Why You Can Trust CNET How to Finally Try Out 'The Mandalorian' Without Disney Plus
Don't have Disney Plus? Here's your chance to meet Baby Yoda and see if the hype is justified.
- Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year" award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
Now's your chance to meet Grogu, aka Baby Yoda, without paying for Disney Plus.
When The Mandalorian came out in 2019, its shiny helmeted star (Pedro Pascal) and his cute sidekick, adorable Baby Yoda, were everywhere. But if you don't have Disney Plus, you may want to see what all the fuss is about. Now's your chance -- kind of. The very first episode of The Mandalorian -- where Mando and Baby Yoda meet -- will make its broadcast debut on Feb. 24, airing on ABC, Freeform and FX at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
It's just the first episode of season one. Two full eight-episode seasons of The Mandalorian have aired so far on Disney Plus, with the third season debuting on March 1.
Disney's probably hoping that taste of the aw-inducing relationship between father figure Mando and Baby Yoda (real name: Grogu) will convince some fans to sign up and pay for Disney Plus.
The first episode is a pretty good introduction. Pascal's Mando (real name: Din Djarin) is an orphan who was adopted into Mandalorian culture and trained as a warrior, and per their code, is rarely seen without his helmet. He's working as a bounty hunter when an assignment to bring in a certain 50-year-old asset turns out to be not exactly what he expected. (Once you've watched, check out our list of questions we had after the first episode aired.)
Pascal just hosted Saturday Night Live on Feb. 4. He also stars in HBO Max's The Last of Us, which premiered to rave reviews on Jan. 15.
