HBO Max’s Cancellation of ‘Gordita Chronicles’ Signals Shift Away From Live-Action Family Programming

Another day, another series cancellation under the tutelage of the newly-minted Warner Bros.-Discovery company. According to Comicbook, HBO Max pulled the plug on the freshman comedy series, Gordita Chronicles, after one season. Created by Claudia Forestieri (The Boyfriend Cemetary), the show followed the adventures of a young Dominican girl coming-of-age in 1980s Florida.

“Cucu needs a new casa people,” Forestieri tweeted on Friday after the news was announced, via Deadline. Executive produced by Eva Longoria (Sylvie’s Love) and Zoe Saldana (Vampires vs. The Bronx), the show’s creative team is hopeful to find the critically-praised half-hour comedy a new home. Producing studio Sony Pictures Television made a similar maneuver for the Netflix series reboot of One Day at a Time, which eventually landed on Pop under CBS before the series ended.

The news seems to be the latest casualty of the Warner Bros.-Discovery-owned platform’s efforts to cut costs across multiple properties. Since the merger was made official earlier this year, all original scripted programming at TNT and TBS ended with the fourth season of Snowpiercer being TNT’s last. Viewers have also witnessed large slate of the CW’s shows get the ax as the teen-focused network prepares to be sold to Nexstar.

“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,” a statement from an HBO Max representative stated via Comicbook. “The series earned critical acclaim and a loyal following, and we are proud to have worked with creator Claudia Forestieri and our two powerhouse executive producers, Eva Longoria (who also masterfully directed the pilot) and Zoe Saldana, to bring Cucu’s journey to the screen. We thank them and the talented cast and crew for creating such a heartfelt, groundbreaking show that connected deeply with a very important demographic.”

The series starred newcomer Olivia Goncalves as Cucu, Juan Javier Cardenas (Snowfall) as Victor Castelli, Diana-Maria Riva (The Good Guys) as Adela Torres Castelli, Cosette Hauer as Ashley Bell, Savannah Nicole Ruiz (Gentefied) as Emilia, and Noah Rico (All That) as Yoshy Hernandez.

While it could be a mere coincidence, this year saw the cancellation of two other high-profile series centered on the Latinx community. Netflix canceled the family dramedy, Gentefiedfollowing its second season; and, ABC cut short the melodrama Promised Land which aired its final episodes on Hulu.

Season one of Gordita Chronicles is currently available on HBO Max.

Lorin Williams: TV Editor @ Mxdwn Television. Hoosier. TV enthusiast. Podcaster. Pop culture fiend.
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