![]() September 1: Diego Molano, creator Victor and Valentino, one of the shows removed from Max, discusses his feelings about the HBO Max removals with Cartoon Brew. It was later confirmed that most of the productions are being shopped to other networks and platforms.Īugust 20: Infinity Train creator Owen Dennis is one of the first showrunners of a series dropped by HBO Max to speak about the removals, posting a candid open letter on his Substack. ![]() From this point on, news coming out of Warner is largely about cuts, cancellations, layoffs, and consolidation as Zaslav and his crew implement their most extreme cost-cutting measures yet.Īugust 15: Allison Abbate steps down as head of Warner Animation Group.Īugust 18: Without warning, dozens of shows are removed from HBO Max.Īugust 22: Driftwood, an original animated feature announced only three months prior, is cancelled.Īugust 22: Warner announces a half-dozen upcoming HBO Max originals are no longer moving forward at the streamer. WBD hosts an earnings call in which CEO David Zaslav outlines his plans for the company’s future. June 15: HBO Max announces Batman Azteca, a Mexico-set, Aztec-era Batman feature commissioned by HBO Max Latin America, and sci-fi survival series Scavengers Reign from Joe Bennett and Charles Huettner.Īugust 2: 95% complete Scoob! sequel is cancelled, along with the live-action Batgirl movie, casting an ominous shadow over Warner’s upcoming Q2 earnings call.Īugust 4: This is where things really take a turn. head of kids and family programming – including Cartoon Network – Amy Friedman claims “ girls often graduate out of animation” as an explanation for the company’s second try at live-action programming. Motion Picture Group chairman Toby Emmerich steps down. May 23: The Scooby-Doo universe grows as HBO Max and Cartoon Network unveil Scooby-Doo! And the Mystery Pups, the franchise’s first show for preschoolers. May 18: HBO Max and Cartoon Network announce Chelm: The Smartest Place on Earth, an animated project from Mike Judge, Greg Daniels, and Sacha Baron Cohen. May 18: Adult Swim greenlights Rick and Morty: The Anime and Ninja Kamui. ![]() Because that worked so well the first time they tried it. May 11: Cartoon Network unveils three new original live-action productions. May 11: Announcement that Warner head of kids/YA Tom Ascheim is leaving the company. May 6: HBO Max, Cartoon Network announce animated feature Driftwood and series Invincible Fight Girl. Here’s hoping that when WBD is back on stronger footing, some of the fantastic work done by those artists will find its way back into the light of day.Īpril 8: Discovery completes its acquisition of Warner Bros. So many finished, nearly finished, and promising projects are now locked away, and many artists and executives have lost their jobs. Seen laid out like this, it feels almost tragic. In isolation, each story about a cancelled project, a removed series, or a round of layoffs was painful to write.Executives were being shifted and replaced and the language being used to talk about animation, particularly among Cartoon Network executives, was concerning. There were plenty of clues that things weren’t all right at Warner’s animation companies before that call, however.Following the call, most Warner stories dealt with cuts, removals, layoffs, cancellations, and the selling of assets. In the weeks and months leading up to that call, HBO Max, Cartoon Network, and Adult Swim were making regular announcements of new series and film commissions. The shift in the tone of stories coming out of WBD since the company’s Q2 earnings call is striking.Our list is not exhaustive, but we’re confident we managed to cover the key stories needed to paint a larger picture of what’s going on with animation at WBD.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |