Andor comes to cable television and Hulu

Star Wars: Andor has put out some excellent episodes on Disney+ and now, it is coming out from behind the paywall. For the first time ever, you will be able to see a Disney+ show outside of the platform.

On Monday, Star Wars announced that the first two episodes of the twelve-episode series will be coming to cable television as well as Hulu. Every channel is still owned by Disney, but this is a great way to get the show in front of new eyes. This is especially true since it is coming out during the week of the Thanksgiving, a time when many Americans find themselves in front of the TV for a solid amount of time.

Here is the schedule for catching those first two episodes:

• ABC – 11/23 9PM ET
• FX – 11/24 9PM ET
• Freeform – 11/25 9PM ET
• Hulu – 11/23 through 11/27I

In addition to falling during the week of Thanksgiving, it will also fall on the airdate of the Season 1 finale on Disney+. This is most certainly a move to bring in new subscribers to the platform. If they are able to hook new viewers with these first episodes–which is one episode shy of a complete arc–they will have the full season ready for viewing once they subscribe to the service. Game of Thrones has done something similar in the past, but this is the first time for Disney and Star Wars.

It will be interesting to see if this ends up being an effective strategy, and if subscriber numbers see a healthy increase. Regardless, since it is being shown on other Disney-owned platforms, there is little risk from trying it. If it does end up being successful, we may see other shows get a similar treatment. I wouldn’t expect many traditional Star Wars or Marvel shows to be candidates, since many of the more hardcore fans are likely already subscribed; however, shows that have a potential for broader appeal could be next.