HBO Max abruptly pulled a slew of unscripted and animated television offerings this week in an unexpected move that has content creators crying foul.
“Summer Camp Island” creator Julia Pott didn’t make any attempt to hide her disappointment over the move.
“We worked 5 years to make 100 episodes of animation,” Pott shared on Twitter after the news was announced. “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!”
The British creator promised fans that they would get to see the latest episodes despite the series leaving HBO Max. Her post has since earned more than 100,000 likes.
“We worked through the pandemic to make 20 linear episodes that are our most beautiful work yet,” she said. “I cannot wait for you to see them. YOU WILL SEE THEM! I will not rest!” Pott concluded.
“Summer Camp Island” premiered in July 2018 and just concluded airing season 5. The show details the adventures of Oscar and Hedgehog attending summer camp. It currently has a 7.6/10 rating on IMDb.
Other shows that didn’t survive the chopping block include “Ellen’s Next Great Designer,” “The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo,” along with many others. Deadline reported that HBO Max was making the changes in anticipation of merging with Discovery+. Besides pulling shows, the company has also been laying off staff.
“The Fungies!” creator Stephen P. Neary also expressed frustration with HBO Max for pulling his beloved animated series.
“Last night during a figure drawing class I found out that The Fungies! was getting pulled from HBO Max this week. I’m heartbroken but I want to take this opportunity to thank all the amazing artists and production folks for their hard work on this sincere, fever dream of a show,” Neary shared on Twitter.
“We worked so hard through the pandemic, and I hoped that diligence would be rewarded with support from the network,” Neary continued.
“[I] was promised the show would air on Cartoon Network, which would drive views to HBO Max, but soon after launch, the show was pulled from the air without notice. There was little to no promotion. Although I was graciously asked [to] speak on a mushroom podcast. A company representative monitored the taping so that I wouldn’t give away any ‘spoilers’ to the show.”
“My heart goes out to the other shows affected, and the beautiful work getting canceled before even airing. I’m going to keep making stuff! Even if it’s just for me. It’s what I’ve always done, since I was very very little. Thanks everyone,” he concluded.