It’s a good thing that I’m a Disney shill that gets paid by Mickey Mouse directly to promote all things Mouse House (kidding…seriously) because this Disney+ streaming service is actually shaping up to be pretty interesting. As part of yesterday’s big unveiling the studio talked about a variety of new series that are coming to the service, and even though many were concerned that Disney wouldn’t be vast enough to warrant its own streaming channel, it appears there is plenty of diversity on the way, including the surprise announcement of a new series based on the hit film “Love, Simon.”
Disney announced that its upcoming streaming service will have a series based on the “Love, Simon” sequel novel, “Leah on the Offbeat,” that will be hitting Disney+ in the future (via THR). For those not familiar with “Love, Simon,” the Fox 2000 film came out last year and was a surprise hit for the studio (which is now owned by Disney, conveniently enough) and featured the studio’s first film with a gay lead. The movie followed the coming-of-age tale of Simon, as he dealt with all the normal issues a teenage male faces, but with the added wrinkle of him being gay. The sequel series won’t focus on Simon, but instead his best friend Leah.
READ MORE: ‘Love Simon’ Is A Groundbreaking, Surprisingly Great Take On The Teen Drama [Review]
“Leah on the Offbeat” will see the return of “Love, Simon” screenwriters Elizabeth Berger and Isaac Aptaker who will serve as showrunners. Greg Berlanti, the director of the original film, will not be involved in the new series. ‘Leah’ will follow the titular teen as she deals with many of the same issues that Simon faced, but from a female perspective, as she has to overcome issues surrounding sexuality, self-esteem, body image, friendships, relationships, going to college, and much more.
Another major difference from “Love, Simon” is the fact that none of the cast of the film will return for the series. Sadly, that means that actress Katherine Langford, who played Leah in the film, will not star in the show. Considering Marvel Studios is bringing on its A-list talent for Disney+, as is Lucasfilm, this is a bit of a letdown, but not a dealbreaker, as the story is a departure from the film.
“Leah on the Offbeat” (or whatever they end up calling it…best guess is “Love, Leah,” right?) has no official release date, but joins the slate of non-Marvel, non-Star Wars, and non-Pixar series coming to Disney+ that includes “High Fidelity” starring Zoe Kravitz, “The Diary of a Female President,” and the “High School Musical” spin-off.