Warner Bros. Discovery has no plans to axe Toonami on Adult Swim.
According to GameRant, Warner Bros. Discovery has confirmed that Toonami will be safe from the company's recent content cuts, with no current plans from the company to change or cut Adult Swim's popular weekend anime block. Representatives told GameRant that WBD had no desire to change the programming block and confirmed that the company will continue to move forward with Toonami's original anime projects, which will start in October with Housing Complex C, a horror anime miniseries.
Toonami originally launched on Cartoon Network in 1997 and ran until 2008. It was relaunched as a late-night block on Adult Swim in 2012. Toonami celebrated its 25th anniversary in March by announcing two new seasons of the cult classic sci-fi coming-of-age anime, FLCL from director Kazuya Tsurumaki. Currently, the critically acclaimed programming block includes Lupin the Third, Assassination Classroom, Attack on Titan: The Final Season - Part 2 and the One Piece anime's return to American television after originally coming to an end in 2017. One Piece's return to Toonami was announced in January.
Concern from fans regarding the future of Toonami comes after HBO Max removed 36 titles from its streaming catalog which, according to a spokesperson for Warner Bros. Discovery, was a result of the plans to merge HBO Max and Discovery+. Among those titles removed were several Cartoon Network projects, including Infinity Train, Dodo, Elliott From Earth, Mao Mao, Heroes of Pure Heart, Mighty Magiswords, OK K.O.! – Let’s Be Heroes, Uncle Grandpa and Victor and Valentino.
HBO Max's restructuring of its content has been one adjustment in a long line of layoffs and cancellations at Warner Bros. Discovery. Moreover, it was recently reported that the streaming service's recent content purge saved the company "tens of millions of dollars."
The merger between Warner Bros. and Discovery in April has resulted in several changes to the company, including layoffs, the removal of Warner Bros. titles from the streaming service and the cancelation of upcoming HBO Max exclusives like Batgirl. However, Warner Bros. Discovery president and CEO David Zaslav has revealed plans to expand HBO Max's content library overall, with a focus on increased "content" and overall "quality."
"Quality is what [Chief Content Officer] Casey [Bloys] and that team is delivering," Zaslav said. "It’s the best team in the business. We’re doubling down on that HBO team. They’re all committed under contract and we’re going to spend dramatically more this year and next year than we spent last year in the year before."
Source: GameRant