WestworldandThe Neversare among the latest in a string of projects—including earlier removals such asInfinity Train—that have been cut from HBO Max and tossed into the nether realm of having nowhere to be seen.
The Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition has seen its fair share of drama ever since the deal first closed, with a high-profile movie likeBatgirl, featuring thereturn of Michael Keaton’s Batman, being yanked while it was in post. However, it’s been the unceremonious yanking of entire shows off the HBO Max platform—poof! as if they’d never existed—that has fans in an uproar, andWestworldandThe Neversare two of the latest casualties.
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DeadlinereportsWestworldandThe Neversare being removed from HBO Max as part of Warner Bros. Discovery’s latest moves to save money. Both are nowsitting alongside shows likeMinx,which was renewed only to be cancelled and shelved indefinitely. However, Deadline suspectsWestworldandThe Neversare likely to appear on other company platforms. For instance, it’s possibleWestworldandThe Neverswill be offered in the FAST channel space, which Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav has expressed an interest in. Still, this leaves fans in an ugly position. Not only do they not get the resolution to shows they’ve poured years into watching - such as the finalWestworldseason having many unanswered questions that would have been resolved by the fifth season the creators had already been contracted for - they don’t know if they’ll ever get to see their favorite shows again, especially if they haven’t been released on some permanent form of ownership such as a DVD or Blu-ray.
These decisions mean a big change for the industry and the consumer since they indicate a breach of trust not seen in thedays since the VHS became commonand people started buying their favorite shows and movies in some rewatchable format. On the industry side, the notion of things no longer being available was the way Hollywood ran for years. People who missed a show during the initial airing maybe, if it were popular, got to see summer returns. Some up and disappeared after the initial airing. Movies were the same way; the accepted method for watching something again was going back to the theater over and over.
This started changing when people were offered the ability to buy their own copies for home viewing. Where theWarner Bros. Discovery situationdiffers is the studio is not only yanking old shows and movies but ones in post-production or even finished and canceling renewals despite having already signed the contracts for the next season. It’s a level of disrespect unheard of in the industry and a slap in the face to all—creatives, actors, and fans—involved.
It’s also a way to gut actor’s residuals, killing the earnings of midline performers who didn’t get big initial paychecks, asVarietynotes. Now with shows likeWestworldandThe Neversgone, possibly forever, fans have a long hard think ahead of them about what the consumer relationship will look like with streaming services going forward.
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