Fans of the critically acclaimed Gordita Chronicles were very upset last summer when the HBO Max comedy series was canceled by Warner Bros. Discovery after only one season.
Now that the dust has settled, creator and executive producer Claudia Forestieri is taking aim at the company that sold her and her series short.
According to Deadline, Forestieri said, the merger between Warner Bros. and Discovery “has provided pretty stark and immediate evidence that industry consolidation not only harms diversity and inclusion, but can also contribute to the erasure of U.S. Latinos.”
After the cancellation of Gordita Chronicles, Warner Bros. Discovery added salt to the wound by removing the entire first season from the HBO Max platform.
“I got into television to counter the negative mainstream stereotypes about Latino communities and tell stories like Gordita Chronicles, which features a young Dominican girl who immigrates with her family to Miami,” Forestieri said. “The showrunner and I did everything in our power to set the show up for success, and the first season was showered with positive reviews and strong viewership numbers.”
Forestieri added that after the merger, “HBO Max was given a new mandate from its Discovery leadership to cut costs.” This put Gordita Chronicles in the crosshairs, and it was canceled only five weeks after its premiere.
Also speaking out was Moisés Zamora, the creator and executive producer of Whistleblower, a project that was axed by Warner Bros. Discovery while it was still in production. The drama included the story of murdered Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillén.
“The press speculation is that [Warner Bros. Discovery] is focusing more on what’s seen as ‘Middle America’ content,” Zamora said. “But Black, Asian, and Latinx communities are Middle America, too.”