HBO Max Will Stop Making Scripted Television Shows

Warner Discover CEO David Zaslav has cut another project from his company’s list of endeavors. HBO Max had a lot of great shows in the works, but they will apparently cease operations on their scripted television division and lay off a great amount of development staff in that division.

A new report from The Wrap suggests that the content will be absorbed into HBO. The report claims that 70% of the HBO Max development team will be laid off, with HBO supposedly poised to offer fewer scripted shows overall. This will cut a ton of shows, many of which have fan bases who will be livid at this news.

“All I know is they’re folding HBO Max into HBO. Sounds like they’re not doing HBO Max scripted shows anymore with HBO taking over, so less scripted shows overall.”

The HBO Max streaming service features original movies and shows, dubbed “Max Originals.” They are distinct from the mainline HBO brand and channel, which is known for blockbuster hit shows such as Game of Thrones, Barry, and Euphoria, and includes titles like Tokyo Vice, Peacemaker, and Our Flag Means Death.

HBO Max may be ceasing operations on scripted shows, but if this doesn’t necessarily mean that all existing Max Original scripted series will all be getting eliminated. Peacemaker creator James Gunn, for example, recently confirmed that his show is safe.

If any shows do end up surviving, they will likely no longer be Max Originals, but instead absorbed into the main HBO brand. It remains to be seen what additional titles will be canceled or removed from the streamer with the integration of Discovery+ into HBO Max.

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