HBO Max Pulling Original Series From Service on August 26

Another HBO Max original series is leaving the platform later this month. Pure, a U.K. series starring Charly Cline and Joe Cole, is scheduled to leave HBO Max on Aug. 26. The series earned critical acclaim, but British broadcaster Channel 4 confirmed it would not be ordering a second series in February 2020, months before it was released in the U.S.

Pure was written by Kirstie Swain and directed by Aneil Karia and Alicia Macdonald. It was inspired by Rose Cartwright's memoir. Clive (The Lazarus Project) starred as 24-year-old Marnie, who lives with "Pure O." She has obsessive-compulsive disorder and disturbing sexual thoughts. Cole, Kiran Sonia Sawar, Niamh Algar, Anthony Welsh, Doon Mackichan, Jing Lusi, Toni Allen-Martin, Samuel Edward-Cooke, Olive Gray, and Jacob Collins-Levy also starred.

The series aired on Channel 4 between Jan. 30 and March 6, 2020. Even before the show finished airing, Channel 4 announced in February it would not order a second season. "Pure is a ground-breaking, taboo-busting, and unabashed series which brilliantly illuminates a previously little-known, and even more little-understood, topic," a network spokesperson told RadioTimes.com. "Though it will not be returning for a second series for Channel 4, we are incredibly proud of the show and the immensely talented creative team, in front of and behind the camera, who created it."

Pure wasn't released on HBO Max until Aug. 27, 2020, which put American critics who praised the series in an odd spot since it was already canceled. In a positive review, IndieWire noted the short run might be for the best. "In some ways, that fits with one of the show's underlying theses: that you can't simply declare yourself 'fixed' or resolved, that life is often about dealing with the lingering and the immediate at the same time," IndieWire critic Steve Green wrote. "Still, with a handful of incredible performances (headlined by Clive), a keen eye to the power of mental roadblocks, and the strength that can come with honesty, this season still stands on its own." The first season also has an 82% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Earlier this month, Warner Bros. Discovery began quietly pulling short-lived shows from HBO Max, including original shows. Vinyl, Camping, Here and Now, The Brink, and Mrs. Fletcher have all disappeared. Some foreign-language shows have also gone missing. The reality shows Craftopia and Baketopia were canceled and removed from the platform. Six Warner Bros. films produced for HBO Max were also removed. Warner Bros. Discovery plans to merge HBO Max and Discovery+ by the summer of 2023.  

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