HBO Max takes yet another cruel buzzsaw to its kids programming library
HBO Max has released a new list of shows being pulled from its catalog—including series with whole completed seasons that have yet to air
Update, 8/18/21 at 2:05 p.m.: Cartoon Network sent us a statement this morning, noting that “Victor & Valentino and Summer Camp Island will continue to air on Cartoon Network.” Dates are TBD, but, “fans can look forward to the remaining new episodes of both shows on CN this year.”
Original story:
Another week, another revelation that Warner Bros. Discovery is taking a sharp and bloody implement to its HBO Max content library—and especially the animated and kids’ programming in the streaming service’s catalogue. This is per Deadline, which reports that 37 more titles are being stripped from the service, most of them either animated shows or reality TV. And while some of the affected programs are licensed shows that the streamer was simply distributing, a decent chunk of them were HBO Max originals or products of Warner Media’s various animation branches—including shows that are reportedly still in production, and were expected to broadcast new episodes next year.
Take, for instance, the case of Summer Camp Island, which was previously supposed to release its already-completed final season a few weeks ago, before suddenly getting hit with an order delaying it until 2023. Now, like a number of shows that originated on Cartoon Network before migrating to HBO Max to bulk out its content over the last few years, the series is on the list of shows being pulled from the service outright this week—leaving a massive question mark about where these 20 finished-but-never-released episodes of TV will air, if anywhere. Series creator Julia Pott expressed her dismay at the move (which she apparently learned about from the Deadline piece!) on Twitter today.