Disney+'s Coven Academy was broken up into shorter episodes for reasons that the series' creator and a major Disney executive can't seem to agree on. Coven Academy is Disney's latest and greatest supernatural teen drama, following a trio of young witches-in-training in New Orleans. The series was originally ordered for Disney Channel, but ultimately aired its 10 episodes on Freeform across three Thursdays in October. Strangely, Coven Academy was structured differently for its bingeable release on Disney+ and Hulu, dividing the narrative into 21 much shorter chapters, which confused audiences.
Coven Academy creator Tim Federle addressed why the Disney+ series' episodes are so short in a recent interview, although Disney Television Group President Craig Erwich seems to disagree with him about the reason. While Coven Academy's format is a major change for Disney+, Federle first explained that the whole team comes "traditional TV backgrounds:"
"It’s not quite a K-drama and it’s also not an hour long. I ran the show with Todd Slavkin and Darren Swimmer, who came up through 'Smallville' and 'Shadow Hunters'. So in some ways our writers’ room itself — and the directors we hired‚ it was an all-female-director lineup in season one; I directed the pilot and then it was all women after me — we all come from, frankly, traditional TV backgrounds."
Federle explained to The Hollywood Reporter that the goal behind the short runtimes was to create "something that felt more chapter-based" that becomes "very bingeable:"
"We wanted to take that traditional storytelling muscle, which arcs out over five-plus hours in season one, but then try something that felt more chapter-based, with hopefully just as many arcs, just as many payoffs, just as many plot twists. But where you might typically break for a commercial on cable, we just sort of end the chapter and then start right back up. So what I’m ultimately hoping is that the experience itself is very bingeable."
Coven Academy spans 21 episodes, each 11 to 23 minutes long, totaling just 344 minutes (5 hours, 44 minutes), with an average runtime of just 16 minutes per episode. Disney+ has faced backlash for its often-short episodes in the past, but at least Marvel Studios' next TV show will have a record-breaking runtime.
The creator shut down many viewers' theories that Coven Academy's bite-sized style was to cater to a "short-attention-span generation" that he isn't convinced even exists, as shows with a wide range of runtimes continue to be successful:
"I think there could easily be a misperception that this was geared towards some prototypical short-attention-span generation, which I actually don’t believe. I think this generation actually will dive into any story in a deep way if they love it, which is why everything from 'Grey’s Anatomy' to 'Friends' is still trending. I think they want to spend time with characters they love and go deep into their lives, and I think we still try to do that with 'Coven Academy'."
Federle pointed out how it can be "hard to break through" for an original show like Coven Academy in a streaming era that is increasingly driven by IPs, although he hopes to see it become such a success that it "gets rebooted in 20 years:"
"In an era when IP tends to really work, we’re taking a swing with something that isn’t IP and trying something new to say, does this work? Because it’s hard to break through. It’s hard to get attention, and I really respect and appreciate Disney for taking this risk because it’s not a book, it’s not a movie. It wasn’t your mom’s favorite TV show. I think it is an amalgam of a lot of those elements. I think it’s very reminiscent of those types of shows, but it’s new, and it’s a new piece of lore, and I hope it gets rebooted in 20 years."
Disney Television Group President Craig Erwich, who oversees original content from Hulu, Freeform, and ABC Entertainment, offered his own outlook on the direction in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. Interestingly, Erwich stated that the show is "specifically geared for young audiences in 2026" because they "know how people are watching," which is often in shorter bursts on a phone screen, not necessarily on a large-screen TV:
One of our big launches this summer for Disney+ will be 'Coven Academy', which is a bunch of young girls in a genre setting — but that one is also specifically geared for young audiences in 2026. We designed these episodes to be in 15-minute bursts because we know how people are watching. These things are meant not just on the [TV] screen, but on mobile. It’s got a propulsive beat to it. It’s not just the subject matter, but the form of storytelling, that feels really relevant."
The Disney Television Group boss' comments directly oppose those of Coven Academy's creator. Erwich seems to admit that the supernatural series' short chapters were intended to entice younger audiences with arguably shorter attention spans and different viewing habits, a claim Federle refuted.
After Disney+ bid farewell to a beloved 2000s fantasy sitcom earlier this year, which similarly revolved around young magic-users-in-training, Coven Academy may be the perfect replacement for fans to enjoy streaming all 21 episodes now.
Disney+'s New Content Styles Are Taking Hollywood in a Scary Direction
Coven Academy's unique structure follows Disney+'s first major foray into TikTok-esque TV with Locker Diaries. The series of shorts ranges from 1 to 3 minutes and features characters from Phineas & Ferb, Zombies, and Descendants through the lens of a school locker, presented in vertical format to truly enter the shorts market.
There's no doubt that Disney+ is trying to appeal to a very different era of streaming subscribers, one whose viewing habits have been shaped by TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels to favor short-form content suitable for watching on phones and tablets, or even while doing another activity.
The changes follow reports that Netflix has encouraged writers to deliver dumbed-down, second-screen-friendly content that features simpler storylines and over-expository dialogue to benefit viewers who are also looking at their phones.
These changes across the streaming landscape are bound to have many concerned about where Hollywood is heading in the coming years. Could audiences one day be watching the latest Avengers or Star Wars blockbuster stories in dozens of short, bingeable chapters in a vertical format?
While Disney is certainly easing audiences into these new styles of content with vertical shorts like Locker Diaries and mini-chapters like Coven Academy, it's only a matter of time before the bigger brands take a dip into this scary sandbox. Then again, provided these changes remain in addition to the familiar formats of television, not instead of, there shouldn't be reason to worry... Right?
