Disney+ has “pretty much” hit its target of creating 50 original international titles, according to its Europe content boss.Liam Keelan, Disney’s SVP, Original Content, Europe and Africa, confirmed the target, which was set back in December 2020, had almost been met a year ahead of schedule. This is despite the general downturn in commissioning in Europe this year and potential changes in Disney+’s strategic focus going forwards spearheaded by Disney CEO Bob Iger.“We’ve pretty much got there already,” said Keelan, though he added Disney+ is “never going to be in that high-volume game.”He added: “It’s more about quality.”The 50-title figure includes returning series such as Extraordinary, the British superhero workplace comedy about a world in which normal people have powers. Disney also announced cast for UK thriller Playdate and unscripted show World War Shoe: Adidas Vs. Puma today at the Edinburgh TV Festival.Extraordinary will be available on Hulu in the U.S.Keelan acknowledged the difficult media economy had impacted budgets but said it had not impacted its commissioning strategy.“It would be remiss of me to say we’re immune to the industry-wide problems [on] budgets and the effect that has had,” said Keelan. “We’re still absolutely looking for the best content working with the best talent.”He pointed to originals such as Rivals, which is an adaptation of the 1988 Jilly Cooper novel of the same name starring the likes of David Tennant and Aidan Turner as “huge scale shows” that highlight “the ambition is still absolutely there with Disney UK.”
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