Infinity Train, Summer Camp Island, and other shows wiped from HBO Max

HBO Max has removed 36 shows and movies from its platform, including a lot of kids and family content like Sesame Street By-product Not-To-Late Show with Elmofavorite cartoon network show OK to! let’s be the heroand teen drama generation, One of the most disappointing eliminations is highly acclaimed and frankly surprising too infinity train — which had already been removed from airing on Cartoon Network, streaming only to little fanfare, and was canceled after only four seasons.

The producers behind these shows were blindsided by the decision, and justifiably upset. Julia Pott, creator of the fantasy slice-of-life series summer camp island, tweeted about the removal,

“We worked for 5 years to make 100 episodes of animation,” Pott wrote. “We worked late nights, we let ourselves go, we were a family of hard-working artists who wanted to make something beautiful, and HBO Max pulled them all off like we were nothing. Animation Nothing Is!”

Not only have these shows been removed, but the transition from announcement to actual removal was so rapid that many fans barely had time to react. It’s part of Warner Bros.’s latest move to turn a profit, following HBO Max’s layoff of 14% of employees and the cancellation of the upcoming one. bat girl Movies. Yet for the creators behind the show and the fans who love them, it feels particularly brutal.

Wait, so these shows are gone now?

Image: HBO Max

So, technically, full seasons and episodes of many of these shows are still available for purchase on Amazon, Google Play, and iTunes, but no one knows for exactly how long. and some shows, like summer camp island And Victor and ValentinoNew episodes of both of which have not aired will air on Cartoon Network.

But as of today, they’re nowhere to be found on HBO Max — and, in the case of infinity train And Mao Mao: Heroes Pure of HeartAll official videos on Cartoon Network YouTube and any tweets mentioning the show have been removed. apart from this, infinity train The soundtrack has disappeared from music streaming services, and the DVD’s official Amazon listing has been taken down.

Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon occurrence in the world of entertainment media. For years, Disney locked physical versions of its films in “Disney Vaults” so that it could re-release them each time for a limited amount of time. Old shows and movies that weren’t popular sometimes didn’t have a physical release and then went out of existence (looking at you, WitchMy beloved).

But in this case it is a bit strange. Many of the titles on the list are only a few years old and have been well-liked by critics. It’s not a matter of leaving behind an old forgotten thing, but a very deliberate move on the part of Warner Bros. Hard work goes down. And Warner Bros. Discovery is salt in the wound of seemingly completely erasing the existence of some of these shows from the Internet.

Why did Warner do this in the first place?

Warner Bros. Discovery is going to merge HBO Max and Discovery Plus into one big streaming service by 2023, and that means some cleanup.

“As we work towards bringing our content catalog to one platform, we will be transitioning to the content offerings available on both HBO Max and Discovery+. This will include the removal of certain content from both platforms,” an HBO Max spokesperson said in a statement.

Warner Bros. Discovery hasn’t officially said why they chose these particular shows for removal, but one theory is that it still has to pay residuals to the cast and crew behind HBO Max Originals. Removing them completely… well, if one doesn’t see anything, one doesn’t need to pay, right? Additionally, a lot of the shows on the shortlist come under the kids and family banner and it could very well be that Warner Bros. Discovery wants to move away from that demographic.

According to slides shared on Warner Bros. Discovery’s earnings call, the company claims that HBO’s content is geared toward adult male audiences, while Discovery’s is geared toward adult women. One theory that CNBC reported was that in order to maximize profits, Warner Bros. It could be that Warner Bros. Discovery tried to erase some of these shows from its online footprint entirely, because it wants to sell the rights, and they could live elsewhere, but that’s no guarantee.

But I love this show! what can i do?

Grace and Simon stand over a massive musical car fire in Infinity Train Book 3

If you want to support your favorite shows legally, you can still buy a lot of episodes on Amazon, iTunes, or Google Play — for now. Some DVD sets are available through third-party vendors, so buy them if you can. Tune in to Cartoon Network for episodes of summer camp island And Victor and Valentino when they wind up. Follow the makers of these shows for updates and their suggestions for the same The best way to see these shows and support their work,

The full list of removed content is below: