<
https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/aug/29/the-great-cancellation-why-megabucks-tv-shows-are-vanishing-without-a-trace>
"Two years ago,
Nautilus was big news. A vast, expensive Disney+ prequel to
Jules Verne’s
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,
Nautilus promised to tell the
early story of Captain Nemo as he embarked on an epic submarine adventure,
seeking revenge on his former captors the East India Company. A colossal
replica submarine was built. Several soundstages on Australia’s Gold Coast were
given over to it. Hundreds of crew members were hired alongside hundreds of
extras. Filming took almost a year. The Queensland government claimed that the
series would inject A$96m into the local economy. It looked certain to be a
hit; an exciting new big-budget spectacle, underpinned with contemporary
themes, based on a legendary piece of intellectual property.
Nautilus
couldn’t go wrong.
Except nobody is going to see
Nautilus because, even though it has already
been made, Disney+ has decided not to stream it. Clearly, this is unusual. The
television industry has a long history of dropping previously announced shows
for a variety of reasons – 2004’s animated
Popetown was canned by the BBC
after complaints from Catholics, 2017’s
The Cops was axed after reports of
creator Louis CK’s sexual misconduct came to light, and 2021’s
Ultimate Slip
’N Slide was cancelled after the crew all came down with a highly infectious
variant of explosive diarrhoea that can be spread through tainted water. But
Disney+ has a different reason for getting rid of
Nautilus: it was axed as a
cost-cutting exercise.
In May, Disney+ announced a content removal plan designed to cut US$1.5bn worth
of content, meaning it substantially reduces the company’s value, giving it a
lot less tax to pay.
Nautilus is not the only victim: a live-action TV
adaptation of
The Spiderwick Chronicles was also completed and then axed.
Disney isn’t the only network to abandon shows that have largely been made,
with HBO Max cancelling the second season of feminist porn comedy
Minx just
as it was finishing production (only for Starz to buy it, saving it from never
seeing the light of day).
AMC has also deleted shows with completed and unaired seasons, such as the
animated drama
Pantheon and legal drama
61st Street, for similar tax
purposes. It pulled the plug on its adaptation of Adrienne Celt’s
Invitation
to a Bonfire partway through production. One US sitcom,
Chad, was pulled
just hours before it was due to air on US network TBS.
Shows are also steadily vanishing from streaming platforms. Earlier this year,
Disney+ removed a range of high-profile titles such as
Willow,
The One and
Only Ivan,
Big Shots and
The Mysterious Benedict Society. Nor is it alone.
In a similar move, Warner Bros Discovery has also removed dozens of shows like
Westworld,
Raised by Wolves,
Gordita Chronicles,
Run and
Love Life
from its platforms to save money, as has Paramount+ with its
Grease spin-off
The Pink Ladies and Jordan Peele’s
Twilight Zone remake."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
