These days, it seems like almost every TV series is available on one of the many streaming services out there. But, there are some older shows that have not been made available digitally just yet. For one '80s classic, that's about to change. For the first time, Moonlighting starring Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd will be available to stream online. All five seasons of the detective dramedy will be made available, and the episodes have been remastered in HD.
If you need a refresher, Moonlighting stars Shepherd as Maddie Hayes, a former model, who begins working for a detective agency after falling on hard times (just go with it). Willis plays David Addison Jr., a detective who already works at the agency. Of course, sparks begin to fly between the two, making the show both about the detective agency and Maddie and David's will-they-or-won't-they romance.
Interested in watching—or rewatching? Read on to find out when, where, and how you can stream Moonlighting and learn more about the stars' real-life relationship below.
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Moonlighting will be available very soon.
ABCAs reported by Deadline, Moonlighting will be available to stream on Hulu starting Tuesday, Oct. 10. All 67 episodes of the show, which ran between 1985 and 1989, will be available and will be remastered in high-definition.
If you don't already have Hulu, note that plans for the streaming service start at $7.99/month for a plan that includes ads. A plan for Hulu without ads is $14.99/month. Hulu can also be bundled with other Disney-owned streaming services. For example, a plan for Hulu and Disney+—both with ads—costs $9.99/month.
The show's creator teased the news a year ago.
Deadline notes that Moonlighting creator Glenn Gordon Caron previously teased that the show might be coming to a streaming service, which seemed likely to be either Disney+ or Hulu.
Caron posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Oct. 3, 2022, "Disney and I have put our heads together and come up with a plan. Big announcement Wednesday!!!"
Two days later, he posted, "CAT'S OUTTA THE BAG Can't keep it under my hat any longer—the business of getting all 5 seasons of 'Moonlighting' starring Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd ready for streaming has begun!" He added in additional posts that there were "lots of moving parts" and "it could take quite a while ... No word yet on where or when you'll be seeing it—but it's happening!"
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There were streaming issues due to music rights.
ABCThe reason Moonlighting hasn't been streaming up until now wasn't a lack of interest. Instead, it had to do with the rights to the music featured in the show, songs which were originally licensed to air on TV nearly 40 years ago—not on streaming or on DVDs.
In April 2022, Caron told TheWrap that Disney had told him, "Look, the big problem we have is, the show is just larded with music. None of those rights have been sewn up, and we believe it would be cost prohibitive to go get them now." He added, "The last conversation that I had with them, which I’m guessing was probably about two years ago, the music was really the financial reason." Caron also noted that the show "licensed stuff from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, and also broke new music."
Now, obviously, Disney's opinion on the matter has changed, an outcome Caron seemed to think was possible when he spoke to TheWrap. "I think the economics have obviously changed in the last two years in terms of what streaming’s become," the writer and producer said.
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The stars' real-life relationship was just as dramatic as the show.
Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty ImagesOne of the big draws of Moonlighting is the on-screen chemistry between Willis and Shepherd's characters. And their relationship off-screen is pretty intriguing, too.
In her 2000 book, Cybill Disobedience, Shepherd wrote that she and Willis were attracted to each other and one time they ended up kissing. He went over to her place and "it wasn't long before we were passionately sucking face," she said. But, they decided to not go any further because of their working relationship.
At other times, the two actors didn't get along. Shepherd told Entertainment Weekly in 2005, "I remember at one point in the show, it had gotten to where we just hated each other. It was a very volatile show anyway, but that's also what made it great."
In the end, though, Shepherd has love for her former co-star. In 2022, she spoke to Extra about Willis in light of the news that he was retiring from acting due to his aphasia diagnosis. (His family later shared that he was also diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia).
"I just have to say one thing about Bruce. No one else was ever considered for the part when he walked in the room," Shepherd told Extra. "My temperature went up 10 degrees. That meant two things to me: one, I was very attracted to him, two, I would never act on it, 'cause we were both very attracted to each other." She added, "I will always love Bruce."
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