Animated series creators have claimed that HBO Max's recent purge of animated content proves long-term animation careers are a thing of the past.
The Wrap recently interviewed several creators, showrunners and agents of animated series about Warner Bros. Discovery's latest actions to reduce its billions in debt, with most believing the company's efforts have damaged relationships with talent. "There is clearly no long-term, multiseason career in animation anymore, not just at WBD but anywhere. None of these streamers will commit to picking up more than one season of a show at a time, which is just not how animation works," one showrunner said. "Animation is a long-term investment — you can’t just pop in and pop out and think you’re gonna get good quality."
Owen Dennis, who created the removed animated series Infinity Train, previously revealed that Cartoon Network had warned WBD "not to do this as it would hurt relationships with creators and talent, but they clearly do not care what any of this looks like publicly, much less about how we feel about it." Infinity Train was one of over 30 animated series that was removed from HBO Max alongside other Cartoon Network titles like 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.
The Future Looks Bleak for Animated Content on HBO Max
The streaming service has not only removed mass amounts of animated content, but has also canceled several highly anticipated animated projects such as Batman: Caped Crusader and The Amazing World of Gumball: The Movie. HBO Max is also unlikely to renew the critically acclaimed and fan favorite DC animated series Young Justice for a fifth season, despite fans campaigning online for the streamer to #SaveEarth16. Harley Quinn, another exclusive DC animated series, is reportedly one of the few animated projects currently safe from the chopping block at HBO Max.
Rick and Morty is perhaps the only animated project under the WBD umbrella that continue creating and airing new episodes for the foreseeable future. The popular animated series landed a massive 70-episode order from Adult Swim in 2018, which will take Rick and Morty to at least 10 seasons. Series co-creator Justin Roiland has confirmed that talks for additional episodes past that 70-episode order will happen in the next couple of years. "It'll become a conversation down the road, with Discovery Network, apparently," Roiland said with laugh. "We'll be talking with the Discovery people after Season 10. But I would imagine those talks will probably start during production of Season 10, or maybe even Season 9, just because they take so damn long to figure that stuff out."
Source: The Wrap