ITV has announced that it has made a deal with Disney Entertainment for two Star Original series, “Under the Banner of Heaven” and “Extraordinary”, both of which debuted on Disney+ in the UK earlier this year.

The deal will make ITV the free-to-air home of the critically acclaimed drama “Under the Banner of Heaven” starring Andrew Garfield, and season one of the British comedy series “Extraordinary”. “Under the Banner of Heaven” will stream on ITVX, with “Extraordinary” airing on both ITVX and ITV2. Both will launch in the first half of 2024.

FX production “Under the Banner of Heaven” was created by Academy Award-winner Dustin Lance Black and stars Andrew Garfield and Daisy Edgar-Jones. The series was inspired by the true crime bestseller by Jon Krakauer, and follows the events that led to the 1984 murder of Brenda Wright Lafferty (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and her baby daughter in a suburb in the Salt Lake Valley, Utah.

The comedy series “Extraordinary”, a Disney+ UK original production, written by series creator and co-executive producer Emma Moran and executive produced by Sally Woodward Gentle (Killing Eve, The Durrells) and Lee Morris and Charles Dawson, is set in a world where everyone develops a power on their 18th birthday… everyone, that is, except for Jen (Máiréad Tyers).

The series sees 25-year-old Jen adrift in a big, confusing world and armed with nothing but a bit of hope, a lot of desperation, and her flatmates as she begins her journey to find her superpower. It also stars Sofia Oxenham, Bilal Hasna, Luke Rollason, and Siobhán McSweeney.  

The second season of “Extraordinary” will debut on Disney+ in 2024, and licensing out the show to ITV will hopefully give the show a considerable boost in viewership and potentially bring more attention on the show to get people to sign up to Disney+ for the second season.

Both series will remain on Disney+, and this is the latest deal made by Disney in the UK to license out some of its general entertainment content, having previously made deals with the BBC for “Love, Victor” and with Channel 4 for a bundle of shows including “Abbott Elementary”.  Disney is expanding its licensing deals for older shows, in an effort to bring in more revenue and make its own streaming services more profitable.   Disney CEO Bob Iger has spoken on many occasions about being open to licensing out its general entertainment content that’s not part of its major brands like Marvel or Star Wars to other platforms.

What do you think of Disney licensing out “Under the Banner of Heaven” and “Extraordinary” to ITV?  Let us know on social media!

Roger Palmer

Roger has been a Disney fan since he was a kid and this interest has grown over the years. He has visited Disney Parks around the globe and has a vast collection of Disney movies and collectibles. He is the owner of What's On Disney Plus & DisKingdom. Email: Roger@WhatsOnDisneyPlus.com Twitter: Twitter.com/RogPalmerUK Facebook: Facebook.com/rogpalmeruk

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