HBO Max to License Yanked Series Like ‘Westworld’ & ‘The Nevers’ to Third-Party Streamers

Isaac Rouse December 14, 2022, 5:34 pm

Westworld Season 3 - Evan Rachel Wood, Aaron Paul — HBO

Following the cancelation of shows like Westworld and The Nevers on HBO Max, it was announced these shows would also be pulled from the platform. Now, according to a Warner Bros. Discovery earnings call, the company has decided to license certain HBO and HBO Max original shows to a free third-party streaming service as part of a packaged deal. The hope is for the initiative to “drive new, expanded audiences for these series,” according to a press release. “As we prepare for this transition, these series will be coming off of the HBO Max service in the coming days.”

“We are incredibly proud of Westworld and the remarkable work of our cast and crew,” says Westworld creators Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy. “We are excited to have the opportunity to welcome a whole new audience to our show.”

HBO Max is speaking with the studio partners about opportunities to expand further the reach of the shows, including but not limited to licensing the series to third-party FAST platforms.

Since the Discovery and WarnerMedia merger earlier this year, CEO David Zaslav has been on a cost-cutting mission; the company set out to find $3.5 billion in savings over the next three years. This has seen several staff cuts and shows being canceled, including scrapping the already-filmed Batgirl movie and dropping the TBS series Chad, despite the fact it had already completed filming Season 2.

Warner Bros. Discovery says it will announce additional details about its own long-term WBD FAST offering in 2023.