As Warner Bros Discovery further exits the JJ Abrams business, HBO Max has cancelled its expensive sci-fi drama Westworld. It ran for four seasons with a fifth planned.

Why was it cancelled? Well, that's where it gets complicated. It cost approx $20 million an episode to make and not many people were watching it. Oh, well, actually, that isn't complicated at all.

Maybe I should have written that paragraph from two different perspectives years apart, only to surprise you all in the next parapraph that it was written by the same guy after all.

Why HBO Canceled ‘Westworld’
Ratings for the pricey drama shrank from 12 million to 4 million.
The Hollywood ReporterLesley Goldberg

Schools Out

HBO Max won't be going ahead with their planned Degrassi show. This appears to be part of an ongoing commitment to not having any programming on platform for viewers aged under 25.

WildBrain, which owns the Degrassi franchise, was producing the new series, which, like its predecessors, would have followed students and teachers at the titular school who are “living in the shadow of events that both bind them together and tear them apart,” per the show’s logline. Lara Azzopardi (The Bold Type) and Julia Cohen (Riverdale, A Million Little Things) were tapped as showrunners.

It strikes me as interesting that neither HBO Max, nor Netflix which had its own attempted Degrassi reboot a few years ago (it ran just the one season), have been able to successfully do anything with the show. The strength of Degrassi is that the show deals with relatable, but progressive and edgy, issues that everyday teenagers grapple with. It is a simple formula that is easy to replicate (see: Netflix's Australian Heartbreak High reboot) and one that should always be buzzy with a built-in audience. There's something going awry in the development process (especially if the current incarnation is overloading it with a "It's Riverdale, but also Degrassi" vibe).

This should have been a win and certainly something that can be put in place as a companion/successor to Euphoria.

‘Degrassi’ Revival Scrapped at HBO Max
The teen series is among the latest casualties of cutbacks at the streamer’s parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.
The Hollywood ReporterRick Porter
  • RIP David Davis - the comedy writer was the co-creator of The Bob Newhart Show and Taxi. Read: Variety
  • The current incarnation of Whose Line Is It Anyway will conclude after its next season. Read: Deadline
  • The most recent effort to bring back Stargate SG-1 has stalled. Read: Dark Horizons
  • Disney is ending its COVID production protocols, meaning the unvaccinated can return to set with a smug look on their faces. Read: Deadline
  • Andor will commence filming season 2 this month (Nov 21). The second season will cover 5 years in the life of Andor across 12 episodes. Read: Collider
  • When Peacock debuts John Wick spin-off series The International, it'll debut internationally on Amazon Prime Video. Read: TBI
  • Does House of The Dragon owe more than just a bit of a debt to I, Claudius? Read: Den of Geek
  • Nine Entertainment Co is set to sign a $500 million extension of its broadcast deal with Tennis Australia, giving it the rights to air the Australian Open tournament for five more years (until 2030). Read: SMH
  • Australia's ABC is set to overhaul the way it commissions TV shows, emulating the BBC model. Read: SMH

Inflation

Australian animated character Bluey is joining the Macys Thanksgiving Parade this year. This is what the balloon will look like.

Criminal Minds is back Nov 24 with Paramount+ series Criminal Minds: Evolution.

George and Tammy debuts on Showtime Dec 4.

Warriors of Future debuts on Netflix Dec 2.

When a meteor carrying a destructive plant strikes the world, a suicide squad is given hours to save their post-apocalyptic city from total collapse.

Khakee: The Binhar Chapter debuts Nov 25 on Netflix.

And that's it. The newsletter is off to another start for what I understand is in fact another week.