Disney XD is shaking up their TV schedule in a big way.
First off, Pokémon is returning after a four-and-a-half-year absence. This time in reruns from the show’s first season (Indigo League). It starts with a 13.5-hour marathon on Thursday, August 6 and will then air regularly weekdays at 2:30pm and weekends at 8:00am. The series is also joining Disney+.
This is the first time older episodes have aired on TV since the show left Boomerang in February 2017. When the series aired on Disney XD in the past, it was only recent and new seasons. Past seasons did run on Disney XD On Demand and DisneyNOW.
The next big addition is the return of Even Stevens, Wizards of Waverly Place, Kim Possible, and The Suite Life of Zack & Cody – plus the additions of That’s So Raven, Lizzie McGuire, and Hannah Montana! Those seven Disney Channel series will air in big marathons each night of the week from roughly 7pm-5am (start/end times will vary).
Stevens aired on Disney XD when the channel rebranded from Toon Disney in February 2009 until January 2010. The Suite Life previously aired from 2009 to 2014 (plus a short time at the end of Toon Disney’s life in 2008), Wizards aired from 2012 to 2014, and Kim Possible at various times between 2014 and 2019 (in addition to years on Toon Disney from 2005-2008).
If all that wasn’t enough, the channel has greatly reduced the non-stop airings of Big City Greens. The series has aired for the past four years for much of the overnight, morning and mid-day timeslots each weekday. That’s been reduced this past week and will continue moving forward. DuckTales (2017), Big Hero 6, Kiff, and Phineas and Ferb will get marathons in its place.
Afternoons from 1-3:30pm feature action/anime shows like Pokémon, Yu-Gi-Oh! Go Rush!!, and Beyblade X. After that is a 3.5-hour marathon each weekday of shows like the 2017 Spider-Man, Lilo & Stitch, and Gravity Falls.
All of this is certainly a big turnaround for the network. The channel has recently aired older shows like Fish Hooks and Future-Worm! overnights, but those are now off the line-up with these new changes.