Writer-producer Jennifer Skelly, co-creator of animation “Little Ellen,” has joined in complaints against HBO Max’s controversial decision to exclude its series and more than 30 titles from the catalog as a way to cut costs. streaming service.
“It’s really devastating,” he told Variety magazine. “I’ve worked on a million things that have never been produced, but it’s very rare that it gets that far – it’s literally done – and you still don’t see the light of day.”
Created by Skelly and Kevin A. Leman II (writer of “Ellen: The Ellen DeGeneres Show”), “Little Ellen” explored the world through the eyes of a young Ellen DeGeneres.
In addition to the two already completed seasons of the series that have been banned from HBO Max, there were still 20 unreleased and properly finished episodes, waiting for a release that will never happen. “Obviously there are a lot of business problems going on in terms of what it means financially to them.”
Financial decisions were the reasons for this exclusion. By not showing the content, Warner Bros. Discovery (owner of HBO Max) would no longer have to pay residual costs. But, in addition to financially damaging those involved in those attractions, this decision can also have negative consequences on artists’ careers.
“There were writers who got their first job in those 20 episodes that came out and directors who got their first chance to direct,” he continued. “We’ve had a lot of firsts in our team and they won’t be able to see those episodes on TV and they won’t get their credits. It’s really hard.”
Asked if the creators would stop working with Warner Bros. Discovery in future projects, fearing that this will happen again, Skelly said that this situation is not common and that it cannot be relied upon to try and predict the future.
“I don’t think people will shy away from working with the firm or even know what to ask for in their contracts to protect themselves, because the parameters will be different in a year and a half,” she explained.
Skelly also recalled that the series was hampered by controversy involving the figure of Ellen DeGeneres. In 2020, Ellen’s talk show was investigated by (then owner) WarnerMedia after allegations of sexual misconduct, racism and intimidation of the show’s staff behind the scenes surfaced.
As a result, DeGeneres fired three of the show’s top producers and apologized on the air for reports of mistreatment. It wasn’t enough and in 2021 he announced that the show would end after its 19th season.
“We’ve been a perfect storm of many things, because the Ellen brand has also suffered in recent years. Our show wasn’t going to get much love for that anyway. We started at the peak of her career, but at the time it was made. the show, the animation – because it takes forever to do something in animation – his brand was in a really different place and his show was ending. “
Despite taking the name of Ellen, the animation had no contact with the host. “I met her once, very briefly, but it all went through Warner Bros. There wasn’t much interaction with her company, and certainly not with her directly. We were really doing our thing in our world, which it was big. “
“Little Ellen” was just one of the many attractions excluded from the HBO Max catalog. Reality shows and animated series are among the most affected attractions, which Skelly considers extremely unfair.
“Animation kept the industry alive during the pandemic,” he said. “We were the ones who kept going when no one could show up on set and the COVID protocols kept people from filming. But we still created content for you guys. And now that we’ve done that, and the pandemic is slowing down, it feels like we were set in motion, curb. And this is a great frustration for the animation community. “
Skelly joins the growing list of artists who have complained about HBO Max’s decision. Before her, also Stephen P. Neary, creator of “The Fungies” (“The Fungies!”), And Julia Pott, creator of “Summer Camp Island “, expressed their indignation.
Source: Terra
Emily Jhon is a product and service reviewer at Gossipify, known for her honest evaluations and thorough analysis. With a background in marketing and consumer research, she offers valuable insights to readers. She has been writing for Gossipify for several years and has a degree in Marketing and Consumer Research from the University of Oxford.
