The HBO-Warner merger has claimed yet another streaming victim to be axed from the Max. This time, it’s the Batman: The Animated Series revival/reboot/sequel, Batman: Caped Crusader.
There were a total of six animated projects that were scrapped thanks to the Warner/Discovery merger, but each of them are being shopped to other platforms and work is continuing on them in the meantime. According to reports by Variety, a representative from HBO Max stated that “Live-action kids and family programming will not be part of our programming focus in the immediate future.” So what’s the issue with that?
Simple. Not all animation has to be targeted at children and families.
Batman: The Animated Series is one of the most well-received animated projects of the 90’s, if not ever. The original animated series ran from 1992-1995 and spanned 109 episodes. Thanks to BTAS, fans were introduced to Mr. Freeze’s heartbreaking origin story in Heart of Ice, plucky Gotham cop, Renee Montoya, and of course, the queen of villainous sidekicks and cross-marketing herself, Harley Quinn. The focus on through-provoking and emotional storytelling is what set Batman: The Animated Series apart from the goofy and lighthearted Batman adaptations leading up to its release. The balance of fun and depth set a standard of storytelling for animated programming that even modern series reach for.
Rewatching the series as an adult has shocked me, as I honestly didn’t realize how dark and frightening some of these episodes are. But compared to other modern adult animated series like South Park, Family Guy, or Rick and Morty, BTAS focuses on the realities of the fictional setting and finding humor and depth in those moments. There’s far less toilet humor or bullying of characters (As a ginger and a Meg, I appreciate this.) Plus, even the animation has held up in the almost thirty years since the series first aired. But even Bruce Timm said of the original series that “There was certain limitations on what we could do in terms of adult content, in terms of violence and adult themes.”
When Batman: Caped Crusader was first announced last year, other comics journalism sites posted articles saying how much they were eagerly awaiting this series, and the fact that WB/Discovery are scrapping it and hiding behind a shift away from “family and kids’ programming” demonstrates that the new head honchos of the company are totally missing the point of what the fans want to see and are ready to pay for. HBO Max clearly recognizes the need to target this audience segment, as evidenced by the extreme advertisements on related media.
And Warner Brothers/ Discovery will end up paying for it dearly if they continue to alienate their audience base. Because the fans are loyal to Batman character and not the brand ownership or management of their hero. People will follow the same path as Dan Slott and other Twitter users, and cancel their Max subscriptions if they keep cutting out highly anticipated projects.
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