Summer Camp Islandcreator Julia Pott expressed her frustration on social media after it was announced that her show, along with several other animated projects, was being removed fromHBO Max.
Recently, it was revealed that WarnerMedia’s streaming serviceHBO Maxwould be removing more than a dozen animated shows from its library. This list, posted online by CN News/Schedules, includesSummer Camp Island,Aquaman: King of Atlantis,Close Enough,Dodo,Elliott from Earth,Esme & Roy,The Fungies,Infinity Train,Little Ellen,Mao Mao,Messy Goes to Okido,Mia’s Magic Playground,Mighty Magisword,Odo,and OK KO.Fans and creators were quick to react to the news on social media, including Pott.
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On Twitter, Pott wrote, “We worked for 5 years to make 100 episodes of animation. We worked late into the night, we let ourselves go, we were a family of hard-working artists who wanted to make something beautiful, and HBO MAX just pulled them all like we were nothing. Animation is not nothing!” Despite the cancellation, Pott vowed to ensure the unreleased episodes would be seen by fans somehow. “We worked through the pandemic to make 20 linear episodes that are our most beautiful work yet,” she wrote. “I cannot wait for you to see them. YOU WILL SEE THEM! I will not rest!”
The news comes on the heels of the massiveWarner Bros. Discovery merger, which has shaken up the company’s structure and programming. On August 2nd, the upcoming HBO Max originalBatgirlmoviewas canceled, with no plans to release it on any platform or in theaters. This decision from Warner Bros. Discovery shocked the internet, as it was a nearly unprecedented move since the film was well into the post-production process and has a budget of roughly $90 million. It became clear that Warner Bros. Discovery was going to be restructuring HBO Max, with plans to combine the service with the reality TV-based streaming platform Discovery Plus.
HBO Max has already removed several original films and TV Shows, inducing the Seth Rogen filmAn American Pickle.Even more alarming is the fact that they’ve removed several HBO original series, including the short-lived Martin Scorsese-produced seriesVinyland the limited seriesMrs. FletcherstarringWandaVisionstar Kathryn Hahn. This is concerning because those shows are HBO-produced shows, not HBO Max originals, meaning the company may be willing to remove a sizable portion of shows that have no other streaming home. This now includes a lengthy slate of animated programs, which once removed from HBO Max, may be completely unavailable for many viewers.
Pott’s frustration comes from an understandable place. Thefilmmakers behindBatgirlhad a similar reactionto their movie being canceled after years of hard work and dedication. It also speaks to the lack of consideration when it comes to animation, which is often regarded as second-tier to live-action productions. Sadly, it appears that massive conglomerates like Warner Bros. Discovery are not concerned with the longevity of their original programming, regardless of how much work was put into them.
Summer Camp Islandis streaming on HBO Max (for now).
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