With the Discovery and Warner Bros. merger fully underway, the company has announced that it will be moving away from scripted shows on HBO Max. We’ve even already seen the first casualties from the new merger, with HBO Max’s Batgirl movie being canceled even though it was finished filming.
According to reports, WB is going to cut 70% of the production staff at HBO Max, effectively ending scripted HBO Max-only content. What this means is that plenty of our favorite shows are going to be axed. It’s already happening, as the LGBTQ-friendly kids show Little Ellen has been canceled.
What’s the status of some of our other favorite HBO Max queer-inclusive shows? What’s being canceled and what has been renewed? We’ll update this slideshow over the coming weeks as more information comes out.
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One of the upcoming DC shows we’ve been most excited about is Greg Berlanti’s upcoming epic Green Lantern series. It’s slated to star Finn Wittrock as Guy Gardner and Jeremy Irvine as Alan Scott, a gay Green Lantern. On Hollywood Babble-On, director Kevin Smith said he’s afraid the Green Lantern series will be next to be canceled.
"I don't know this for a fact but I haven't heard anything about the Green Lantern series they were supposedly doing," Smith said. "I wouldn't be surprised if that was a casualty too."
However, shortly after Smith's comments, The Hollywood Reporter said that Green Lantern "remains on track at the streamer" and that any delays would come from the scope of the show, and not because of the merger.
The biggest cancellation news so far is HBO Max’s Batgirl movie starring Leslie Grace. Despite the principal photography already being done and the film being in post-production, it’s been completely scrapped and will not be released in any form. The film also starred JK Simmons as Commissioner Gordon, Michael Keaton as Batman, Brendan Fraser as Firefly, and trans actress Ivory Aquino, who was set to play the first trans character in the DCEU, Alicia Yeoh.
This lesser-known but wildly creative and spectacular superhero show could join Batgirl (and maybe Green Lantern) on the cutting room floor. Thankfully there have been three seasons already, and the show was renewed for a fourth, but who knows what will happen next.
Ryan Murphy’s The Flight Attendant stars Kaley Cuoco, but like her other show (she voices Harley Quinn), she might be saying a premature goodbye. This is another great show with a large audience that could be screwed over by this merger.
This HBO show about an 1800’s lesbian landlord named Anne Lister was canceled last month as a sort of precursor to all the cancellations we’re beginning to see now. It lasted for two seasons.
HBO Max’s diverse and queer Gossip Girl reboot is also in limbo, as it’s another HBO Max scripted original.
Despite being one of the streamer’s most critically successful shows, Hacks could be on the chopping block, as it’s another HBO Max original.
Another super popular DC show is this adult animated series that centers around the relationship between Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy. The third season started a few weeks ago, and we’re absolutely loving it. According to Variety, the show has a strong following, and "would seem to be safe" from cancelation.
Now, the show has been renewed for a fourth season ahead of the season 3 finale, coming out September 15.
The Sex and the City follow up series has been renewed for a second season, however, like other HBO Max Originals, that could change at any moment as the network first moves away from scripted content, then could cease to exist at all.
Like Batgirl, the upcoming next season of Little Ellen has already been completed, but that couldn’t save it from becoming a tax write-off. The animated children's show followed the adventures of a young fictionalized version of Ellen DeGeneres.
Everyone’s favorite gay pirate romance has been renewed and work is underway on a second season. However, its future beyond that is up in limbo. Since the show is an HBO Max Original, it’s one that many industry insiders are worried about.
James Gunn has confirmed that season two of his hit DCEU show is safe at the network, so that’s the good news. The bad news is that we’re not sure if the show will survive any longer than that.
The HBO Original has been renewed for a second season, and after its award-season wins for season one, at least that season should see the light of day. What happens after that is unknown.
According to TV Line, HBO Max had only ordered one season of the show after they saved it from Cartoon Network and DC Universe and has no plans for a fifth season.
