High Maintenance, a web anthology series-turned-HBO anthology series about a marijuana dealer involved in the lives of various New Yorkers, will not be returning for a fifth season, according to IndieWire. An unnamed HBO rep told TVLine, “Co-creators Katja Blichfeld and Ben Sinclair have decided to take a break from producing High Maintenance to pursue other projects.”
Blichfeld, who has worked in casting for numerous projects including 30 Rock, and Sinclair (Home Again) began the series in 2012, uploading to Vimeo, and moved to HBO after producing nineteen episodes for the web, according to TVLine. In 2019, the pair talked about their struggles with their work, particularly the change in quality that comes with a contract.
“We’re never satisfied,” Blichfeld said in an interview with IndieWire. “Even when we were doing it ‘for fun,’ we would still watch our work and see missed opportunities — things that maybe fell short. […] There’s such a difference between something that’s inspired and creativity on demand, like when you have 10 episodes and [you’ve got to make them.] I think it’s rare those things can be of equal excitement and produce the same result.”
High Maintenance ran for thirty-four episodes on HBO, and the final episode aired on April 3, 2020.
News of the series’ end comes just after HBO announced Insecure‘s fifth season would be its last.