The Discovery/Warner Bros./HBO merger has left an entertainment void in its wake, with dozens of movies and shows having been taken off the platform (with little warning).
Some of these were HBO/HBO Max exclusives, while others were acquired by the streaming service (through subsidiaries like Cartoon Network) and some of these titles have been on the platform since its announcement in 2019. These takedowns have harshly affected children’s animation, and that’s not to mention the recent cancellations like Gordita Chronicles or the decision to scrap Batgirl. Even clips from the shows are being stripped from Cartoon Network’s social media. Fans and creators alike are concerned that some of these may now count as lost media, due to the lack of physical copies for streaming-only releases (even popular shows like Stranger Things’ third season don’t always get home releases).
So, let’s pour one out for the casualties of the HBO/Discovery merger. May they not rest in peace, but be restored, so we can watch them.
Here’s the full list in alphabetical order (updated February 2, 2023):
- 12 Dates of Christmas
- About Last Night
- Amsterdam
- An American Pickle
- Aquaman: King of Atlantis
- At Home With Amy Sedaris
- Baketopia
- Beartown
- Beforeigners
- Camping
- Chad
- Charm City Kings
- Close Enough
- Craftopia
- Czech Out!
- Detention Adventure
- Dodo
- Ellen’s Next Great Designer
- Elliott From Earth
- Esme & Roy
- FBOY Island
- Final Space
- Finding Magic Mike
- Full Bloom
- Generation Hustle
- Generation
- Head of the Class
- Here and Now
- Infinity Train
- K Street
- Legendary
- Little Ellen
- Locked Down
- Lust
- Mao Mao, Heroes of Pure Heart
- Make It Big, Make It Small
- Messy Goes to Okido
- Mia’s Magic Playground
- Mighty Magiswords
- Minx
- Moonshot
- Mrs. Fletcher
- My Dinner with Hervé
- My Mom, Your Dad
- Odo
- OK K.O.! – Let’s Be Heroes
- Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures
- Raised by Wolves
- Ravi Patel’s Pursuit of Happiness
- Run
- Ruxx
- Shadows
- Share
- Snowpiercer (the series)
- Squish
- Superintelligence
- Summer Camp Island
- The Fungies!
- The Informant
- The Last O.G.
- The Misery Index
- The Nevers
- The Ollie & Moon Show
- The Runaway Bunny Special
- The Sleepers
- The Time Traveler’s Wife
- The Witches
- Theodosia
- Tig n’ Seek
- Uncle Grandpa
- Various Sesame Street Specials, including The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo and 200 episodes of Sesame Street.
- Victor and Valentino
- Vinyl
- Westworld
- Wrecked
- Yabba Dabba Dinosaurs
Thankfully, this move doesn’t seem to be panning out for Warner Bros. Discovery; the purge has shaken some investors’ faith in the streaming service. Even with the Game of Thrones’ spinoff, House of the Dragon, breaking ratings records with its first episode, the service’s stock went down by almost $5 a share.
It’s an unfortunate wake-up call, to both creators and audiences, that we have very little control over the media we love. At the end of the day, our beloved shows and movies are entirely in the hands of money-hungry media conglomerates. And if they want to burn it all down, well …
(featured image: Getty Images)
