Why was Beauty and the Beast's TV spin-off put on hold? Everything to know

Disney+ Beauty and the Beast's TV spin-off has been put on hold for the time being due to delays with creative components and scheduling conflicts with its cast.

According to sources close to the streaming service, the program will be available someday. However, it's unclear whether the cast, including actors Josh Gad and Luke Evans, will be available when that eventually happens.

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Why was Beauty and the Beast’s TV spin-off put on hold?

The project was initially planned as a six-episode series. Gad and Evans would reprise their roles as Gaston and LeFou, respectively, in an original narrative for the beloved characters.

Briana Middleton (The Tender Bar) was cast as LeFou's stepsister, Tilly, and the show was ordered to series with an eight-episode order in June 2021.

The show's production was supposed to start this spring, but it was moved until the summer in Europe to film in nice weather. Several creative components did not go far enough to fit inside that time frame, according to sources.

Cast scheduling issues were also a concern since certain actors had hard outs for other productions starting in August. Disney+ has decided to put Beauty and the Beast's TV spin-off on hold while the window of availability closes.

Following the industry-wide production stoppage in 2020, the epidemic has made scheduling a significant difficulty, as performers, writers, directors, and issues like soundstage and location availability have all been turned upside down.

Despite this, according to reports, Disney has decided not to postpone the existing schedule due to weather constraints in the United Kingdom, as few people want the upbeat musical to be recorded in bad weather.

The news comes just days after Disney+ announced that Rita Ora, a British pop artist, would be joining the show's cast, which also included Fra Fee and Jelani Alladin. When and if a new timeline opens up, it's uncertain if current actors will be allowed to return.

Gad, Kitsis, Horowitz and EGOT-winner Alan Menken had all agreed to executive produce the Beauty and the Beast prequel, with the latter composing the soundtrack.

The live-action Beauty and the Beast movie, released in 2017, grossed over $1 billion worldwide. The spin-off was set to join a growing list of Marvel, Star Wars titles and Pixar films.