Coming hot on the heels of widespread show cancelations across streaming apps, Hulu just announced it’s following suit with Disney+ and not only canceling, but purging many popular shows from their streaming service, meaning customers can no longer access the shows despite them premiering on streaming.
Victims of the “purge” include Hulu‘s Y: The Last Man, Dollface, and The Hot Zone, along with Big Shot, Willow, and The World According to Jeff Goldblum over on Disney+.
Fans are apoplectic at the bizarre news, taking to Twitter to berate the apps for removing content that already premiered: “It’s a crime!”
Hulu Removing A Slew Of Original Series From App
Disney announced in early May that it would be removing several of the titles available for streaming on its services, Hulu and Disney+. Some of the popular original shows leaving Hulu include Future Man, starring Josh Hutcherson; Dollface, starring Kat Dennings; and Y: The Last Man, an adaptation of the acclaimed comic starring Diane Lane.
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The latter debuted to relatively positive reviews and fan excitement, but was summarily canceled after only four episode and now, will be pulled from Hulu's app entirely. The show's creator, Eliza Clark, had some choice words for the streamer once the news broke:
Well, you work on something for years, pour your heart and soul into it, as do hundreds of other artists. You make it during a global pandemic, far from home. Then it is canceled before it even has a chance to finish airing. Then, it is disappeared… https://t.co/BbttPYWxMH
— Eliza Clark (@TheElizaClark) May 18, 2023
Of the decision, Disney CFO Christine McCarthy stated, "We are in the process of reviewing the content on our DTC services to align with the strategic changes in our approach to content curation." Warner Bros. Discovery recently pulled a similar move, cutting a bunch of original series from HBO Max including The Time Traveler's Wife and The Nevers.
An industry insider told Deadline, "There’s billions of dollars that is sitting there in the Netflix library not doing a thing; shows come and go and then they just sit there. I think the one thing we’re all realizing as an industry is this whole idea that everything you produce, you could put it in one place forever and ever for $15 a month, it’s not possible to make a viable business there because the numbers don’t add up." The outlet goes on to speculate that the reason for removing titles from streaming may be for companies to gain "attractive write-downs" through the move.
Fans Protest: 'I Guess I Have To Go Back To Piracy'
The choice to cut shows from streaming on Hulu and Disney+ seems to be incredibly unpopular with subscribers, and many have taken to Twitter to protest the purgings:
hulu is so nasty for removing dollface
— alyssa (@livszayn) May 26, 2023
I hadn't finished watching @marvelsrunaways yet @hulu but thanks for removing it so I can cancel my subscription sooner
— Lacy (@lacyduckie) May 29, 2023
This might be a hot take but streaming services shouldn't remove their original content. Like Hulu removing a Hulu original series just makes absolutely no sense?
— Julia Rushlow (@JuliaRushlow18) May 27, 2023
Y: THE LAST MAN is a smart, thoughtful adaptation of one of the best comic books of the last 25 years. Not only did it get canceled after just 1 season, now it’s being deleted from Hulu. It’s a godd*** crime. #YTheLastMan pic.twitter.com/fyTvFPNvgD
— Conor Holt (@conor_holt) May 26, 2023
For Disney's part, the megacorp has already reported a $1.5 "write down" after removing said content from Disney+ and Hulu, meaning the "purging" practice may be one we'll have to get used to as long as it's profitable.
