Actor Diana-Maria Riva is all too familiar with one of her shows being canceled. For a performer, it鈥檚 a painful, unfortunate part of show business. But this was different.
In December, Riva was floored when she found out that her recently canceled family comedy, would be removed from HBO Max鈥檚 vast streaming library 鈥� one of dozens of shows that HBO last year effectively wiped from existence for U.S. viewers. Among others: 鈥淭he Time Traveler鈥檚 Wife,鈥� 鈥淢inx,鈥� 鈥淢rs. Fletcher鈥� and numerous animated and reality series.
For Riva, the developments were crushing. Over 10 episodes, the critically lauded series followed a plus-sized 12-year-old named Cucu as she and her Dominican family adapt to life in 1980s Miami.
鈥淚t was as if somebody had broken up with you and then came back to remind you a couple of weeks later that we鈥檝e broken up,鈥� says Riva, who played Cucu鈥檚 mother. 鈥淚t was already heartbreaking. But then it鈥檚 an added punch to just say, 鈥楴ow we鈥檙e going to wipe the evidence of you ever having been here.鈥欌��
As streamers face mounting pressure to save money, several have followed HBO鈥檚 lead. Erasing original shows from their libraries can help streamers get tax write-downs and, to a smaller extent, save on residual payments. But it brings criticism that they are sidelining already marginalized voices and shortchanging creatives out of already slimmer residual paychecks. These issues have increased tension between executives and writers amid union contract negotiations that started late last month and could lead to a significant work stoppage this spring.
Streaming companies offer this defense: They never promised that shows would live forever. In a hyper-competitive, changing market, they say, each streamer is trying to balance ample offerings with sheer survival.
STREAMERS TIGHTEN THEIR BELTS
Amid the downturn in the tech and media industries, streamers are being pushed to cut spending and turn a profit rather than 鈥渃hasing growth at all costs,鈥� media analyst Dan Rayburn says.
鈥淭hese companies have had to change the way they鈥檙e spending on content because Wall Street says you鈥檝e got to get to profitability much faster,鈥� Rayburn says. He cites nosedived in November after the company revealed that its direct-to-consumer unit, which includes Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, lost nearly $1.5 billion in one quarter.
HBO鈥檚 2022 purges 鈥� which occurred as its parent company, enabling a slew of tax write-off possibilities 鈥� were the most notable example. But its rivals quickly followed suit. In January, Starz erased a handful of shows including 鈥淒angerous Liaisons,鈥� a costume drama that disappeared from its streaming app days after the finale aired. Some fans said they missed the last episode.
Then, a few weeks later, Showtime underwent its own culling. It eliminated the Jeff Daniels-led drama 鈥淎merican Rust,鈥� among others. Paramount+, with Showtime integrating into the service, did the same with some of its offerings, including Jordan Peele鈥檚 revival of 鈥淭he Twilight Zone.鈥�
Some of those shows have found new homes. For those that haven鈥檛, including 鈥淕ordita Chronicles,鈥� the effects of their disappearance are widespread. Potential viewers might never have a chance to discover it. Actors and writers no longer know whether their work will be seen again. And the original streamer no longer has to pay residuals.
How much money streamers save through these erasures is unclear. But Rayburn says the companies clearly concluded that the excised shows weren鈥檛 bringing in enough new customers or significantly aiding retention efforts. Instead, streamers have been shopping the programming to rivals, including free, ad-supported streaming TV channels like Tubi, which recently began hosting some HBO shows, including 鈥淲estworld.鈥�
Streamers, Rayburn says, are under no obligation to host shows for years. What鈥檚 more, customers have gotten used to hopping among apps to hunt down titles that bounce between them.
Casey Bloys, chair and CEO of HBO and HBO Max, said on a recent episode of that streamers are taking a closer look at their libraries and seeing how best to profit.
鈥淭he idea that everything a company produces will be in one spot forever and ever, for $15 a month, for eternity, is a relatively new concept,鈥� Bloys said. 鈥�$15 a month is going to cover everything for the rest of time? It鈥檚 a nice idea, but it鈥檚 not viable.鈥�
THE DECLINE OF RESIDUALS
The shifting landscape has alarmed creatives who have already seen their residuals dwindle over the years.
Residuals were once a cornerstone of an actor鈥檚 or writer鈥檚 livelihood, with large checks consistently rolling in as series were syndicated and appeared as reruns. Now, creatives say, their residual income has plummeted as streamers have grown. As part of union-negotiated contracts, streamers still pay residuals, but those back-end payments are hardly the size that casts and crews receive from TV channels.
Per the Writers Guild of America West鈥檚 contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, a single rerun of an hourlong prime-time broadcast show on ABC would currently net its writer $24,558. But if that show were on Netflix, the writer would earn 鈥� at most 鈥� $20,018 in domestic residuals for the episode. And if the show were on a smaller streamer like HBO Max, that annual payment would max out at $13,346. Each additional year a show is on a streamer, the residuals decrease. That, of course, assumes the show remains part of the library.
The decline of residuals is an issue that industry insiders say could come to a head as the WGA鈥檚 contract expires in May, followed shortly by the expiration of the directors鈥� and actors鈥� guild contracts, which are both due to lapse June 30. In addition to seeking better residual rates, writers want higher minimum pay rates and better financial security in an industry that is far more likely to order a 10-episode season than the 22-episode season that was standard when broadcasters dominated the medium. The last writers鈥� strike, a 100-day work stoppage that ended in 2008, .
鈥淚n case y鈥檃ll are wondering why a WGA strike may be impending, my first residual check for the broadcast show I wrote on was $12,000. I just got my first residual check for my streaming show鈥� $4,鈥� screenwriter Kyra Jones tweeted.
Even though residuals have fallen, Riva says they play a crucial role in ensuring that an actor makes enough money over a given year 鈥� currently $26,470 鈥� to retain insurance eligibility via the actors鈥� guild, SAG-AFTRA.
鈥淚f you didn鈥檛 get much work recently, but at least had enough residuals to get you over that minimum threshold 鈥� that means you can insure your family,鈥� Riva says.
MARGINALIZED VOICES SHELVED
In a February news release, the Writer鈥檚 Guild of America West decried HBO鈥檚 removal of its shows, saying it 鈥渋llustrates how consolidation increases the power of gatekeepers at the expense of marginalized voices.鈥�
The guild cited HBO鈥檚 decisions to pull 鈥淕ordita Chronicles鈥� and 鈥淭uca & Bertie,鈥� an animated series whose two leads were voiced by women of color. It also highlighted the studio鈥檚 鈥� a nearly completed movie starring Leslie Grace, an Afro-Latina actor 鈥� that HBO shelved for a tax write-off instead of releasing. In January, Warner Bros. Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels said the company is 鈥渄one鈥� pursuing those content-related write-offs.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 just let shows disappear, especially shows that depict immigration and Latinx families in a positive light,鈥� said 鈥淕ordita Chronicles鈥� showrunner Brigitte Mu帽oz-Liebowitz. 鈥淥ur communities are humanized through comedy. And to not have the show be there as part of our media lexicon, it shows a regression to me.鈥�
In a statement, HBO Max said cancelling 鈥淕ordita Chronicles鈥� was a 鈥渧ery difficult decision鈥� it made as part of a shift away from family entertainment. The streamer also confirmed it has returned the show鈥檚 rights to Sony.
While other affected shows have found new homes through licensing deals, 鈥淕ordita Chronicles鈥� remains in limbo, all but impossible to find. For a while, some episodes were still streaming on American Airlines flights, but they, too, recently vanished from in-flight viewing options.
Both Mu帽oz-Liebowitz and Juan Javier Cardenas, who played Cucu鈥檚 father on the show, hope Sony finds a new home for it. Cardenas says that when other shows of his were canceled, he took solace in knowing 鈥渢he work would survive.鈥� That鈥檚 not the case with 鈥淕ordita Chronicles鈥� 鈥� at least, not now.
鈥淭o know that in the end,鈥� Cardenas says, 鈥渄espite all the heart and soul we put into the show, that it won鈥檛 be available for people in the future to watch and enjoy 鈥� that鈥檚 a very sad thing.鈥�
鈥擱.j. Rico, The Associated Press
