Disney is making a historic move and bringing the MCU to cable TV for the first time. Over the years, the Marvel Studios brand has made its way onto TV, but never on cable television. Previously, audiences got a taste of the hit Ms. Marvel series on ABC, as the studio attempted to fill content hours during the Hollywood writers' and actors' strikes of 2025, but that was on broadcast rather than any premium cable network.
Disney+'s Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man has been announced as one of two Marvel Studios series coming to FXX as part of a groundbreaking move for the super-powered brand. The otherworldly animated Spider-Man series (which is technically canon to the MCU) ran on Disney+ from January 29 to February 19 of this year, being a streaming-exclusive title to this point, like much of Marvel Studios' other titles.
The news of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man's cable debut was announced via network listings from parent company Disney, which had inexplicably had half-hour blocks for the animated series appearing on FXX starting on Tuesday, July 1.
According to the premium cable network's weekly schedule, episodes of the wall-crawling streaming series will play two at a time between 5 and 6 p.m. from Tuesday, July 1, to Friday, July 4.
It will be joined by Marvel Animation's X-Men '97, which will air episodes on the network in the hour block following Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man during the same week-long period.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man's appearance on FXX is notable, as it is the first MCU series to come to cable in the nearly 20-year history of the franchise.
Other titles have played on traditional broadcast TV in the past. In fact, Marvel Studios had several original-to-broadcast MCU TV series for several years (i.e., Agents of SHIELD and Agent Carter). But this is the first time an MCU series has dipped its toes into the world of premium cable television.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man follows the trials and tribulations of an alternate reality Peter Parker (voiced by Hudson Thames) in his early years as the iconic web-headed hero, dealing with his first experiences crossing paths with big-name Marvel characters like Norman Osborn and Lonnie Lincoln.
Season 2 of the animated Spider-Man series has already been greenlit and will be available on Disney+ in 2026.
Why Is Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man on TV?
After keeping its MCU shows cordoned off from linear TV audiences for so long, this move to put Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man will almost surely raise some eyebrows.
The show has been branded as a streaming-exclusive for so long, so why would it suddenly show up on cable? Well, it likely has to do with a few factors.
The Disney that bet big on streaming with the launch of Disney+ in 2019 is not the same Disney that fans find themselves fawning over now.
The streaming business did not prove to be the money-maker the House of Mouse initially thought it would be, with profitability being a significant concern. So, Disney (and the rest of the entertainment industry) has had to get creative.
This means trying things the studio brass would not have thought were logical several years ago.
With a second season of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man on the horizon (expected sometime in 2026), this move to put the first season on the Disney-owned cable channel is likely an effort to spread the word about the series before Season 2, while filling a few content hours while they are at it.
If fans have not seen the animated show, they may watch on FXX, fall in love, and then feel compelled to subscribe to Disney+ to stream the second batch of episodes when they drop in 2026.
It's simple brand synergy, with Disney using several properties under its wide-spanning umbrella to benefit everyone.
