Actor Diana-Maria Riva is all too familiar with one of her shows being canceled. For a performer, itB次元官网网址檚 a painful, unfortunate part of show business. But this was different.

In December, Riva was floored when she found out that her recently canceled family comedy, would be removed from HBO MaxB次元官网网址檚 vast streaming library B次元官网网址� one of dozens of shows that HBO last year effectively wiped from existence for U.S. viewers. Among others: B次元官网网址淭he Time TravelerB次元官网网址檚 Wife,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淢inx,B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淢rs. FletcherB次元官网网址� and numerous animated and reality series.

For Riva, the developments were crushing. Over 10 episodes, the critically lauded series followed a plus-sized 12-year-old named Cucu as she and her Dominican family adapt to life in 1980s Miami.

B次元官网网址淚t was as if somebody had broken up with you and then came back to remind you a couple of weeks later that weB次元官网网址檝e broken up,B次元官网网址� says Riva, who played CucuB次元官网网址檚 mother. B次元官网网址淚t was already heartbreaking. But then itB次元官网网址檚 an added punch to just say, B次元官网网址楴ow weB次元官网网址檙e going to wipe the evidence of you ever having been here.B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址�

As streamers face mounting pressure to save money, several have followed HBOB次元官网网址檚 lead. Erasing original shows from their libraries can help streamers get tax write-downs and, to a smaller extent, save on residual payments. But it brings criticism that they are sidelining already marginalized voices and shortchanging creatives out of already slimmer residual paychecks. These issues have increased tension between executives and writers amid union contract negotiations that started late last month and could lead to a significant work stoppage this spring.

Streaming companies offer this defense: They never promised that shows would live forever. In a hyper-competitive, changing market, they say, each streamer is trying to balance ample offerings with sheer survival.

STREAMERS TIGHTEN THEIR BELTS

Amid the downturn in the tech and media industries, streamers are being pushed to cut spending and turn a profit rather than B次元官网网址渃hasing growth at all costs,B次元官网网址� media analyst Dan Rayburn says.

B次元官网网址淭hese companies have had to change the way theyB次元官网网址檙e spending on content because Wall Street says youB次元官网网址檝e got to get to profitability much faster,B次元官网网址� Rayburn says. He cites nosedived in November after the company revealed that its direct-to-consumer unit, which includes Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, lost nearly $1.5 billion in one quarter.

HBOB次元官网网址檚 2022 purges B次元官网网址� which occurred as its parent company, enabling a slew of tax write-off possibilities B次元官网网址� were the most notable example. But its rivals quickly followed suit. In January, Starz erased a handful of shows including B次元官网网址淒angerous Liaisons,B次元官网网址� a costume drama that disappeared from its streaming app days after the finale aired. Some fans said they missed the last episode.

Then, a few weeks later, Showtime underwent its own culling. It eliminated the Jeff Daniels-led drama B次元官网网址淎merican Rust,B次元官网网址� among others. Paramount+, with Showtime integrating into the service, did the same with some of its offerings, including Jordan PeeleB次元官网网址檚 revival of B次元官网网址淭he Twilight Zone.B次元官网网址�

Some of those shows have found new homes. For those that havenB次元官网网址檛, including B次元官网网址淕ordita Chronicles,B次元官网网址� the effects of their disappearance are widespread. Potential viewers might never have a chance to discover it. Actors and writers no longer know whether their work will be seen again. And the original streamer no longer has to pay residuals.

How much money streamers save through these erasures is unclear. But Rayburn says the companies clearly concluded that the excised shows werenB次元官网网址檛 bringing in enough new customers or significantly aiding retention efforts. Instead, streamers have been shopping the programming to rivals, including free, ad-supported streaming TV channels like Tubi, which recently began hosting some HBO shows, including B次元官网网址淲estworld.B次元官网网址�

Streamers, Rayburn says, are under no obligation to host shows for years. WhatB次元官网网址檚 more, customers have gotten used to hopping among apps to hunt down titles that bounce between them.

Casey Bloys, chair and CEO of HBO and HBO Max, said on a recent episode of that streamers are taking a closer look at their libraries and seeing how best to profit.

B次元官网网址淭he idea that everything a company produces will be in one spot forever and ever, for $15 a month, for eternity, is a relatively new concept,B次元官网网址� Bloys said. B次元官网网址�$15 a month is going to cover everything for the rest of time? ItB次元官网网址檚 a nice idea, but itB次元官网网址檚 not viable.B次元官网网址�

THE DECLINE OF RESIDUALS

The shifting landscape has alarmed creatives who have already seen their residuals dwindle over the years.

Residuals were once a cornerstone of an actorB次元官网网址檚 or writerB次元官网网址檚 livelihood, with large checks consistently rolling in as series were syndicated and appeared as reruns. Now, creatives say, their residual income has plummeted as streamers have grown. As part of union-negotiated contracts, streamers still pay residuals, but those back-end payments are hardly the size that casts and crews receive from TV channels.

Per the Writers Guild of America WestB次元官网网址檚 contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, a single rerun of an hourlong prime-time broadcast show on ABC would currently net its writer $24,558. But if that show were on Netflix, the writer would earn B次元官网网址� at most B次元官网网址� $20,018 in domestic residuals for the episode. And if the show were on a smaller streamer like HBO Max, that annual payment would max out at $13,346. Each additional year a show is on a streamer, the residuals decrease. That, of course, assumes the show remains part of the library.

The decline of residuals is an issue that industry insiders say could come to a head as the WGAB次元官网网址檚 contract expires in May, followed shortly by the expiration of the directorsB次元官网网址� and actorsB次元官网网址� guild contracts, which are both due to lapse June 30. In addition to seeking better residual rates, writers want higher minimum pay rates and better financial security in an industry that is far more likely to order a 10-episode season than the 22-episode season that was standard when broadcasters dominated the medium. The last writersB次元官网网址� strike, a 100-day work stoppage that ended in 2008, .

B次元官网网址淚n case yB次元官网网址檃ll are wondering why a WGA strike may be impending, my first residual check for the broadcast show I wrote on was $12,000. I just got my first residual check for my streaming showB次元官网网址� $4,B次元官网网址� screenwriter Kyra Jones tweeted.

Even though residuals have fallen, Riva says they play a crucial role in ensuring that an actor makes enough money over a given year B次元官网网址� currently $26,470 B次元官网网址� to retain insurance eligibility via the actorsB次元官网网址� guild, SAG-AFTRA.

B次元官网网址淚f you didnB次元官网网址檛 get much work recently, but at least had enough residuals to get you over that minimum threshold B次元官网网址� that means you can insure your family,B次元官网网址� Riva says.

MARGINALIZED VOICES SHELVED

In a February news release, the WriterB次元官网网址檚 Guild of America West decried HBOB次元官网网址檚 removal of its shows, saying it B次元官网网址渋llustrates how consolidation increases the power of gatekeepers at the expense of marginalized voices.B次元官网网址�

The guild cited HBOB次元官网网址檚 decisions to pull B次元官网网址淕ordita ChroniclesB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淭uca & Bertie,B次元官网网址� an animated series whose two leads were voiced by women of color. It also highlighted the studioB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址� a nearly completed movie starring Leslie Grace, an Afro-Latina actor B次元官网网址� that HBO shelved for a tax write-off instead of releasing. In January, Warner Bros. Discovery CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels said the company is B次元官网网址渄oneB次元官网网址� pursuing those content-related write-offs.

B次元官网网址淲e canB次元官网网址檛 just let shows disappear, especially shows that depict immigration and Latinx families in a positive light,B次元官网网址� said B次元官网网址淕ordita ChroniclesB次元官网网址� showrunner Brigitte Mu帽oz-Liebowitz. B次元官网网址淥ur communities are humanized through comedy. And to not have the show be there as part of our media lexicon, it shows a regression to me.B次元官网网址�

In a statement, HBO Max said cancelling B次元官网网址淕ordita ChroniclesB次元官网网址� was a B次元官网网址渧ery difficult decisionB次元官网网址� it made as part of a shift away from family entertainment. The streamer also confirmed it has returned the showB次元官网网址檚 rights to Sony.

While other affected shows have found new homes through licensing deals, B次元官网网址淕ordita ChroniclesB次元官网网址� remains in limbo, all but impossible to find. For a while, some episodes were still streaming on American Airlines flights, but they, too, recently vanished from in-flight viewing options.

Both Mu帽oz-Liebowitz and Juan Javier Cardenas, who played CucuB次元官网网址檚 father on the show, hope Sony finds a new home for it. Cardenas says that when other shows of his were canceled, he took solace in knowing B次元官网网址渢he work would survive.B次元官网网址� ThatB次元官网网址檚 not the case with B次元官网网址淕ordita ChroniclesB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� at least, not now.

B次元官网网址淭o know that in the end,B次元官网网址� Cardenas says, B次元官网网址渄espite all the heart and soul we put into the show, that it wonB次元官网网址檛 be available for people in the future to watch and enjoy B次元官网网址� thatB次元官网网址檚 a very sad thing.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址擱.j. Rico, The Associated Press