What the Actual Hell is Going on at Warner Bros. Discovery?
Do you know how bad a company has to be doing for me to revive this blog solely to shade them?
Well, the head honchos over at Warner Bros. Discovery apparently know no limits whatsoever.
For those who are out of the loop, WBD is prepping the ever-popular HBO Max for an eventual merger with Discovery+, all while trying to save themselves from financial ruin brought on by the Discovery/WarnerMedia merger back in April. And the way they’re “cleaning house” is the complete opposite of that expression.
This month, many Max Original series and films have inexplicably vanished from the platform. Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt were canned despite being well into (and nearly finished with) production, while news of significant cuts to animation, kids, and family programming followed not far behind.
This has culminated with HBO Max’s recent removal of nearly 40 series, including but tragically not limited to:
- Close Enough — another recent cancellation
- Elliot from Earth
- Infinity Train
- Mao Mao — with no news of the show’s status since the season 2 announcement in 2020
- OK K.O.
- Sesame Street — classic episodes, some specials, plus The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo)
- Summer Camp Island — whose recent season was delayed to 2023 a week before its premiere
- and Victor and Valentino
Across social media and YouTube, Cartoon Network has wiped every mention of Elliot from Earth, Infinity Train, OK K.O., and Mao Mao. Infinity Train DVD releases are also being pulled from online retailers, as is it and OK K.O.’s soundtracks. With this in mind, it’s not hard to believe that we may see some tax write-offs here and there.
I’ll eventually expand on this sentiment of mine in a later article, but when you stop and think, it really is by sheer luck how Cartoon Network has been able to give so much to the medium it’s named after. This channel - this multinational BRAND - hasn’t had a period of stable management since its goddamn inception. And in the year of its 30th anniversary, where so many shows for so many different audiences are the works, everyone thought the network was heading towards another renaissance. Guess we were too hopeful.
It’s also important to recognize the effects this purge will have regarding lost media. Remember that there are actual, living people behind these shows who have dedicated years of their lives to a craft. With streaming on the rise and physical media on the decline, all their hard work can legally cease to exist if they're not careful. The whole solution is absolutely disheartening.
