If unceremoniously canceling Latine TV series wasn’t enough, it looks like streamers might start purging them from existence. At least that’s what’s happening with Gordita Chronicles at HBO Max.
On Thursday (December 8), showrunner Brigitte Muñoz-Liebowitz tweeted that the series, which was canceled after only one season, would no longer be available to stream on HBO Max.
“Just got the very sad news that [Gordita Chronicles] is being pulled from the [HBO Max] platform,” Muñoz-Liebowitz wrote. “Binge it one last time before our sweet little show is gone. Thank you to everyone who loved and supported our show.”
Gordita Chronicles followed the story of “Cucu,” a 12-year-old Dominican girl who moves with her family from the Dominican Republic to Miami in the 1980s. The series was loosely based on the life of the series creator Claudia Forestieri.
Like other Latine TV series that have been canceled in recent years like Gentefied, On My Block, The Baker and the Beauty, and One Day at a Time, Gordita Chronicles also earned stellar reviews from critics. It turns out, however, that producing a good show that features underrepresented characters on TV isn’t enough to keep it on the air. Apparently, it’s also not enough to keep it from disappearing altogether.
Fans of the series and followers of Muñoz-Liebowitz weren’t very happy when she announced the bad news. Many urged others to watch the show before it was pulled from the platform. “Please, please watch this if you have the chance,” one Twitter user wrote. “[Gordita Chronicles] is a wonderful show, and this news is absolutely atrocious.”
Others blamed Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav for the move. He’s the one that pulled the plug this year on Batgirl starring Leslie Grace in the title role. “I hate David Zaslav with a fiery passion,” a user tweeted.
Many people also wondered why the move was being made in the first place. Does it really cost that much money for a series to live on a platform, so others might discover it? What’s the point of removing it?
“Serious question for [HBO Max]: Why would you pull a show from your platform when it’s widely known that shows about underrepresented communities are lacking? What purpose does this serve?”
There’s no word when exactly Gordita Chronicles will disappear from HBO Max, so, really, if you haven’t seen the show yet, do yourself a favor and binge the 10 episodes this weekend. Because our stories matter and deserve to be told. Period.