It’s been more than three years since The Mandalorian debuted on Disney Plus, helping to launch the fledgling streaming service back in November 2019. Now the show will finally move from broadcast to broadcast television – but only one episode in one night.
February 24th will see ABC, Freeform, and FX show the first episode of The Mandalorian at 8 p.m. The one who introduced us to the bounty hunter named Pedro Pascal, and the biodegradable green blob the internet dubbed Baby Yoda – but we now know as Grogu.
This is undoubtedly a ploy to try to get people to sign up for Disney Plus ahead of The Mandalorian season 3 premiere on March 1. While the Mando-Merch attack has been impossible to miss in the past couple of years, there will be plenty of people who never subscribed to Disney Plus for one reason or another – and therefore never watched the show.
Dropping the first episode on a network TV channel like ABC gives these people the chance to hear back and find out what all the fuss is about — and without spending any money in the process. Throwing FX and Freeform into the mix just gives cable subscribers another option, all without having to sign up for something new.
It’s all so they can find out the whole The Mandalorian deal, and why people love Grogu so much. Unfortunately, Grogu doesn’t do much until Episode II, which means you won’t find out unless you’re willing to give Disney some money.
But hey, at least you’ll get the chance to watch the show without commercials. Since the first episode of The Mandalorian is 41 minutes long, with a full hour on schedule, that means you’ll be seeing a lot of advertising. More than you’d get if you opted for the $7.99 Disney Plus subscription with ads, since that only shows 4 minutes of ads per hour.
Although, if Disney is to make any sense, a bunch of these ads would be for Disney Plus originals – including The Mandalorian season 3. Hopefully, that means some new footage, and we’re eager to see what Disney might be willing to show us before March 1.
The Mandalorian will be available to watch on ABC, Freeform, and FX on February 24 at 8 p.m. The entire first and second season of The Mandalorian is currently available on Disney Plus, with subscriptions starting at $7.99 per month.
