According to Deadline, the comedy show Gordita Chronicles will be pulled from HBO Max. Though no specific date has been announced, the news is not surprising as the show was canceled after only one season in an effort for the streaming network to move away from live-action family programming following its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.
A representative from HBO Max had this to say, via Deadline: “Live-action kids and family programming will not be part of our programming focus in the immediate future, and as a result, we’ve had to make the very difficult decision to end Gordita Chronicles at HBO Max… We thank them [Forestieri, Saldana, and Longoria] and the talented cast and crew for creating such a heartfelt, groundbreaking show that connected deeply with a very important demographic.”
Created by writer Claudia Forestieri (Selena: The Series, Good Trouble), Gordita Chronicles is a coming-of-age story set in 1980s Miami that is loosely based on Forestieri’s own life experiences. Carlota ‘Cucu’ Castelli, played by newcomer Olivia Goncalves, travels from Santo Domingo to Florida and must navigate life in America alongside her mother Adela, played by Diana-Maria Rivas (Dead to Me, What Women Want), older sister Emilia, portrayed by Savannah Nicole Ruiz (Gentefied), and her marketing executive father named Victor, played by Juan Javier Cardenas (The Walking Dead, Snowfall), whose work is responsible for the move across the continent.
The executive producers of the ten-episode series are prominent figures in the Latinx acting community, Zoe Saldana (Avatar, Guardians of the Galaxy) and Eva Longoria (Desperate Housewives, The Sentinel), who directed the pilot episode. In a statement, Saldana and Longoria shared their heartbreak over the announcement, as reported by Deadline: “As producers and storytellers who are continually seeking out the authentic and original stories that highlight our community’s joy and talent, we are so proud to have worked on this piece of magic. We continue to be blown away by the overwhelmingly positive critical response coupled with our growing audience numbers, which prove that viewers recognize the importance of this show’s existence and the crucial space it is filling for LatinX content in the media landscape.”
Showrunner Brigitte Muñoz-Liebowitz posted a tweet on Twitter shortly after news of the removal broke.
Sony Pictures Television, the studio behind the show, is looking for another chance at a different platform, following in the footsteps of hit Latinx comedy show One Day at a Time, which was canceled on Netflix and renewed for fourth season on Pop.
Season one of Gordita Chronicles is streaming now on HBO Max.