‘Family Matters’: Steve Urkel Christmas Special Among HBO Max Cancellations

Jaleel White’s rise to fame came courtesy of his nerdy character Steve Urkel in nine seasons of Family Matters. The show ended in 1998, but he remains synonymous with the next-door neighbor of the fictional Winslow family. Fans were happy to learn that he’d be lending his voice to reprise the character in an animated holiday special set for HBO Max. Did I Do That To The Holidays: A Steve Urkel Story was greenlit last fall. 

TV Line reported that a logline for the special revealed the following: “The holiday season has arrived, and brilliant but accident-prone Steve Urkel has already ruined his local celebration by publicly humiliating a shopping mall Santa. In his attempt to make things right and score some nice points with the big guy in the North Pole, Steve creates an invention that only makes things worse. Using his big brain and even bigger heart, Steve must find the real Santa to see if together they can help the city rediscover the holiday spirit.”

Unfortunately, the project has been scrapped as the company’s merger with Warner Bros. continues. It’s one of six animated films on the streaming platform that no longer has a home. 

But according to sources, animation on the productions will continue while they are shopped to other outlets. As the transition continues, some projects are being nixed, and others that already stream on the service are being removed.  White’s animated musical holiday special was written and executive-produced by Wyatt Cenac.

Also scrapped are titles including Merry Little Batman, The Day The Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie, and Bye Bye Bunny: A Looney Tunes Musical. All were debuting as part of Cartoon Network’s “ACME Night” block of programming. Starting Sept. 19, the network was set to air family-friendly blockbusters on Sunday evenings.