superhero fatigue' has been hotly debated in the media and on social platforms, as many people have supposedly grown tired of superhero stories, with many new MCU releases, from Quantumania to The Marvels, and DCEU releases, from The Flash to Aquaman and The Lost Kingdom, either failing commercially at the global box office or receiving generally negative reviews from critics and audiences alike.

Superhero shows have also joined this trend, as while the second season of Loki has received widespread acclaim despite all the controversy surrounding the production team changes and Jonathan Majors ' scandals, other television projects such as Secret Invasion have been heavily criticized.

However, as the aforementioned Loki showed, the problem is not so much the superhero genre itself, but rather the MCU and DCEU's policy of endlessly churning out repetitive or money-driven content that cannot boast either writing or production quality.

A prime example of an audience expecting something unique is the new animated series X-Men '97, produced by Marvel Studios Animation, which is a clear contrast in terms of ratings. Its retro style mixed with a modern script has impressed viewers immensely, and the new show has reached several millions of unique viewers in just 5 days since its debut on Disney+.

The New Animated Series Has Garnered Impressive Ratings

X-Men '97 debuted on March 20, 2024, but gained a huge number of unique viewers in just a few days. According to DiscussingFilm, the new animated series garnered 4 million views in just five days after its release.

What Is the New MCU Series?

X-Men '97 was one of the most anticipated MCU projects, having been in development for several years. Conceived five years ago in 2019, the series was slated for a fall 2023 release, but due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, it had to be pushed back to spring 2024, and now, just under a month ago, it was finally released on Disney+.

What's remarkable about this show? Well, for one thing, it's not just a spiritual successor to the original X-Men: The Animated Series, which ran on Fox Kids from 1992 to 1997. In fact, it's a direct sequel, with many of the original actors returning for voice roles. Wolverine was voiced again by Cal Dodd, Lenore Zann returned as Rogue, Catherine Disher as Jeanne Gray aka Phoenix, George Buza as Hank McCoy aka Beast, Chris Potter as Gambit, Alison Sealy-Smith as Storm and Alyson Court as Jubilee.

Shuki Levy and Haim Saban, who also worked on the original, served as composers. The animation was handled by Seoul-based Studio Mir, which has worked on such hits as The Legend of Korra, The Boondocks and The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf.

What Are Critics and Viewers Saying

X-Men '97 had critics and audiences alike in raptures. On Rotten Tomatoes, the critics' score was an impressive 98%, and the viewers' opinion wasn't much different with a score of 92%. Many have noted that despite the nostalgic nature of the show, it doesn't build its entire identity around it, and that despite the prevailing retro vibe, it offers engaging storytelling, fun action sequences, and a more modern take on classic Marvel characters.

The series is currently in progress, with the next, fifth episode set to debut on Disney+ on April 10. Seasons two and three are also in development.