James R | On 15, Dec 2022

HBO Max is pulling The Nevers, Westworld and Love Life from its streaming catalogue, as owners Warner Bros Discovery continues to make cuts and cancellations left, right and centre.

The streaming boom of recent years has seen a growing number of films and TV shows available for audiences to watch at anytime, a radical transformation of the entertainment landscape that has had a whole wave of knock-on effects. One of them has involved negotiations with creators, cast and crew to secure fairer residual payments for their work, which now has a much longer shelf life than it previously did, one that is potentially infinite.

Now, however, as companies navigate rising production costs and growing competitions, the streaming landscape has matured – and Warner Bros Discovery has decided that the way to balance its own budgets is to cut short titles’ digital shelf lives altogether, allegedly in a move to avoid paying creators residuals for their continuing availability.

And so it is that Westworld has been removed from HBO Max, only a short time after it was cancelled following its fourth season, which ended in August. Meanwhile, The Nevers, created by Joss Whedon and later led by showrunner Philippa Goslett, has been cancelled half through its first season and is being removed from HBO Max – despite the fact that the second half of Season 1 has been completed and hasn’t yet aired. Variety reports that sources say the finished episodes may be shopped to another platform or channel.

Minx, which had been renewed for Season 3, and Love Life, which has aired two seasons with no third season renewal, are also both being taken down from HBO Max, despite them both being HBO Max originals, designed to draw viewers to the platform.

Rapoport tweeted: “I am obviously disappointed that Minx (along with several other shows yet to be announced) is leaving HBO Max. I’m proud of the show we’ve made and am confident that the audience will come with us to our new home. Thank you to the best cast and crew in the business.”

Love Life creator Sam Boyd commented: “Bummed that this is now a thing that can happen! Gonna try to figure out somewhere else for it to live, so it doesn’t just **not exist anymore**, but no matter what, I’m SO proud of it and SO grateful to everyone who worked on it & everyone who watched. This show changed my life.”

Minx is available on Paramount+ in the UK, The Nevers is available on Sky and NOW, and Love Life is available on BBC iPlayer. Westworld, Minx and Love Life are all available to buy and download.

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