FFormer HBO Max executives say the streaming service is left with few people of color to oversee a slate of programming as diverse as Warner Bros. Discovery is continuing its ongoing corporate reshuffle.
The Manch reportedly fired around 70 people this month. Two former HBO Max executives, who asked not to be named, include the entire team overseeing Unscripted, Kids & Family, and international content.
Those three divisions responsible for buying shows from production companies and creators and working closely with them during production are now completely gone.
A former employee says that there were previously 13 people of color in charge of developing the show. The Gordita Chronicles and Spanish language documentaries Menudo: Forever Young Has been let go, possibly influencing the types of shows and movies that are moving forward. Among those who have been fired are Jen Kim, an Asian woman who served as senior vice president of the international team, and Kayla Barnes, a black woman who worked under Kim.
“I don’t think anyone knows how white the staff is,” a former executive told The Daily Beast.
Former HBO Max employees say there are barely any non-white people in the upper ranks of content, including one named Joy Chavez, the drama’s executive vice president, one of the few people of color still . Because HBO Max and the original HBO channel operate somewhat independently, one former executive admitted that “there could be a black woman on the HBO side. Maybe.”
Another former executive told The Daily Beast that the layoffs “exacerbated the lack of diversity at HBO.” “HBO is the most homogenous part of this umbrella. Instead of trying to figure out how to integrate some [Max] Officials at HBO, they made this sweeping cut in just three divisions: Children, Family, and International. A lot of black and brown people lost their jobs.”
Since parent company Warner Bros. merged with Discovery earlier this year, Warner employees have been grappling with the changing values of the newly created company. Discovery CEO David Zaslav was accused of helping Warner out of a $50 billion hole. He came like a doomed ball, tearing up CNN’s $300 million streaming service CNN+ and vowing to pull the Warner-owned news channel away from “advocacy” journalism.
More changes have come in the last few weeks.
Earlier this month, it was announced that bat girlA $90 million film planned for HBO Max starring Afro-Latina actress Leslie Grace would be shelved entirely in favor of a tax write-off. Over the weekend, CNN media correspondent and host Brian Stelter, a frequent target of right-wing criticism, was fired from the network.
Former Warner employees believe these changes are as much about the business as they are about reshaping the ideological perception of Warner assets. It all points to the same end, he says: a rejection of left-wing or overly diverse material in favor of more homogenous, Central America-friendly fare. A lack of diversity in content staff can make that goal easier.
,HBO is the most homogenous part of this umbrella. Instead of trying to figure out how to integrate something [Max] Officials at HBO, he made this sweeping cut in just three divisions: Children, Family, and International. A lot of black and brown people lost their jobs.,
In a statement to The Daily Beast, HBO highlighted such shows excitement, Rap Sh! Tea, a black lady sketch show And los espukisAll of which are led by diverse characters.
“HBO and HBO Max have always shown a commitment to diverse programming and storytellers, and always will be,” the company said.
An internal graphic comparing the viewership of Discovery+ and HBO Max showed a clear demographic difference between the two streamers. While HBO Max is popular with diverse groups, single people and drivers of hybrid cars, Discovery+ is popular with white, married people who drive SUVs, minivans and “travel buses.” HBO Max viewers are on TikTok and Instagram, while Discovery+ viewers use social media platforms Facebook and Twitter, with additional warnings “if any.” HBO Max viewers have no children. Discovery+’s audience is either “empty nesters” or their grandchildren. Discovery may try to pull HBO into its class as it focuses on what it does best.
HBO Max’s reality offering presented a clear sticking point for the new owners. While Discovery properties like TLC and HGTV send camera crews out to film, HBO Max’s offerings are crafted more carefully. They are sometimes cheered on by stars like Selena Gomez or Steph Curry, who have the power to command a bigger paycheck, and are more attractive with easier editing and more complex camera set-ups that add to their budget. .
A former exec describes Discovery+ as “a more general audience platform that doesn’t have the same specs as HBO Max. I think Discovery is just a very ‘all’ audience, [they] Don’t want to make things that are political, topical, different Middle America—more Chip and Joanna,” he said, referring to the home renovation show Fixer Upper: Welcome Home Hosted by Chip and Joanna Gaines.
“If David Zaslav had the will, he would program Chip and Joanna all day,” said the executive. “There was just a giant, ‘We don’t need you. You’re not offering the things we’re focused on.'”
The change in perspective may also partly explain why so many titles have disappeared from HBO Max’s platform lately. Our sources agree that evictions are mostly money related. The company can claim a tax break for costs associated with certain shows, as long as it promises to reduce profits from them, which means taking them down entirely.
“They’re canceling the lens of perspective that I don’t think exists when you watch a Discovery-branded show,” said a former employee.
Speaking about the company’s plans to combine HBO Max and Discovery+ into one giant streaming service in the near future, the determined exec said: “Don’t be surprised if there’s a new name for the platform.”
Overall, there’s a feeling that HBO Max executives of color were just another casualty in the company’s quest to get themselves out of debt, content quality be damned.
“In terms of people seeing themselves as reflective, whether it’s ethnic or LGBTQ, when you have diverse people, the lens with which they evaluate [content] Factor in things that I think my white colleagues don’t think about,” said one former executive.
“It’s deep,” said another. “What are they going to do with this disproportionate people of color who were let go? They need to change in some capacity. Or do they not care? That’s what we’ve been told, that they don’t care.”
(This story has not been edited by seemayo staff and is published from a rss feed)