The vaulted Warner Bros. Discovery merger continues to reshape the entity’s entertainment landscape. Deadline reports HBO Max Europe has announced the halting of original programming in several European locations including the Netherlands, Turkey, the Nordics, and Central Europe. Along with the cutting of content comes expected staff layoffs. This announcement comes only three months after HBO Max Europe executives appeared at Series Mania to preview their roles and what the service had to offer in the future.
Since the two companies’ merger became official in April, many of its properties have seen drastic changes to their programming. In addition to the sale of the CW network, which Warner Bros. owned half of with Paramount, the media conglomerate has seen the cancellation of CNN’s streaming service, the ending of original series across TNT, TBS, and TruTV, and the cancellation of several series at HBO/HBO Max.
“As we continue to work on combining HBO Max and Discovery+ into one global streaming service showcasing the breadth of content across Warner Bros. Discovery, we are reviewing our current content proposition on the existing services,” an HBO Max representative said in a statement via Deadline. “Our commitment to these markets has not changed. We will continue to commission local content for Warner Bros. Discovery’s linear networks in these regions and we remain substantial acquirers of local third-party content for use on our streaming services.”
Deadline reports HBO Max Europe’s team is currently reviewing series in both mid and post-production. Standout series such as Denmark’s Kamikaze and Sweden’s Lust have yet to know their fate, but may be removed from the streaming service internationally, according to Variety.
In a story first reported by Variety, Europe’s HBO Max commissioning team has experienced a few changes. Priya Dogra has been promoted to the title of President & MD EMEA, which excludes Poland. Christina Sulebakk transitions to General Manager, the Nordics under Warner Bros. Discovery, while HBO Max’s original production across the EMEA will continue to be helmed by Antony Root. Elsewhere several territories were appointed new commissioning editors. Currently, France and Spain remain unscathed by the series review.
According to Deadline, these extreme cuts can be attributed to the daunting task of the company having to shred a whopping $3B in spending within the next two years. The new budget must accommodate the inevitable combining of HBO Max and Discovery+ into one streamlined service.