The Fungies! creator Stephen P. Neary criticised HBO Max for removing his show, which featured Jennifer Coolidge as the lead character.
Thirty titles, including The Fungies!, will be taken off the streaming service as Warner Bros. Discovery continues its cost-cutting initiatives and in preparation for the merging of the HBO Max and Discovery+ services in 2019.
Neary criticised the lack of advertising for his “fever dream of a show” and emphasised how hard he and his crew toiled during the epidemic to make sure it could air.
As a story artist for animated feature films such as Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs and Rio, Neary also contributed to Cartoon Network’s Clarence. Neary tweeted: “Last night during a figure drawing class I learned out that The Fungies! was getting pulled from HBO Max this week. Despite my sadness, I would like to thank the production team and all the incredible artists that contributed to this show’s sincere, fever dream-like production.
The third and final season of The Fungies! debuted in December 2021 after three seasons and 80 episodes, beginning in August 2020. The programme takes place in Fungietown, a prehistoric and mythical metropolis in a weird universe home to some creatures that resemble mushrooms and a few rare dinosaurs. Seth, a young mushroom resident whose love of scientific exploration frequently results in him stirring up controversy with the locals and learning to comprehend others, is the focus of the show.
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We put a lot of effort into surviving the pandemic, and Neary said, “I anticipated that devotion would be rewarded with support from the network. “[I] was promised the show would air on Cartoon Network, driving viewers to HBO Max. However, soon after the show’s debut, it was abruptly withdrawn from the air. Promotions were scant to nonexistent. A company representative watched the recording even though I was generously invited to participate in a mushroom podcast so that I wouldn’t provide any “spoilers” to the programme.
He went on to say that the removal of “more well-known shows” further demonstrated that these were “uninformed, money-driven judgments.”
“My heart breaks for the other shows impacted and the gorgeous work that was cancelled before it even went on the air. I’ll continue to produce things! even if just for myself. Since I was a very, very little child, I have always done it. Thank you to everyone, he added.
Along with Zaela Rae, Justin Mitchell, Niki Yang, Grace Kaufman, Sam Richardson, Edi Patterson, Tama Brutsche, Terry Gross, Mary Faber, June Squibb, Chris Diamantopoulos, Eric Edelstein, and Coolidge, who provided the voice of Dr. Nancy, the ensemble also includes Harry Teitelman as Seth.
Cartoon Network Studios produced it.
Neary is the most recent animator to oppose the decision to axe the shows on social media. Julia Pott, the creator of Summer Camp Island, expressed a similar level of disappointment on Wednesday, claiming that HBO Max was withdrawing the episodes “like we were nothing.”
Last night during a figure drawing class I found out that The Fungies! was getting pulled from HBO Max this week. I’m heartbroken but I want to take this opportunity to thank all the amazing artists and production folks for their hard work on this sincere, fever dream of a show pic.twitter.com/hJ9DP1WvRd
— Stephen P Neary (@StephenPNeary) August 18, 2022
