HBO Max: Non-Scripted Community “Devastated” By Cuts; Axe Falls Hard On Diverse Slate & Staff
20.08.2022 - 21:41
/ deadline.com
David Zaslav is fond of his motor racing analogies.
The Warner Bros. Discovery President and CEO recently said, “If the linear business is a racecar, we’ve got a team of racecar drivers”. “When we hear a noise or it’s in third gear, we know how to fix it. It’s a business we know well,” he said on the company’s Q2 earnings call.
He believes the same applies to the unscripted television business, Discovery’s bread and butter, which is one of the reasons that HBO Max’s non-scripted division, led by Jennifer O’Connell, was axed as part of the latest round of layoffs.
The non-scripted community, however, is upset that he’s taken this particular car off the road.
HBO Max has had success in its short time commissioning original reality series; FBoy Island, a dating show hosted by Nikki Glaser, is widely considered a hit. Although the streamer doesn’t reveal ratings, it did note last August that the show had the biggest premiere weekend for a Max original reality series, breaking out in a crowded market featuring The Bachelor universe, Love Is Blind and Love Island.
Selena+Chef, a cooking format hosted by Only Murders In The Building star Selena Gomez, was an early pandemic hit from IPC that has now run for four seasons, and Legendary, a voguing competition series from Queer Eye producer Scout Productions, has been applauded for bringing something fresh and more diverse to the competition space.
Considering how difficult it has become to launch a new breakout entertainment format, that’s not bad for a service that is just over two years old.
HBO Max had become one of the top tier destinations for developing and buying premium non-scripted projects with a twist. The worry for many is that the newly combined service – a composite of HBO