--- title: "Parents Annoyed When Disney+ Starts Showing Kids “American Horror Story”" description: "Streaming service Disney+ gave parents a big fright this summer when it started integrating Hulu content — including \"American Horror Story.\"" date: "2024-08-21" modified: "2024-08-21" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/parents-annoyed-disney-kids-hulu" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "disney" - "streaming" - "streaming services" - "the digest" --- # Parents Annoyed When Disney+ Starts Showing Kids “American Horror Story” ![Streaming service Disney+ gave parents a big fright this summer when it started integrating Hulu content — including "American Horror Story."]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Mickey's Haunted House Streaming service Disney+ gave parents a big fright this summer when it started integrating a wealth of content from Hulu — including violent R-rated movies like "Aliens" and graphic TV series like "American Horror Story." As [*Business Insider* reports](), parents weren't expecting the deluge of mature offerings, even after having created a separate child-friendly profile to filter out inappropriate content. "I was genuinely excited that they were integrating Hulu so I wouldn't have to switch apps," the parent of two teenagers and a toddler Corey Doiron told *BI.* Yet Doiron soon spotted a thumbnail for the 2022 horror slasher "Smile" appearing right next to the highly popular children's TV shows "Bluey" and "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse." ## PG Police As *BI* points out, the reason for the graphic inclusions is an unfortunate combination of user error and confusing safety restriction categories, making the task of curating an age-appropriate stream of content daunting for young parents. As of right now, users can select the "profile maturity rating for kids," based on the TV Parental Guidelines set up by the TV industry and the FCC in the US. But they can't block individual titles on Disney+, something that's possible on Netflix. In particular, the "parental guidance" (PG) content rating lumps together some incredibly popular content like Disney's "Moana" under the same category as far less child-appropriate content like "Smile" and "American Horror Story." Meanwhile, Disney's "Junior Mode" is aimed at very young children, blocking PG titles that would be appropriate for older kids. "The reason we have PG is that when it's set to a lower rating, it only offers extremely childish options better suited to 3- or 4-year-olds," a different subscriber, who has two young children, told *BI*. "It's like there's not a suitable rating option for 5- to 8-year-olds." "I'm surprised they haven't figured out the sweet spot of kids who want to watch 'Frozen' and 'Empire Strikes Back' but not true-crime shows about bayou murders," he added. Of course, Disney has a reputation to uphold. For many decades, the company's offerings have been synonymous with family-friendly content. Worse yet, with the advent of other streaming services like YouTube, children are increasingly being drawn away from the Mouse House's offerings, particularly in a post-Disney Channel world. "YouTube is their primary platform of choice," former Warner Bros. Discovery research vice president and consultant Alexia Raven [told *BI* last month](). "It meets them where they are and meets their passions in nuanced ways. It really has shifted the entertainment landscape." **More on Disney:** *[Wait, Did Elon Musk Just Hint He's Going to Buy Disney?]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()