HBO Max removing 20 originals, other content from service; here's what we're losing

Earlier this month we learned that the recently formed entertainment giant Warner Bros. Discovery will be combining its streaming forces, merging HBO Max and Discovery+ to form a new, unified streaming platform next year. It's an announcement that came on the heels of the shocking cancellation of HBO Max's Batgirl and Scoob! feature films, and as the merger draws closer, there are bound to be more changes and casualties. This week, we learned about a few dozen more. 

Variety reports that three dozen more titles, including several Max Originals, will be dropped from HBO Max "as early as this week," in part as a cost cutting measure to save on residual payments to the talent involved. The move comes after several other HBO original series, including the drama Vinyl and the dark comedy Mrs. Fletcher, were quietly dropped from the service earlier this month. 

“As we work toward bringing our content catalogs together under one platform, we will be making changes to the content offering available on both HBO Max and discovery+,” HBO Max’s said in a statement to Variety. “That will include the removal of some content from both platforms.”

The content purge will include a mixture of HBO Originals, acquisitions from other distributors, and titles streaming under HBO Max's Cartoon Network banner, but most notably viewers will lose access to 20 Max Originals that were released as exclusives to the streaming service. Because of their Max Originals status, it's not clear if they will continue to be available through rentals on other on-demand services, or through eventual Blu-ray and DVD releases. The Max Originals getting the axe include the acclaimed animated series Infinity Train and the Sesame Street spinoff The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo.

Check out the full list of titles confirmed to be leaving HBO Max below:

HBO Max Originals
12 Dates of Christmas
About Last Night
Aquaman: King of Atlantis
Close Enough
Ellen’s Next Great Designer
Esme & Roy
The Fungies!
Generation Hustle
Generation
Infinity Train
Little Ellen
My Mom, Your Dad
Odo
Ravi Patel’s Pursuit of Happiness
Summer Camp Island
The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo
The Runaway Bunny
Theodosia
Tig n’ Seek
Yabba Dabba Dinosaurs

HBO Originals
My Dinner with Herve
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Cartoon Network
Dodo
Elliott From Earth
Mao Mao, Heroes of Pure Heart
Mighty Magiswords
OK K.O.! – Let’s Be Heroes
Uncle Grandpa
Victor and Valentino

Acquired Titles
Detention Adventure
Messy Goes to Okido
Mia’s Magic Playground
The Ollie & Moon Show
Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures
Make It Big, Make It Small
Squish

Though it certainly doesn't match the high-profile cancellation of Batgirl, the removal of this programming represents the biggest change to the HBO Max lineup so far in the Warner Bros. Discovery era. It's unclear exactly when each show will leave the platform, but it is clear that the next year will bring even more changes to the streamer as we move closer to a merged platform in 2023.

HBO Max's next major release, the Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon, arrives Sunday.

In the mood for some quality animated entertainment? Check out what's streaming on Peacock!