Star on Disney+ Has a Bunch of New Movies and Shows Coming to Australia

Star on Disney+ Has a Bunch of New Movies and Shows Coming to Australia
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Disney announced a lot of new things at its Investor Day presentation in December. One of those things was the answer to Australia’s Hulu prayers – a new brand called Star.

The new hub on Disney+ conglomerates a whole bunch of new and existing content from various studios and, yes, it comes with a price hike as well. Star launched on February 23 in Australia but there’s a whole lot of new content you’ll want to watch out for over the next year.

What is Star?

Star is a new brand being launched internationally, that brings together Disney’s content from Disney Television, FX, 20th Century Studios and Television (previously Fox), Touchstone, ESPN, and more, depending on the region. There will also be over 35 first-run series just from Star on Disney+ before the end of 2021.

The brand exists as a base for some of the more mature content from Disney’s many brands. Star will be serving as Disney+’s alternative to Hulu, which can be bundled together as a streaming package in the US.

Previously, most of these Hulu titles have been either unavailable in Australia or scattered around various streaming services, but Star will bring it all to Disney+.

What content is on Star now?

love victor disney + streaming
Image: Love Victor, Hulu

Disney announced that Star will have 450 movies and 155 TV shows at launch in Australia and that library has only grown in the past months.

Highlights include Alias, Desperate Housewives, Bob’s Burgers, black-ish and award-winning movies such as Titanic, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri and The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Disney+ is also home to four ‘Star Originals’ at launch which are:

  • Big Sky – a crime thriller from David E. Kelley (Big Little Lies)
  • Love, Victor – a TV spinoff of the young adult film Love, Simon.
  • Solar Opposites – an adult animated sitcom.
  • Helstrom – a drama series based on the Marvel comics characters.

You can see a full list of titles on Star in Australia here.

What content is coming to Star in the future?

Pammy & Tommy
Credit: Pammy&Tommy Instagram

During Disney’s Investor Day a number of new movies and TV shows were announced and Star will be home to a whole bunch of them. Some of the ones we know that are coming to Star in Australia include:

  • Only Murders in the Building (starring Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez). The comedy centres on three strangers who share an obsession with true crime and who suddenly find themselves wrapped up in one. When a murder occurs in their NYC apartment building, the trio is forced to work together to investigate the truth. It will release in Spring 2021.
  • Pam & Tommy (starring Sebastian Stan and Lily James) This American biographical drama is the outrageous untold story of the world’s first viral video – the sex tape of Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee and actress Pamela Anderson. Coming in 2022.
  • Dopesick (starring Michael Keaton, Rosario Dawson and Peter Sarsgaard) Takes viewers to the epicentre of America’s struggle with opioid addiction from the boardrooms of Purdue Pharma, to a distressed Virginia mining community, to the hallways of the DEA.
  • Immigrant (starring Kumail Nanjiani) tells the true story of Somen “Steve” Banerjee, the Indian-American entrepreneur who started Chippendales. Coming in 2022.
  • Welcome to Wrexham (Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds) a docuseries tracking the dreams and people of Wrexham, a working-class town in North Wales, UK, as two Hollywood starstake ownership of the town’s historic yet struggling football club.
  • The Choe Show – a new interview show where renowned artist David Choe paints a portrait – literally and figuratively – of his guests. Available in 2021.
  • Dear Mama – an incredibly powerful docuseries about the volatile life and legacy of the late hip-hop icon and poet Tupac Shakur, and the Black Panther member mother who raised him.
  • The Kardashian Jenners 

Star will also be home to new series of returning series like Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted, Trafficked with Mariana Van Zeller and Running Wild with Bear Grylls.

Other Star-branded series that was announced at Investor Day but have not been confirmed for Australia (although we can hope) are:

  • The Dropout (with Kate McKinnon)
  • The Old Man (starring Jeff Bridges)
  • American Horror Stories – a spinoff of the successful American Horror Story series.
  • Reservation Dogs (from Taika Waititi)
  • Y: The Last Man (an adaptation of the graphic novel)

Star: When, where, and how much?

Star launched as a new hub on Disney+ on February 23rd, 2021. 

Star does not require a separate subscription but did subsequently raise the price of Disney+. The new pricing for Disney+ (from February 23rd) is:

  • Monthly subscription: $11.99
  • Annual subscription: $119.99

This is up from the previous price of $8.99 per month or $89 for a yearly subscription in Australia.

However, for those with an existing Disney+ subscription prior to February 23, Disney will be honouring these original prices for 6 months with the new price hike taking effect on the next monthly or annual renewal date following 22 August 2021.

So, is it worth these few extra dollars each month? Considering the 600+ titles that are in the Star library and the amount of epic new Marvel, Star Wars and Disney branded content that the company recently announced, you’ll want to keep up this subscription.

You can start streaming Disney+ right here.

This article has been updated with additional information.


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At Lifehacker, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

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