'Monarch: Legacy of Monsters' Veteran's Underrated True Sports Tale Is a Surprise Streaming Hit

4 weeks ago 20

Image via Disney+

Published Mar 8, 2026, 12:20 PM EDT

In over three years at Collider, senior author Jake has now penned over 2500 articles covering a wide range of TV and film for the resources, lists, utilities, news, and interview teams. Alongside interviewing stars such as Selin Hizli, Rose Ayling-Ellis, Harlan Coben, and Chelsea Peretti, Jake was lucky enough to visit the set of Aardman and Netflix's Wallace and Gromit: A Vengeance Most Fowl in 2024, getting the chance to chat with four-time Academy Award winner Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham. Jake has also worked for other publications, including Agents of Fandom.

Last week, one of Apple TV's best shows returned for its hotly anticipated second season. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Season 2 has impressed critics, scoring an 81% on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes and earning a strong 7/10 from Collider's David Caballero. In his review, Caballero wrote, "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Season 2 mostly satisfies with a story that puts the Titans front and center — exactly where fans want to see them."

Key to the success of Season 2 will be Kurt Russell, the Hollywood icon who joins Wyatt Russell in portraying Army officer Lee Shaw. Part of a perfectly assembled cast, Russell's veteran instincts radiate through each scene, just as they did 22 years ago in his true story-inspired sports flick, Miracle. Adapting the famous "Miracle on Ice" tale for the big screen, the movie tells the story of the 1980 USA men’s hockey team as they defied the odds to win Olympic gold in Lake Placid. Russell stars as head coach Herb Brooks, alongside an impressive cast including Noah Emmerich, Patricia Clarkson, Sean McCann, and more.

A hit with both critics and audiences, Miracle earned a "certified fresh" 80% from the former and an impressive 90% from the latter on Rotten Tomatoes. The consensus on the site reads, "Kurt Russell's performance guides this cliché-ridden tale into the realm of inspirational, nostalgic goodness." At the time of writing, Miracle is one of the ten most-streamed movies on Disney+ in the U.S. A synopsis of the movie reads:

"When college coach Herb Brooks (Kurt Russell) is hired to helm the 1980 U.S. men's Olympic hockey team, he brings a unique and brash style to the ice. After assembling a team of hot-headed college all-stars, who are humiliated in an early match, Brooks unites his squad against a common foe, the heavily-favored Soviet team. As the U.S. squad tries to overcome insurmountable odds and win the gold medal, the team becomes a microcosm for American patriotism during the Cold War."

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What Else Is Popular on Disney+?

Kurt Russell as Herb Brooks with his arms folded at a hockey game in Miracle

Miracle is one of an eye-catching selection of titles on Disney+ currently proving popular. This includes the gorgeous animation of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the new Marvel series Wonder Man, the hugely underrated Ron's Gone Wrong, Miraculous World: Tokyo, Stellar Force, the hugely popular second season of Paradise, and much more.

Miracle is streaming now on Disney+. Stay tuned to Collider for more streaming stories.