Not even Ellen DeGeneres could escape the recent cancelation sweep at HBO Max. The former daytime host’s animated series Little Ellen was canceled ahead of its Season 3 premiere, Deadline reported Wednesday. The show features a 7-year-old Ellen, voiced by Laurel Emory, and episodes were already completed. The new season was initially set to premiere in June but was then delayed indefinitely before the final cancellation notice was delivered.
Little Ellen was ordered in 2019. The first 10 episodes debuted in September 2021 and the second season debuted in March 2022. The voice cast included Johanna Colon as Ellen’s cousin Becky and JeCobi Swain as their friend Freckle. Oscar-nominee June Squibb voiced Ellen’s grandmother.
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In September 2019, DeGeneres and HBO Max made a splashy announcement on The Ellen DeGeneres Show about her plans to produce shows for HBO Max. In addition to Little Ellen, the streamer also ordered Ellen’s Home Design Challenge and First Dates Hotel. Home Design Challenge ended up airing as Ellen’s Next Great Designer in April and May 2021. First Dates Hotel, which was based on a U.K. format, never came to fruition. DeGeneres also started work on an Albert Einstein documentary, Finding Einstein, which never came to be.
Since the Warner Bros. Discovery merger closed in April, CEO David Zaslav has made several stunning moves, but none have been more surprising than the cancellation of completed projects. Little Ellen is just the latest, following the TBS shows The Big D and Chad. Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunts, movies Warner Bros. produced for HBO Max, were both almost completed before they were canceled Tuesday. A House Party remake is also in limbo, while some HBO Max movies that were released months ago have disappeared without explanation.
Warner Bros. Discovery executives can use a “purchase accounting” move because the company changed hands and strategy from the previous owners, sources told Deadline. This opportunity is available through mid-August and allows the company to drop losses from its books as it tries to cut down $3 billion in debt across its divisions. Zaslav is also rejecting previous Warner Bros. chief Jason Kilar’s controversial decision to release the studio’s 2021 movies to HBO Max the same day they hit theaters. There have also been reports of layoffs at HBO Max as the future of the streaming service itself is in question.
“The decision to not release Batgirl reflects our leadership’s strategic shift as it relates to the DC universe and HBO Max,” Warner Bros. said in a statement Tuesday. “Leslie Grace is an incredibly talented actor and this decision is not a reflection of her performance. We are incredibly grateful to the filmmakers of Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt and their respective casts and we hope to collaborate with everyone again in the near future.” Warner Bros. Discovery has not commented on Little Ellen‘s cancellation.
