:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/69741846/Escaping_Expulsion___Luz_and_Amity_smile.0.jpg)
The first 10 episodes of the second season of The Owl House are available on Disney Plus today. The animated fantasy show, from Gravity Falls alum Dana Terrace, premiered on Disney Channel in early 2020, with new episodes airing on the network. While the show has been greenlit for a third and final season, it won’t be a complete one — but streaming might just rekindle interest and grant the show a new life.
The Owl House follows Luz (Sarah-Nicole Robles), a plucky and misfit teenage girl, who accidentally stumbles into a realm of witches and demons. Determined to learn magic, she studies under the questionable guidance of con artist Eda the Owl Lady (Wendie Malick), who lives in a magical talking house with a tiny, but fierce demon named King. Along the way, Luz befriends a variety of young witches — including aloof overachiever Amity Blight (Mae Whitman). In the first season, it was revealed that Amity had a crush on Luz in the episode “Enchanting Grom Fright,” marking the first main LGBTQ character in a Disney Channel animated series.
Compared to other all-ages animation programming, Disney Channel has lagged behind in terms of LGBTQ representatio, even though its live-action shows, like Andi Mack, have featured prominent queer storylines. But The Owl House broke through previous barriers, making Luz and Amity’s relationship the main romantic focus of the show. Alex Hirsch, creator of Gravity Falls and voice of King on The Owl House, tweeted about the sheer difference in trying to get LGBTQ+ representation just a few years ago.
Back when I made GF Disney FORBADE me from any explicit LGBTQ+ rep. Apparently “happiest place on earth” meant “straightest” But as of today, thanks to @DanaTerrace & team there are explicitly queer ANIMATED MAIN CHARACTERS on DISNEY TV. Im so proud & happy to say that #OwlHouse https://t.co/AlxUlbcy5j
— Alex Hirsch (@_AlexHirsch) August 9, 2020
The new episode drop of The Owl House coincides with actress Mae Whitman, who voices Amity, coming out as pansexual on social media.
“Being pansexual myself, I wish I had such incredible characters like Amity and Luz in my life when I was growing up,” Whitman tweeted on Aug. 16.
Unfortunately, the fate of the show is up in the air. Terrace revealed that the show would not get a full third season; instead, it will be three 44-minute episodes and is currently set to be the final season. In a recent Twitch stream, she said that it was “too late” to rally for a full third season — though depending on how much attention the show gets, it may get additional content. Hopefully the streaming availability of the show will generate interest.
All current episodes of The Owl House — all of season 1 and the first half of season 2 — are available now on Disney Plus. The exact dates for the premiere of the second half of the season have yet to be announced.
