Daredevil, S.H.I.E.L.D. & More: PTC Trashes Disney+ Potty Programming

Are you excited about the Netflix-Marvel series Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, The Punisher & The Defenders, and ABC’s Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. heading over to “The Mouse’s” Disney+ streaming service? Well, guess who’s not? If you said the Parents Television Council (PTC), not only would you be right but we would give you bonus points for remembering who they are & that they were still around. But never one to miss out on an opportunity to jump on some popular coattails, the PTC is wagging its finger, clutching its pearls, and fanning itself over the outrage it’s feeling over the streaming service adding more adult content to its line-up, though Disney+ already has new parental controls in play. But as you’re about to (unfortunately) read, apparently “improving their parental controls” won’t make up for the fact that “the mere presence of MA- and R-rated content violates the trust of families, and may well turn them off entirely.” So I guess what the PTC is saying is that Disney+’s decision to add those shows is a slippery slope to Satan (they do know Charlie Cox‘s Daredevil isn’t really a devil, right?). Though since this is Marvel we’re talking about, it would probably be Mephisto…

“For more than 98 years, the Walt Disney Company has been synonymous with the words Family Friendly, and I can think of no other corporation in American history that has been built more squarely on the backs – and on the wallets – of parents and families,” wrote Tim Winter, president of the Parents Television and Media Council, in a statement that should be taken with all of the seriousness that it deserves (we’ll let you fill in that blank). “The company’s eponymous platform Disney Plus logically marketed itself as a family-friendly streaming service, and parents have placed their trust in Disney to deliver just that. It seems wildly ‘off-brand’ for Disney Plus to add TV-MA and R-rated programming to this platform, ostensibly to increase subscription revenue. So what comes next, adding live striptease performances in Fantasyland at Disney World?” Yeah, we’re going to give you a second to let that last part sink in. On one hand, the possibility of Disney Prince & Princess strippers does sound kinda hot. On the other hand, the entire concept loses its sexiness when it’s pitched by someone who uses “striptease” like it’s the 1920’s and that’s a naughty word. “There is no need for Disney Plus to compete with the explicit content on other streaming platforms. Disney is already at a competitive advantage with a streaming platform that is the safest one out there for families. Its foray into TV-MA-rated fare will forever tarnish its family-friendly crown.”

While many expected these series to find homes with “The Mouse,” there was debate over whether they would be housed on Disney+ or Hulu. In accordance with the darker and more violent series, the streaming service will be releasing an update to its existing parental controls in the U.S., prompting all subscribers to update their settings. The settings include content ratings restrictions for each profile and the ability to add a PIN to lock profiles. If you choose to keep your settings the same, you will continue to use Disney+ as you always have within a TV-14 content rating environment (with the option to make changes at any time under the profile settings tab).