HBO Max cancels Gordita Chronicles as it backs away from live-action family programming

The comedy, starring Olivia Goncalves as a young woman growing up in 1980s Miami, is being shopped to other networks

By William Hughes | July 30, 2022 | 12:44am

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HBO Max cancels Gordita Chronicles as it backs away from live-action family programming

Photo: Laura Magruder/HBO Max

HBO Max announced today that it was canceling Claudia Forestieri’s Gordita Chronicles after a single season, not because it did poor ratings or got bad reviews—it didn’t, on either count—but because the streaming service has decided that it’s no longer interested in pursuing live-action family fare.

This is per Deadline, which reports that the series—which stars Olivia Goncalves as a young woman originally from the Dominican Republic, growing up in 1980s Miami—has been dropped via a weirdly apologetic statement from the streamer, which essentially says “We’re very sorry to not be making any more of this show that both you and we liked.” Or, to quote a spokesperson directly:

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Live-action, kids and family programming will not be part of our programming focus in the immediate future, and as a result, we’ve had to make the very difficult decision to end Gordita Chronicles at HBO Max. The series earned critical acclaim and a loyal following, and we are proud to have worked with creator Claudia Forestieri and our two powerhouse executive producers, Eva Longoria (who also masterfully directed the pilot) and Zoe Saldaña, to bring Cucu’s journey to the screen. We thank them and the talented cast and crew for creating such a heartfelt, groundbreaking show that connected deeply with a very important demographic.

Longoria and Saldaña were a bit more blunt in their own statement:

We are heartbroken by the larger programming changes at HBO Max that will not allow our special show that is Gordita Chronicles, showrun by LatinX comedy powerhouse Brigitte Muñoz-Liebowitz, to have a second season at its original home. As producers and storytellers who are continually seeking out the authentic and original stories that highlight our community’s joy and talent, we are so proud to have worked on this piece of magic. We continue to be blown away by the overwhelmingly positive critical response coupled with our growing audience numbers, which prove that viewers recognize the importance of this show’s existence and the crucial space it is filling for LatinX content in the media landscape.

Sony Pictures Television is reportedly shopping Gordita Chronicles, which also starred Diana Maria Rivas, Juan Javier Cardenas, and Savannah Nicole Ruiz, to other networks that have not decided that their only family programs will now be animated shows about the Gremlins. (Gordita Chronicles, one of the rare TV comedies to tackle realistically with life growing up as an immigrant in the U.S., has already picked up a groundswell of online support for an eventual resurrection.)