Disney has full creative access to a huge range of popular franchises, from classic animated Disney films and the action-packed “Star Wars” universe to the record-breaking Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and the beautiful animation of Pixar. Despite some early stumbling blocks with MCU and “Star Wars” programming, Disney+ has proven a success, with Disney CEO Bob Iger citing only one lingering regret pertaining to the streaming service’s launch. Since its launch, Disney+ has given fans and skeptics alike a veritable gold mine of awesome content.

Even setting aside the merging of Hulu’s content with Disney+, there are plenty of great TV shows worth watching on the streaming service. Not only are there several high-profile, live-action installments of Disney’s many prestigious franchises, but there are also tons of hidden gems to be found in the content geared toward kids and teens. It can be a little overwhelming to sift through all of the content on Disney+ and find something good that sparks interest, but that’s what this article is for: Identifying and celebrating the very best to be found on Disney+.

“Andor” is without a doubt the best “Star Wars” universe television show that has been released on Disney+ so far. Not only is it one of the best pieces of “Star Wars” content ever made, but it’s also just an impeccable show. It manages to maintain a consistent sci-fi/fantasy tone while also offering some of the most compelling insight into human nature a television show has ever provided. “Andor” dares people to consider the boots on the ground, the foot soldiers on both sides — empire and rebel — and what they have endured in a vicious, galaxy-wide conflict. 

Violence and ruthlessness don’t just cause harm to the victim, they cause harm to the perpetrator as well. It’s especially satisfying to see each character interacting so differently with the various systems in place around them, as each one of them has a different perspective on what they’re fighting for (and what they won’t fight for). It’s nuance like this that makes “Andor” one of Disney+’s greatest accomplishments. “Andor” is still a “Star Wars” show, though, so Season 1 itself is full of missable Easter Eggs as well as fun and beautiful moments to remind viewers that the story they’re watching is taking place in a fantastical universe — this is how “Andor” avoids an overage of severity.

When a company like Disney — one with a seemingly endless supply of IP from which to glean content — starts a streaming service, there’s bound to be some renewed interest from fans in projects they thought were long past. Luckily for fans of the 1992 animated series “X-Men: The Animated Series,” Disney decided to pursue a revival of the show in the form of “X-Men ’97.” The series picks up a year after the original series’ finale in 1997, where Professor Charles Xavier (aka Professor X) — the team’s founder and leader — is nearly killed in an assassination attempt. At the start of “X-Men ’97,” Professor X is still away from Earth, healing under the watch of the Shi’ar on their homeworld. 

Unsurprisingly, “X-Men ’97” was a huge hit both with fans of the original animated series and new fans of the characters and the MCU. The show quickly became the most-streamed Marvel series on Disney+ after its launch, and the resounding success of “X-Men ’97” has certainly changed the future of the X-Men and mutants in general in the live-action MCU. “X-Men ’97” offers a nostalgia-soaked balance of soapy, hormonal drama and the serious, too-close-to-home stakes of what humanity can do when driven by hatred and fear. 

Hilary Duff has enjoyed one of the best child-to-adult actor trajectories ever, and while a lot of credit goes to Duff for her often-impeccable life choices, some of her good will in the industry and with the public definitely comes from appreciation for her breakout role as the titular character in Disney Channel’s “Lizzie McGuire.” Lizzie is introduced as a creative, mostly kind middle school girl attempting to navigate the social perils of puberty alongside her best friends Miranda (Lalaine) and Gordo (Adam Lamberg). Lizzie and Miranda are both iconic fashion figures in their own way, and Duff’s naturally bright disposition anchors what could easily be a far less memorable show.

It’s totally worth it to go back and watch “Lizzie McGuire” as an adult, if only because you’ll notice lots of new things. It’s a show worth sharing with kids, as Lizzie’s struggles are written to feel relatable and universal no matter the decade. There are also some pretty questionable things that a lot of us chose to ignore (or perhaps didn’t recognize) in “Lizzie McGuire,” but the overall tone of the show is one that always finds a way to center compassion and growth for its characters. From Lizzie’s stylishly crimped hair to Gordo’s obsession with filmmaking, every part of the show falls into place and feels like remembering the things you love about an old friend.

“WandaVision” was the first serial story from the MCU that premiered on Disney+. As the show was going on, it produced endless hype and led to a lot of fan discussion, with its weekly release allowing for a more organic development of interest in the series. Unfortunately for Disney and Marvel Studios and fans of the MCU, “WandaVision” wasn’t intended to be as expansive as many viewers hoped, which means that “WandaVision” left audiences with some pretty big unanswered questions. The ending of the series was a bit anti-climactic as far as world-building goes, but it was pitch perfect as the cherry on top of an in-depth character study.

Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) first appears to viewers in “WandaVision” in black-and-white, and is shown living a happy life with her partner Vision (Paul Bettany) in what looks and sounds like a 1950s TV sitcom. As the show goes on and Wanda’s family sitcom progresses in style through the ’70s, ’80s, and ’00s, viewers receive backstory and real-world context first as a small trickle, until eventually showing the relatively large force of problem-solvers and trained combatants that have gathered to address Wanda’s holding hostage an entire town’s worth of people. For a show about sitcoms, “WandaVision” is incredibly sorrowful, and by the end of the series it becomes clear that audiences have, all along, been witnessing the mental decline of a woman beset by grief.

It would have been nearly criminal for the decision-makers behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) to let Loki’s (Tom Hiddleston) final appearance in the franchise be his death at the hands of Thanos in “Avengers: Infinity War.” A fan favorite thanks in large part to the charm and depth brought to the character by Hiddleston, a television show following the alternate version of Loki that escaped from New York City during the events of “Avengers: Endgame” was one of the most compelling reasons for audiences to tolerate Disney’s foray into serialized MCU content. 

Luckily, Disney and Marvel Studios succeeded in making something both fascinating and fun with the first season of Loki, which introduced the Time Variance Authority (TVA), a huge, bureaucratic body that exists outside time and space. The TVA, created by one iteration of villainous super genius Kang the Conqueror, maintains the sanctity of the Sacred Timeline and prevents the multiverse from collapsing into a chaotic storm of alternate realities. Loki immediately figures out the TVA in Season 1, Episode 1, but he needs the rest of Season 1 and all of Season 2 to become the man he was meant to be: One who will ultimately sacrifice everything for the people he cares about. The Disney+ series’ second season serves a complicated ending to viewers, but it still manages to satisfy.

One of the most precious hidden gems to be found in Disney’s vast catalog of content, “The Proud Family” is an animated series that ran on Disney Channel for two seasons between 2001 and 2005. Not only was the show unique, accessible, and quite funny, but it was also only one of a small number of animated series that featured mostly characters of color. Despite only running for two seasons, “The Proud Family” made a deep impression on everyone who was the right age to watch, and was never forgotten by its young fans. Luckily, Disney wanted to capitalize on “The Proud Family” and its dedicated fan base, and rebooted the show as “The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder” in 2022.

Penny Proud (Kyla Pratt) is a well-meaning middle schooler who excels in just about everything she does, despite never quite measuring up to her own (unrealistic) expectations. She’s the kind of protagonist that a lot of young people need to see — one who seemingly does everything right (though she is understandably susceptible to peer pressure) and still has to deal with obstacles, accidents, and the consequences of her own mistakes on the regular. Growing up is hard to do and there’s no real way around it, but with a family like Penny’s, it’s possible to find a lot of joy as well.

“Percy Jackson and the Olympians” is one of the most influential and popular young adult book series of the 21st century. Millions of kids have found themselves represented in the collection by author Rick Riordan, whether because they had dyslexia or ADHD like the series’ central “half-bloods” (aka demi-gods), because they are fascinated by Ancient Greek mythology, or even just because they were never really satisfied with the restrictive stuffiness of “Harry Potter.” Percy Jackson himself is one of the best protagonists in young adult literature, a strong-willed, quippy young man whose first and strongest instinct is always to protect and preserve the wellbeing of other people. 

20th Century Fox’s 2010 adaptation of the first book in the series, “The Lightning Thief,” is disliked by many book fans and particularly loathed by author Rick Riordan, but Disney+’s adaptation remains beautifully true to its source material. Walker Scobell is a natural as Percy, providing an unabashedly kind-hearted disposition to the character, and it’s lovely to see the books’ main characters played by age-appropriate actors. The show isn’t perfect — there are times when the dialogue feels underbaked and the visual medium isn’t utilized enough for exposition — but for any fans of the books, it should serve as a joyful relief from what they felt watching “Percy Jackson and the Olympians: the Lightning Thief” in theaters in 2010.

These days, toxic fans unhappy with the creative direction of their favorite intellectual properties love to engage in review bombing. They’ll vow to tank the ratings for a project they don’t like, and review bombers have definitely had a negative impact on many projects that are actually quite good. In the case of “Iron Heart,” though, other fans — ones who don’t throw tantrums about content that hasn’t even been released — have resisted hateful reviewers and come to the defense of a show that is far better than some potential viewers might believe. “Iron Heart” is the newest MCU series to come to Disney+, and one of its most compelling yet.

“Iron Heart” may not be as action-heavy as some would like, but that’s because Riri Williams (Dominique Thorne) and her relationship to combat, violence, and her armor are some of the most important points explored by the show. Riri is a character that needs to heal before she can become a player in the larger MCU, and “Iron Heart” gives her the space to do so. The Parker (Anthony Ramos) part of the show is definitely a weak point, but with the introduction of so many fascinating characters — including Riri’s best friend Natalie (Lyric Ross) and Alden Ehrenreich’s Zeke Stane — and the lived-in quality of the show’s Chicago setting, “Iron Heart” is more than worth the watch.

A lot of important “Star Wars” battles, missions, and milestones take place in the span of time between the end of “Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones” and “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.” Luckily for fans of George Lucas’s cinematic universe in a galaxy far, far away, creators Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau wrote and produced “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” an animated series that depicts the vast and complex conflict between the Galactic Republic and the Separatists (who are actually just a front for the conquest plans of Sith Lord Darth Sidious). The show is easily one of the most beloved pieces of “Star Wars” media ever made, and it is responsible for the mainstream introduction of countless fan-favorite characters including Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein), Cad Bane (Corey Burton), and Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen), among many others.

Not only does “Star Wars: the Clone Wars” introduce numerous popular characters, but it also gives fans a chance to truly enjoy the potential of many others that originated in the films. Anakin’s many years of service to the Republic, the Jedi Order, and the Light Side of the Force are chronicled in “Star Wars: the Clones Wars,” both redeeming the character in the eyes of many and exponentially increasing the tragedy of his fall to the dark side. Through “Star Wars: the Clone Wars,” the “Star Wars” universe is carefully and lovingly expanded, and viewers get to enjoy epic battles, exciting characters, and shrewd storytelling.

Fans were excited when Disney announced that it would be premiering a new installment of Daredevil’s story on Disney+, but the end result was certainly a little strange, since “Daredevil: Born Again” had to splice together two different creative visions. The series’ current show-runner Dario Scardapane, who will be helming the creative direction of the show moving forward, rewrote and reshot most of the first episode and the last two episodes in their entirety with his own creative team and vision in mind. Episodes two through seven, however, were written as a law procedural with a focus on Matt Murdock’s (Charlie Cox) work as a defense attorney. 

The middle chunk of “Daredevil: Born Again” (the procedural portion) gives glimpses of a good show, but its predecessor — Netflix’s “Daredevil” series — always leant into a fairly dark tone, and bridging the gap between such a gritty, action series and a legal procedural proves awkward. The violent death of Hector Ayala/White Tiger (Kamar de los Reyes) and an eye-opening interaction between Murdock and an unhoused client are nearly jarring when juxtaposed with more comedic elements, like Episode 5’s “Ms. Marvel” crossover. 

Dario Scardapane and his team use this dissonance, though, to force both Matt and the show’s primary antagonist, Wilson Fisk (Vincent D’Onofrio), to loose themselves from the shackles of the law at the end of the season. Moving Forward, Scardapane’s vision for “Daredevil: Born Again” won’t be exactly like Netflix’s original “Daredevil” series, but it will fit in much better with the overall tone that the character has set since actor Charlie Cox took up his infamous devil horns.

“Moon Knight” is a really weird show. Even compared to mystifying components of “Loki” and “WandaVision,” “Moon Knight” offers a window into a troubled protagonist with competing personalities named Marc Spector and Steven Grant (Oscar Isaac). Thanks to the trippy aspects of Ancient Egyptian religion, “Moon Knight” feels almost entirely like a fever dream, offering details that are easy to forget and yet still vividly remembered when appropriately prompted. Marc Spector serves as mortal champion to an ancient, exiled Egyptian God named Khonshu. 

As a result of severe childhood trauma, Marc suffers from Dissociative Identity Disorder, and the resulting confusion and frustration that automatically comes with living multiple lives strongly inform the frenetic pace of the show. It may not be to everyone’s taste, but “Moon Knight” commits to its tone, even going so far as to deprive audiences of the chance to watch the series’ final battle so that viewers are just as jarred by the sudden, complete devastation of Arthur Harrow’s (Ethan Hawke) forces as Marc. Maybe there’s even a chance for more moonlit mayhem in a second season of the series.

There are so many references to various elements of celebrated animated series’ “Star Wars: Clone Wars” and “Star Wars: Rebels” in “Ahsoka,” that Looper cannot cover them in a single article (but this one goes over Star Wars easter eggs from episode 1 of “Ahsoka”). The show is a culmination of years worth of character investment in Anakin’s erstwhile apprentice, given to viewers by Dave Filoni, the main brain behind “Star Wars: Clone Wars” and a close collaborator on Jon Favreau’s “The Mandalorian.” Rosario Dawson transforms into character and brings a necessary serenity to the character of Ahsoka that could only have come with age and trauma, and she does it without sacrificing Ahsoka’s imperfections. 

There is no question that “Ahsoka” was made with many loving hands and minds. From Sabine’s (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) simple but heartbreaking mourning over the loss of her close friend and co-rebel Ezra Bridger (Eman Esfandi) to the passive sorrow behind Huyang’s (David Tennant) support of the organic sentients around him, most of the show offers the emotional space that so many fans desired following the end of “Star Wars: Rebels.” The return of Grand Admiral Thrawn (Lars Mikkelsen) in live action is thrilling and makes for plenty of franchise-worthy tension, and Ray Stevenson’s Baylan Skoll is a fascinating figure who has given audiences a more nuanced understanding of the Force and how those sensitive to it must grapple with their alignment between good and evil.