Q&A

Q: We loved the show "Galavant"! It was clever, original, funny and had great music. We were very disappointed when it wasn't renewed. We'd like to get DVDs of its two seasons but can't find any. Do you have any information on that?

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Author: 
Adam Thomlison / TV Media

There are no DVDs available yet, but hopefully you're just looking a bit too early.

If the show had been a runaway hit, the network would certainly have rushed to get DVDs onto shelves, but "Galavant" never had that sort of success. Indeed, its lack of that sort of success is why it was canceled after two short seasons (season 1 had just eight episodes, while season 2 had 10, though ABC burned through them all in the span of one month in 2016).

However, that's not to say it didn't have any kind of success. The show did, as you say, have great music -- the innovative musical-comedy series was nominated for a Best Original Music Emmy. But that's not just some kind of consolation prize -- famed composer Alan Menken, who wrote said music and was easily the most famous name associated with the show, said that its musical success has positioned "Galavant" to build a fan base even after being canceled. He's currently working to set up a stage adaptation of the show.

That may sound like wishful thinking, or like a person who can't accept failure, but it would actually mimic one of Menken's greatest past victories. He wrote the music for the 1992 Disney film "Newsies," which failed in theaters but was an enormous, Tony-winning success on Broadway years later.

If "Galavant" does find that kind of cult success, a full DVD release is sure to follow. For example, "Newsies," which only made $2.8 million in theaters, representing just a fifth of its $15 million budget, got a lush, 20th-anniversary DVD reissue in 2012 to capitalize on its subsequent cult fame.

 

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