HBO Max removes hundreds of classic animated episodes from streamer

Warner Bros. has removed hundreds of classic animated episodes from its streaming service HBO Max. Among the cull are 16 seasons of Looney Tunes and three seasons of The Flintstones.

On December 31, the streaming service removed half of its Looney Tunes library, including shorts from 1930 right up to 2004. Per Vulture, among those axed were 'One Froggy Evening' and 'What’s Opera, Doc?'

Meanwhile, seasons four to six of The Flintstones were also removed, totaling 78 episodes. According to Variety, the reason for removal was down to the content being licensed to HBO Max from Warner Bros. until the end of 2022. While they’re both part of the same company, the move not to renew these licenses was likely to reduce content expenses.

HBO Max has been steadily removing content over the past year. Among the shows to be pulled from the streaming service include the recently canceled Westworld and steampunk series The Nevers. Alongside Raised By Wolves, Legendary, and The Time Traveler’s Wife, these shows will all be licensed to third-party free, ad-supported streaming services.

According to Vulture, this is not the plan for the removed Looney Tunes and The Flintstones episodes, which will not be returning to another platform. Instead, viewers will have to wait until Looney Tunes shorts start entering the public domain in eight years.

For what to stream next, check out our round-up of the best TV shows of all time. If you’ve already seen all of those, we’ve compiled a list of all of the new TV shows coming out in 2023.