‘Inside Amy Schumer’ Among Latest Group of Projects Removed From Paramount+

Lesley Goldberg
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The Paramount+ purge continues.

Inside Amy Schumer and Kevin Williamson’s Tell Me a Story are among the latest titles to be removed from the Paramount Global-owned streaming platform. The moves, which were expected after last week’s erasure of Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, Star Trek: Prodigy, The Game and Queen of the Universe, come the same day that the conglomerate officially unveiled Paramount+ With Showtime.

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Other titles that are being deleted from the service include Dave Grohl’s docuseries From Cradle to Stage, Ghislaine: Partner in Crime (the doc from former CBS News president Susan Zirinsky), the LeBron James-produced film Fantasy Football (which was picked up as part of Brian Robbins push for younger-skewing content) and family musical Snow Day.

Nickelodeon fare was hit especially hard with the removals of series including All In With Cam Newton, Allegra’s Window, Becca’s Bunch, Bella and the Bulldogs, Crashletes, Digby Dragon, The Fresh Beat Band, The Halo Effect, Legendary Dudas, Monsters vs. Aliens, Mutt & Stuff, Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn, Peter Rabbit, Pig Goat Banana Cricket, Ride and The Troop.

Paramount+ indicated other titles would be joining Grease, Prodigy, The Game and Queen of the Universe. No further removals are expected at this time.

“In the unified Paramount+ with Showtime plan, the Showtime portfolio of edgy, critically acclaimed programming will complement the broad and popular Paramount+ library in a seamless offering that appeals to everyone, enables more discovery between the brands and builds overall viewership,” a Paramount+ spokesperson said in a statement to THR last week. “As we prepare to combine Paramount+ and Showtime later this month in the U.S., we are refining our content offering to deliver the best streaming experience for subscribers. This is consistent with our content strategy since launch and across our business, which ensures we make smart, efficient choices, informed by audience data and insights. We are removing select programming as we look to optimize Showtime’s robust slate of premium originals.”

Paramount+ With Showtime launched June 27 at $12 per month. Such Showtime originals as Yellowjackets, Your Honor, Dexter, Billions and The Chi, among others, are now available on the platform. The move comes as Paramount Global is bulking up its central platform rather than keeping Showtime on its own. The Showtime linear channel will remain as-is for the time being. Current Showtime subscribers have through the end of the year to migrate to Paramount+ With Showtime.

Paramount+ joins Warner Bros. Discovery and Disney in removing underperforming titles from their respective streaming services in exchange for financial considerations. Streamers continue to pay licensing fees in order to keep programs on their platforms. WBD, for example, removed lower-rated series including Westworld and The Nevers and instead licensed them to free, ad-supported streaming services in a bid to recoup some of the losses on the pricey scripted originals. Disney recently purged a couple dozen titles from Disney+ and Hulu, and it remains unclear if the Mouse House plans to follow suit and sell the underperforming titles to free, ad-supported streamers or elsewhere. In a recent earnings report, Disney took a $1.5 billion tax write-down for the content removal. Paramount Global is expected to reveal the cost savings associated with the content removals during an upcoming earnings report.

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