Hey, does anyone know what’s going on over at Warner Bros. Discovery? Because from the outside looking in, it just seems like a lot of bad news (and bad decisions).
First, we had the whole Batgirl mess. Then, people noticed that content was disappearing from the HBO Max library. (HBO TV shows like Camping and Mrs. Fletcher are gone, along with a few films that made their debut on HBO Max, like 2020’s remake of The Witches). Now, another blow: dozens of shows, including HBO Max Original programs, will soon be dropped from the streaming platform.
The following titles have been announced as leaving HBO Max:
HBO Max Originals Leaving HBO Max
12 Dates of Christmas
About Last Night
Aquaman: King of Atlantis
Close Enough
Ellen’s Next Great Designer
Esme & Roy
The Fungies!
Generation Hustle
Generation
Infinity Train
Little Ellen
My Mom, Your Dad
Odo
Ravi Patel’s Pursuit of Happiness
Summer Camp Island
The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo
The Runaway Bunny
Theodosia
Tig n’ Seek
Yabba Dabba Dinosaurs
HBO Originals Leaving HBO Max
My Dinner with Herve
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Cartoon Network Programs Leaving HBO Max
Dodo
Elliott From Earth
Mao Mao, Heroes of Pure Heart
Mighty Magiswords
OK K.O.! – Let’s Be Heroes
Uncle Grandpa
Victor and Valentino
Acquired Titles Also Leaving
Detention Adventure
Messy Goes to Okido
Mia’s Magic Playground
The Ollie & Moon Show
Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures
Make It Big, Make It Small
Squish
What does this mean for these titles and the future of HBO Max?
Variety confirmed the removal of these titles with a spokesperson for HBO Max, who attributed the loss of content to the pending merge with Discovery+.
“As we work toward bringing our content catalogs together under one platform, we will be making changes to the content offering available on both HBO Max and discovery+,” HBO Max’s statement reads. “That will include the removal of some content from both platforms.”
An exact date or time for removing the above programs has not been announced. But some shows may leave HBO Max as early as this week.
Why remove shows at all?
Why cancel a mostly complete superhero blockbuster based on a huge IP? The answer for Warner Bros. Discovery in both cases seems to be “money.” The company announced it would take a tax write-off for Batgirl, and removing certain titles from its library comes from a similar line of thinking. If shows are not made available to stream, the company can save money on residuals.
The future of these programs only gets murkier too as the entertainment industry shifts into unprecedented territory. Quite a few of the shows leaving HBO Max were produced as Max Originals – programs made exclusively for the platform. If Warner Bros. Discovery doesn’t decide to make them available to rent or buy on another platform, their removal from streaming will make them completely inaccessible to fans.
So, what do you think about all the changes happening over at WB-Discovery? Are any of your favorite shows getting dropped from HBO Max? Let us know in the comments below.
