Shawn Levy is moving his TV shop from Netflix to Disney. Levy and his company, 21 Laps Entertainment, signed a multiyear overall deal with Disney's 20th Television, part of Disney Television Studios, Disney announced Monday. Variety and Deadline report the Netflix run started in 2017 and that development under the new pact begins in October 2027.
If you watch Stranger Things, that franchise does not suddenly vanish from Netflix. Levy will keep collaborating with Matt and Ross Duffer on the Stranger Things universe there, even as the Duffers themselves moved their broader deal to Paramount. The practical shift is where Levy's next wave of series gets developed: across Disney Entertainment's platforms and brands, not under a Netflix overall.
Netflix years vs Disney slate
Here is the split in one place, using Disney's announcement plus Variety and Deadline's reporting.
| Netflix chapter (2017–now) | Disney chapter (from Oct 2027) | |
|---|---|---|
| Deal type | Long overall / producing home for 21 Laps | Multiyear overall with 20th Television |
| Flagship TV | Stranger Things (EP; directed episodes); Shadow and Bone (EP) | New series across Disney Entertainment platforms (titles not yet named) |
| Film ties already at Disney | N/A as overall home | Deadpool & Wolverine (2024); Star Wars: Starfighter and Ghost Rider (both with Ryan Gosling) already set |
| What stays at Netflix | — | Ongoing Stranger Things universe work with the Duffers |
Disney President and Chief Creative Officer Dana Walden called Levy a partner who moves across genres and franchises. Debra OConnell, chairman of Disney Entertainment Television, framed him as one of the most prolific TV producers of the past decade on top of the film work. Those are standard deal quotes, but they match the slate: comedy roots, Night at the Museum, Free Guy, then Marvel and Lucasfilm.
Levy's own statement, carried by Disney and Variety, leans on history. He directed Disney Channel episodes of The Famous Jett Jackson early in his career, later worked with Walden when both were at Fox, and said the move "honestly just feels like home." He also thanked Netflix leaders Ted, Bela, and Jinny by first name and said he will "forever cherish" the Netflix ride. That is the soft landing both sides want when a flagship producer walks.
Why the timing fits the streaming chessboard
Stranger Things is ending its main run. Deadline notes the Duffers already took a large film and TV overall to Paramount, and that animated Stranger Things: Tales From '85 is back for a second season with at least one other offshoot still waiting on a Netflix green light. Levy leaving for Disney after nearly nine years is the second half of that talent realignment, not a surprise exile mid-hit.
Deadline also places Levy in a 20th TV hiring spree that already pulled Quinta Brunson from Warner Bros. Television and Sue Naegle from Universal. For you as a viewer, that means Disney is stocking showrunners while Netflix keeps the existing Stranger Things tree. For Disney+, Hulu, and the broader Disney TV stack, it means more 21 Laps series aimed at those pipes starting late 2027, overlapping with Levy's Starfighter theatrical window next summer.
Math on the calendar, using the reported dates: Netflix overall effectively winds down through the next year of Stranger Things franchise work; Disney overall development starts October 2027, which is about 13 months from this announcement (October 2026 → October 2027). That gap is long enough for Netflix wrap-ups and short enough that Disney is already talking about him as a TV partner, not only a movie director on loan.
Geeknewz verdict
Geeknewz's view: this is a clean talent migration, not a content cliff for Netflix subscribers. Stranger Things extensions stay put; Levy's next originals will compete for your Disney stack attention from late 2027. Watch whether 21 Laps announces a first Disney series before Starfighter opens, and whether Netflix greenlights the remaining Stranger Things offshoot without Levy as overall-deal talent. If you care about where prestige genre TV gets built next, Monday's answer is 20th Television.
Sources: The Walt Disney Company; Variety; Deadline.