HBO Max Permanently Shuts Down Production on Comedy Show After COVID Issues
HBO Max has permanently suspended production on half-hour comedy Camp Friends. The streaming company has decided not to move forward with the series, from American Vandal writer Lauren Herstik, after production was shut down due to a string of positive COVID-19 tests on set.
According to Deadline, which reported the news, production on Camp Friends' pilot was paused some time ago due to the positive tests, though it never resumed. The outlet noted that "restarting production after a shutdown is very costly, especially for a modestly budgeted half-hour pilot for Camp Friends." While production never resumed on the comedy, the producers reportedly "supplemented the completed footage with animation and storyboards," and the pilot was then presented to HBO Max executives. Those executives, however, ultimately decided not to move forward with the show.
It was first announced back in November 2021 that HBO Max gave the comedy, which had a working title of Camp Friends, a pilot order. Written by Herstik and produced by Adam Goodman for Invisible Narratives and Jax Media, Camp Friends centers around four lifelong "camp friends" during their highly anticipated counselor-in-training summer. When a mysterious new girl arrives late from another camp, the camp friends' plans to have "The Best Summer Ever gets thrown into disarray. Camp Friends live 10 months for two. Now that things are different, the 'Core Four' swear an oath to do whatever it takes for their friendship to survive."
Camp Friends is just the latest series to be derailed by the ongoing pandemic. In January, production on NBC's hit police procedural drama Chicago P.D. was paused after "a couple of dozen" positive COVID-19 tests were reported in Zone A, which includes the cast and those who directly interact with them. During that same month, production was halted on Paramount+'s Star Trek: Picard following dozens of positive test results. Similar cases have been seen recently on other shows including CBS' NCIS and Chicago Fire and Netflix's The Crown. COVID-19-related production impacts have also resulted in the cancellation of a number of titles, including GLOW, The Society, and I Am Not Okay With This, among several others.
While Camp Friends will no longer be part of HBO Max's lineup of titles, the streamer still has plenty of options for streamers. In February alone, the streamer has rolled out dozens of titles, including the Season 2 premiere of Ridley Scott's Raised by Wolves, the premiere of Stephen and Ayesha Curry's highly anticipated new game show About Last Night, and new episodes of hit shows like Peacemaker, The Righteous Gemstones, And Just Like That..., and Euphoria.