Max has come under fire and CEO David Zaslav may be facing the heat. The platform, which used to be called HBO Max, has gathered a lot of attention recently for cancelling seemingly popular shows early and for undeniably suspicious reasons. Max isn’t the only streaming platform to have gathered some attention for this “business practice”, but it’s catching the most heat after cancelling Our Flag Means Death a few months back. Fans of the show are leading the charge against Max with #DontStreamOnMax trending on Twitter, but Zaslav has yet to comment.
Premiering on Max in 2022, Our Flag Means Death was a period rom-com series based around famous pirates from the 18th century. The show gained a lot of popularity for forming a romance between Ed Teach, aka Blackbeard, and Stede Bonnet, the gentlemanly pirate, along with a host of other LGBTQ+ themes. Our Flag Means Death ran for two seasons and was supposed to get three, but it was prematurely cancelled in March 2024.
Fans Are Poking Holes in David Zaslav’s Cancellation Choices
Even though the news of Our Flag Means Death’s cancellation is a few months old by now, fans of the show are absolutely unwilling to let Max and David Zaslav forget the show even after it’s been sunk. People have been quick to call Max out for canceling diverse shows like Our Flag Means Death and Legendary as well as animated shows like Infinity Train and replacing them with reality TV shows. Additionally, Zaslav and Cary Bloys, CEO of HBO and Max Content, have received criticism for pledging their money to make a show around Harry Potter, which – at this point – is well known for its less-than-inclusive themes.
People are accusing Max of cancelling their shows early to avoid paying royalties, removing completed works for tax purposes, and abandoning their drive to create more inclusive TV. Twitter has called for a Max-based streaming boycott as #DontStreamOnMax continues to trend, especially after Max’s PR department shared a post celebrating their “uplifting LGBTQ+ storytelling” a few days ago, just in time for the beginning of Pride Month.
So far, no one from Max has responded to the backlash. It’s unclear if any action will be taken by anyone at the company, especially since fans of shows like Our Flag Means Death have been trying to revive it ever since the cancellation was announced with no success. In an ideal world, we might see Max greenlight more diverse shows in the spirit of those they’ve previously cancelled, but if fans attitudes here are any indication, then no one has any intention of letting David Zaslav cover up what his company’s done.
