Disney has revealed the release dates for two upcoming Pixar shows headed to Disney+: Inside Out spinoff Dream Productions and new original series Win or Lose.
All four episodes of limited series Dream Productions will debut on December 11, 2024, while Win or Lose will premiere on February 19, 2025. The latter will consist of eight episodes, and Disney said in its announcement that those will "start to roll out" on that February 19 date, so it won't be an all-at-once drop like Dream Productions.
Disney also unveiled a sneak peek at both series, which you can watch below.
While Dream Productions was first teased in a Bloomberg article earlier this year, it wasn't officially announced until D23 last month. It takes place in between the events of Inside Out and Inside Out 2, and follows a studio inside Riley's mind "where dreams really do come true — every night, on time and on budget." Read the rest of Disney's official synopsis below:
Riley is growing up and when her memories need some extra processing, Joy and the rest of the Core Emotions send them to Dream Productions. Acclaimed director Paula Persimmon (voice of Paula Pell) faces a nightmare of her own: Trying to create the next hit dream after being paired up with Xeni (voice of Richard Ayoade), a smug daydream director looking to step up into the big leagues of night dreams. Also featuring the voices of Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Ally Maki, Kensington Tallman, Liza Lapira, Tony Hale, Lewis Black and Phyllis Smith, the hilarious, mockumentary-style series is written and directed by Mike Jones and produced by Jaclyn Simon.
Win or Lose was announced all the way back at D23 2022. It marks Pixar's first-ever original long-form animated series, and "reveals what it actually feels like to be in the shoes of eight different characters in the week leading up to the big game — the insecure kids, their helicopter parents, even a lovesick umpire — with incredibly funny, very emotional and uniquely animated perspectives," Disney's synopsis reads. Will Forte leads the voice cast as the coach, and Carrie Hobson and Michael Yates directed, wrote, and executive produced.
“These two series really show Pixar creativity at its finest,” Pixar Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter said in a statement. “We're excited fans won’t have to wait long for more great content from the world of Inside Out. Dream Productions offers up a treasure trove of jokes and fun as it digs deeper into one of our favorite parts of the first film, the making of Riley’s dreams. And we consider Win or Lose a major, first-of-its-kind tentpole series, one that really showcases what I think makes our studio great: bold, imaginative storytelling; laugh-out-loud humor; and characters that we can all relate to.”
These will likely be the last streaming-focused projects from the beloved animation studio for some time, however. In May, Pixar began layoffs of 14% of its staff, citing a pivot away from projects produced for Disney+ and back to theatrical releases (you can read my recent in-depth report about the layoffs and other issues at Pixar here).
Inside Out 2, meanwhile, is set to hit Disney+ tomorrow after a record-shattering run at the worldwide box office. IGN gave the sequel a 7/10, saying that it "may be conceptually smart, but it doesn't pack the original's emotional punch."
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
