Disney's New Lion King Companion Series Is #1 After Just Two Days On Streaming

Disney's The Lion King has always been a mega hit, and now that is extending beyond the movies. The Lion King franchise first began with the beloved 1994 film, which is regularly touted as one of the best animated movies of all time. Since then, the 2019 adaptation of The Lion King as well as its sequel Mufasa: The Lion King have been hugely successful box office performers.

It is something outside the canonical Lion King that is tearing up streaming charts right now, though. In collaboration with National Geographic, Disney recently released the four-part miniseries Lion, a nature documentary which follows the path of a lion cub as he embarks on a four-year journey to kingship. Lion is now the no. 1 series on Disney+ in the United States.

Lion Is The #1 Series On Disney+

Lion is beating out some mainstay popular shows, including two versions of Bluey. It is also trending above Disney's Hulu and FX shows like Furious and The Shards. This indicates that Lion is seemingly performing well among both adult and child audiences. The show is, in fact, rated TV-PG, indicating age-appropriateness for most kids.

Lion's success has not only been dominant, but fast. The show was released on live broadcast on National Geographic on August 19, followed by a streaming release on Disney+ and Hulu the following day, August 20. With the chart coming in on August 22, this means that Lion rose to be chart-topping after a mere two-full days on the platform.

Lion Serves As A Companion Piece To The Iconic Lion King Movies

Lion is a great documentary-style series to check out for lovers of The Lion King that want to see lions a bit more behind-the-scenes. First, it follows a very similar plot arc as the original film. The series' description explains that the lead lion cub, which the filmmakers deem Kio, goes through loss, rivalry, and relationships, during his path to become king. The parallels to Simba's journey are clear.

As opposed to the compressed timeline of an animated film, Lion also allows viewers to witness this real-life lion over a multi-year period. The series wonderfully captures the animal's growth from small cub to powerful adult lion, a transformation that is the result of the multi-year behind-the-scenes commitment. As the wait continues for the next Lion King franchise installment, Lion is a great documentary miniseries companion piece for audiences to catch in the meantime.