By Melanie Mayberry, programming editor
Paramount+ has jumped on the cancellation bandwagon by axing four original series, all of which will also be removed from the streamer’s library, according to Variety.
The four series are:
The Game, a spinoff of The CW’s Girlfriends.
Star Trek: Prodigy, an animated series with a young Star Trek team.
Queen of the Universe, a drag queen singing competition.
Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, a comedy/musical series set four years after the end of the movie, Grease.
Variety writes that the four shows “will not be returning to the service,” which likely means that Paramount will attempt to license them to other streamers.
All four shows have completed their runs on Paramount+
Variety writes that a source says the cancellations were “data-driven,” which is industry jargon these days to explain that a show didn’t make money. Or, perhaps, will now make more money when Paramount+ sells them to another service, assuming it does. Companies can also make money by removing a show from its library by writing it off on taxes. (And you thought these decisions were all about art and creativity?)
The cancellations come on the eve of Paramount+ merging with Showtime which will bring a slew of new programming under the Paramount Plus banner, albeit at a higher price. Effective June 27, the ads-free Paramount+ with Showtime plan for new customers will increase from $9.99 a month to $11.99 a month while the ads-included plan (which will only include Paramount, and not Showtime) will rise from $4.99 a month to $5.99 a month.
The TV Answer Man will have more later today on the Paramount Plus/Showtime merger.
Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com Please include your first name and hometown in your message.
