Traditionally, new episodes of Disney Plus shows hit the catalog at midnight Pacific Time (3 a.m. ET), which is hardly ideal if you want to watch the latest episode as soon as possible, and avoid the possibility of seeing spoilers online. Thankfully Ahsoka, the upcoming Star Wars show, will not be doing that.
Instead, Lucasfilm has announced (via io9) that all episodes of Ahsoka will be landing on Disney Plus at 6 p.m. PT (9 p.m. ET) on Tuesday night — a whole six hours earlier than we were expecting. This also means the first two episodes of the show will actually be arriving on August 22 for viewers in the U.S., which is more or less a day early. (Here's more info on how to watch Ahsoka online).
It feels uncharacteristically generous of Disney to do this, though it does feel like Ahsoka will feel more like a traditional broadcast TV show rather than something exclusive to streaming. Debuting in the evening means you can chill out on the couch after work and tune in, host watch parties with your friends, and then go off and discuss the show at work the next day.
The benefit of streaming means you don’t need to be tuned in exactly at 6/9 p.m., or remember to set the TIVO to record. Just load up Disney Plus and watch in a way that suits you. It could be 9.05 p.m., 10.15 p.m. or a week later. It’s entirely up to you.
Plus, you know, you’re not pressured into tuning in first thing in the morning to avoid being spoiled by people on the internet who apparently don’t sleep or have jobs to go to.
Thanks to time zones being a thing, the rest of the world will have to wait until August 23, albeit six hours earlier than the usual premiere time. How much of a benefit this may be will no doubt depend on your location, and what time you usually wake up.
For someone like me, who lives in the U.K., the fact the episode now lands at 2 a.m. is going to make zero difference to my usual watching habits. But, then again, that just means Ahsoka is just like every other big-name American TV show I’ve watched over the past 15 years.
Just remember that Ahsoka’s premiere is a two-parter, so you’re going to have to set aside at least two hours to watch it all. Before you watch the premiere, here are 7 things to know about Ahsoka.
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