HBO/HBO Max Layoffs Hit Max Reality, Acquisitions, Casting & Int’l; Scripted Operation Gets Restructured
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The dreaded post-merger Warner Bros Discovery layoffs have reached the programming operation overseen by HBO and HBO Max Chief Content Officer Casey Bloys.
Overall, 14% of staff — about 70 people — are being laid off Monday, the vast majority of them on the Max side. That includes in Max Non-Fiction Originals, International, Acquisitions, Casting and previously reported Live-Action Family Originals, which are all being either scaled back significantly or essentially eliminated, leading to the departure of the bulk of the the staffs, led by Jennifer O’Connell EVP, Non-Fiction & Live-Action Family Originals for HBO Max; Jennifer Kim, SVP, International Originals for HBO Max; Michael Quigley, EVP of Content Acquisitions at HBO Max; and Linda Lowy, EVP Casting for WarnerMedia’s HBO Max, TNT, TBS and truTV.
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I hear the layoffs are being done via video conferences this morning. The cuts are part of WBD leadership’s pledge to find at least $3 billion in savings.
WarnerMedia
Despite incessant rumors about HBO Max’s scripted team, its leadership under Bloys remains virtually intact — albeit with some responsibility changes — with all executives who have reported to Bloys staying put and continuing to do so (except for O’Connell, who had a dual unscripted/scripted role). That includes HBO’s Amy Gravitt and Francesca Orsi and Max’s Sarah Aubrey.
HBO’s longtime head of comedy, EVP Programming Amy Gravitt, is also taking oversight of original comedy for HBO Max as the two groups are being combined.
WarnerMedia
The move was foreshadowed a few weeks ago when word got out that Gravitt had started taking Max comedy pitches. Suzanna Makkos, who had been running comedy for HBO Max, most recently EVP Original Comedy and Animation for HBO Max and Adult Swim, will stay on, reporting to Gravitt.
Makkos had been reporting to HBO Max’s Head of Original Content Sarah Aubrey, who also is staying on. The veteran development executive, who comes from an extensive drama background, will continue to oversee Max Original dramas and will add a new international programming role, working with the WBD International team, led by Gerhard Zeiler, to get the programming groups internationally to be coordinated country by country.
Francesca Orsi runs drama on the HBO side, reporting to Bloys.
I hear the rationale behind merging HBO and Max’s comedy departments is that there is more overlap in comedy between the two brands than there is in drama. That is exemplified by Max comedies like Hacks and, of course, Sex and the City follow-up And Just Like That…, that would fit fine on HBO proper.
HBO Max
The divergence is bigger in drama. where Max has been going for broader, pop culture content. Aubrey’s focus going forward will be on big, largely IP-based tentpoles. (Joey Chavez remains as EVP Programming and lead for Max Originals drama, reporting to Aubrey.) That includes high-profile DC series The Peacemaker and the upcoming The Penguin and Green Lantern, which are all moving along, as well as another upcoming series, Dune, which is now casting, and an It series adaptation, which is in fast-track development. In addition to The Peacemaker, Max has had success with dramas based on WB series IP including Pretty Little Liars and Gossip Girl.
Over the past month, there also have been rampant rumors that Max’s scripted slate is getting gutted, with scores of shows canceled and development reevaluated or even slashed. I hear a number of third-party projects in development have been released recently but there are no major changes planned for the in-house/Warner Bros. TV-produced scripted slate outside the recently announced kids and family programming pullout.
WBD’s commitment to Max’s original programming was stressed recently by WBD CEO David Zaslav during the company’s quarterly earnings call where he also confirmed that Bloys’ team is staying put.
“Quality is what matters. Quality is what Casey and that team is delivering. It’s the best team in the business. We’re doubling down on that HBO team,” Zaslav said. “They’re all committed under contract and we’re going to spend dramatically more this year and next year than we spent last year in the year before.”
He later added, “The majority of the people on Casey’s team have been locked up.”
The cuts of Max Original reality, International, Acquisitions and Casting are not surprising. With the pending merger of HBO Max and non-fiction Discovery+ into one platform, HBO Max had already paused new development of unscripted series. O’Connell’s other area at HBO Max and Live-Action Family Originals also recently was put on hold.
Going forward, existing Max unscripted series will continue or premiere as planned and, if they are performing well, will stay on. There will just be no new development in light of the large volume of non-fiction fare that will come from Discovery+ when the two services are merged next summer.
HBO Max
HBO Max’s reality slate includes shows such as Selena + Chef, which has been renewed for a fourth season; FBoy Island, which is airing its second season; and Legendary, which recently premiered its third season. The move will be a blow for the unscripted community as HBO Max was known to pay between $1.5 million-$2 million per episode of some of its unscripted shows, well above Discovery’s usual tariffs, which generally go as high as around $500,000 per hour.
The elimination of the HBO Max casting department syncs up the streamer with HBO proper, which has never had an in-house casting department and instead has been using casting directors on individual shows.
The situation is similar with the phasing out of Max’s international group. The HBO’s drama and comedy departments had been forging their own co-productions on series like I May Destroy You and Years and Years, something that would likely be duplicated on the Max side.
The downsizing of HBO/Max acquisition team, which has been making library deals, comes amid a collapse of the Pay 1 window in the new age of vertically integrated movie studios largely supplying their streaming platforms, and a dwindling of third-party series library sales for the same reason. The last big Pay 1 pact for HBO/Max, a 10-year agreement with 20th Century, which was recently restructured to include 20th Century and Searchlight movies being shared with Disney’s Disney+ and Hulu, is set to expire with the new Avatar movie in 2023. On the TV side, South Park is a rare non-Warner Bros. TV-produced series whose library was snatched by HBO Max; it is slated to move to its corporate streamer, Paramount+, in 2025.
The moves further dismantle the Max structure as a stand-alone entity with its own infrastructure built under Kevin Reilly. The process started soon after HBO’s Bloys added Max’s content operation to his purview in 2020 with the shutting down of Warner Max, a movie label launched by the previous regime to supply mid-budget films exclusively for the streamer.
At HBO, isolated layoffs are expected in programming, production and BA.
UPDATE 4 PM: Bloys addressed the layoffs and executive reorg in an internal memo:
Team,
First, I want to thank and acknowledge all of you for the unparalleled, incredible work you’ve done across all of our programming efforts. This team has achieved successes over an unprecedented stretch of challenges—from 140 Emmy nominations across our brand to the recent coverage celebrating HBO Max as one of the best streaming services in the market. I commend your focus and commitment to excellence through these very uncertain times.
Unfortunately, the environment in which we operate is changing rapidly, and it is up to us to continue to refine our model to chart a course for long term success. As you heard from David Zaslav during our last earnings call, producing top-tier HBO/Max scripted content is crucial to WBD’s future. Part of this process involves an honest assessment of what we need moving forward.
To best align our strengths and strategy with the challenges and opportunities ahead, I am announcing the following organizational changes.
Max Scripted Originals
Sarah Aubrey will continue to oversee the Max Originals drama slate as well as expand her responsibilities to include a key strategic global role. Since the platform’s inception, Sarah has been an indefatigably dynamic leader, with a diverse and long list of successes including The Flight Attendant, Peacemaker, And Just Like That…, The Sex Lives of College Girls, and The Staircase, among many others. Building on this, and as our company grows in its global aspiration and reach, Sarah’s remit will include working alongside Gerhard Zeiler and his team to define and implement our international programming strategy. Joey Chavez, EVP Programming, will continue to report to Sarah as the lead for Max Originals drama, and together they will focus on developing and producing tentpole IP series such as Peacemaker, Dune, The Penguin, and Green Lantern.
Suzanna Makkos will now report into Amy Gravitt, Head of Comedy and EVP, Programming for HBO. Suzanna has led an incredibly successful comedy slate for Max Originals, punctuated by the acclaimed, Emmy-winning series Hacks, as well as The Sex Lives of College Girls, Rap Sh!t, and Julia, and also animated series including the upcoming Velma and Young Love. This transition will align our scripted comedy slate under one powerhouse, genre-redefining team; and by unifying this department under Amy, we’ll be able to maximize our effectiveness in continuing to build out our slate across both the HBO and Max Originals brand. Suzanna will also continue to lead Adult Swim adult animation programming.
Besides Amy now overseeing a combined HBO/HBO Max comedy group, HBO leadership remains unchanged. Francesca Orsi, HBO’s Head of Drama and EVP Programming will continue to lead the HBO Originals drama team. Nancy Abraham, EVP Programming, and Lisa Heller, EVP Programming, will continue to lead HBO’s documentary slate, and Nina Rosenstein, EVP Programming, continues to lead our late-night, talk, and specials content.
As we contemplate the Discovery content offering joining HBO Max for an eventual combined platform, we have had to make the incredibly difficult decision to disband or restructure the following teams, none of which reflects the contributions of the individuals impacted here.
Max Originals Non-Fiction & Live-Action Family Originals
Jen O’Connell and her talented team have led a diverse, impactful, and entertaining slate, with titles ranging from competition series including the Emmy-winning Legendary to FBOY Island, 12 Dates of Christmas, and Finding Magic Mike; to documentaries such as Class Action Park, The Way Down, and On The Record; and family programming such as Gordita Chronicles. I can’t say enough about my respect for Jen’s talent, vision, and passionate commitment to inclusive content. As we move forward, we will not add new reality/documentaries to the Max slate. For existing Max reality programming, we will make renewal decisions based on traditional measures of success.
International Originals, HBO Max
In light of Warner Bros. Discovery’s sizable International footprint, led by Gerhard Zeiler, we will no longer have a U.S. team dedicated to pursuing these opportunities. During her time at HBO Max, Jeniffer Kim, SVP International Originals, was responsible for programming international content including the acclaimed limited series It’s A Sin, and the Peabody Award-winning Sort Of. I extend my sincere gratitude to Jen and her team for all of their inspired work. Going forward, similar to the model employed at HBO for titles such as Years and Years, I May Destroy You, and My Brilliant Friend, the individual drama and comedy teams will evaluate and pursue any international co-productions they may find valuable outside of Warner Bros. Discovery.
Casting, HBO Max
To mirror the model that has proved successful over the years at HBO, we will no longer have an in-house casting department for Max Originals. Linda Lowy, EVP Casting, is one of the most gifted casting executives in the business. She and her team have a great deal to be proud of, and the impact of their contributions can be seen across the breakthrough Max Original series.
Content Acquisitions, HBO & HBO Max
Our model here will also change, with a significant reduction in the size of the team. This reflects an evolving need as the industry moves away from third party Pay 1 deals and acquisitions, and as a company we leverage our own library from the Warner Bros. portfolio. Michael Quigley, EVP, Content Acquisition, who joined the HBO Max team shortly before the platform’s launch, will be departing. In his time with the company, Michael spearheaded key acquisition deals—including South Park—and has led a talented team based in Atlanta, New York, and Los Angeles. He has been a deft leader in the changing marketplace, and I wish him all future successes. Royce Battleman, SVP, Content Acquisition, an essential member of HBO’s Acquisitions team for close to three decades, will lead the newly restructured department and now report to Glenn Whitehead, President, Business Affairs & Production for HBO & HBO Max.
Although I am confident these structural changes will allow us to sustain a thriving business model, these decisions have been extremely painful to make. We operate in an environment where we must adapt in real-time to industry and company exigencies. None of this lessens the blow of parting ways with such talented, trusted, hardworking, and celebrated teammates. I extend to each of them my deepest appreciation as they transition to their next opportunity.
More to come soon as I’ll gather my core team, where I can provide more insight on these changes and the road ahead, and I will do my best to answer any questions that you may have.
Casey
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