The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers

The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers is an American sports comedy-drama television series based on the 1992 film written by Steve Brill. Developed by Brill, Josh Goldsmith, and Cathy Yuspa for Disney+, the series serves as a follow-up to the film, and is produced by Disney Branded Television, ABC Signature and Brillstein Entertainment, with Brill serving as head writer, and Goldsmith and Yuspa serving as showrunners.
Lauren Graham, Brady Noon, and Emilio Estevez star in the series. As of January 2018, ABC began developing a series based on the franchise The Mighty Ducks, with Brill set to write the series. The series was announced to be released on Disney+ in November 2018. Filming for the series was scheduled to begin in February 2020, and ended in June 2020. In August 2020, it was announced that filming could officially begin after Disney TV Studios made a deal with British Columbia unions about testing the cast and crew members for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The series premiered on March 26, 2021. In August 2021, the series was renewed for a second season. which premiered on September 28, 2022. In February 2023, the series was cancelled by Disney after two seasons.
The series was also removed from Disney+ on May 26, 2023, amidst a Disney+ and Hulu content removal purge as part of a broader cost cutting initiative under Disney CEO Bob Iger.
Now a hockey powerhouse, the Mighty Ducks junior team is selective about who makes the roster. After being cut and told he is wasting his time, 12-year-old Evan Morrow, at the urging of his mother, forms a new team of underdogs with the help of original Ducks coach, Gordon Bombay, who has since become the despondent owner of a low level ice rink.
By 2018, Steve Brill and Jordan Kerner, who respectively served as writer and producer for the 1992 film The Mighty Ducks, pitched to ABC Signature head Tracy Underwood an idea for a TV series based on the film, which was approved for development.
On January 22, 2018, it was reported that a half-hour The Mighty Ducks TV series was being developed by ABC Signature Studios, with Brill set to write and executive-produce the series. The series was being shopped to several networks and streaming services by the studio. On November 8, 2018, it was reported that the series will be released on Disney's streaming service, Disney+. On November 6, 2019, it was reported that Josh Goldsmith, Cathy Yuspa, George Heller, and Brad Petrigala will co-executive-produce the series alongside Brill. On February 12, 2020, Goldsmith and Yuspa were revealed to be serving a co-creators and showrunners for the series, while Kerner and James Griffiths were revealed to be co-executive-producing the series, with star Lauren Graham also being credited as co-executive producer. On August 2, 2021, Disney+ renewed the series for a second season. On February 17, 2023, Disney+ cancelled the series after two seasons.
In February 2020, Lauren Graham and Brady Noon were cast in the series as the lead roles, with Emilio Estevez returning to reprise his role as Gordon Bombay, in addition to executive producing, as well as directing an episode. Swayam Bhatia, Taegen Burns, Julee Cerda, Bella Higginbotham, Luke Islam, Kiefer O'Reilly, Maxwell Simkins, De'Jon Watts were also cast in undisclosed roles. On March 18, 2021, it was reported that Elden Henson, Matt Doherty, Vincent LaRusso, Marguerite Moreau, Garette Henson, and Justin Wong would reprise their roles from The Mighty Ducks films for the sixth episode of the series. In November 2021, it was reported that Estevez's season 2 option would not be picked up due to creative differences and a contract dispute. On January 24, 2022, Josh Duhamel was cast in a starring role for the second season. On March 25, 2022, Naveen Paddock joined the cast as a new series regular while Margot Anderson-Song, Noah Baird, Stephnie Weir, Connor DeWolfe, Timm Sharp, and Tiffany Denise Hobbs joined the cast in recurring roles.
Filming for The Mighty Ducks was scheduled to begin on February 18, 2020, and end on June 11, 2020. Filming took place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. James Griffiths served as a director for the series. In August 2020, it was announced that filming could officially begin after Disney TV Studios made a deal with British Columbia unions about testing the cast and crew members for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Filming officially resumed in September 2020 and concluded on December 17, 2020. Filming for the second season began in early 2022.
In March 2021, ahead of the series premiere, and along with the NHL's return to ESPN, Disney+ and ESPN collaborated on a 30 for 30 promotional featurette in partnership with Cheerios entitled The Legend of the Flying V on the championship game between the original Ducks and the Hawks, shown in the climactic scene of The Mighty Ducks. Among those who provide commentary are Don't Bothers members Sofi, Evan, Nick, Koob, Maya and Lauren along with original Ducks Fulton, Lester, and Connie – all played by their original actors ahead of their return in Game Changers – United States women's hockey forward and Olympic gold medalist Meghan Duggan, retired NHL forward and TNT hockey analyst Anson Carter and ESPN hockey analysts and SportsCenter anchors Linda Cohn, John Buccigross and Steve Levy.
The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers was released on Disney+ on March 26, 2021. The second season was released on September 28, 2022.
The series made its linear premiere on Freeform on January 1, 2023.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds an approval rating of 87% based on 39 critic reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Game Changers doesn't quite flip the puck, but it has enough heart and good humor to make The Mighty Ducks proud." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 72 out of 100 based on 16 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Caroline Framke of Variety said Game Changers manages to be a solid follow-up, stating the series manages to provide a sharp update to a timeless story without relying too much on nostalgia, and praised the performance of the actors. Robert Daniels of Polygon applauded the humor of the series, claiming it offers a hysterical critique of present-day youth sports, and stated it manages to be a light-hearted family-friendly show. Joel Keller of Decider wrote that Lauren Graham represents the best asset of the show, praised the performances of the cast members, and complimented the writing, saying the dialogues are sharp and entertaining. Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter praised the performances of the actors, complimented the series for its inclusive messaging, and found it sincere and emotional at times, despite calling the narrative flaccid. Ashley Moulton of Common Sense Media rated the series 3 out of 5 stars, complimented the depiction of positive messages, stating the show promotes perseverance and positivity, and found agreeable the presence of role models, citing the gender and racial diversity across the main cast.