Two Of The Biggest Streamers Are Merging And Removing Fan-Favorite Series
Paramount+ and Showtime are merging into one streaming service, and some of Showtime's shows are being lost along the way.
Paramount+ and Showtime are merging into a single streaming service and not all of their original programming will survive the union. According to Deadline, Showtime is canceling some upcoming projects like the drama Three Women, while cutting a number of underperforming series and removing them from the platform. No firm date has been announced for their removal, but the programs canceled and/or set to be removed include Let the Right One In, American Gigolo, American Rust, Wakefield, On Becoming a God In Central Florida, and Kidding.
So far it’s only been Showtime series that seem to be suffering from the Paramount+ and Showtime merger and out of all the series impacted, only one of them — the Jim Carrey-led dramedy Kidding — had more than a single season under its belt.
The purge is being compared to a similar culling HBO Max‘s content experienced not so long ago after the Warner Bros. Discovery merge. Showtime head Chris McCarthy said the cuts are part of a strategy to “divert investment away from areas that are underperforming.” McCarthy added the programs impacted are those which receive “less than 10%” of the platform’s views.
Deadline’s report seems to indicate that, just as it was the case with the impacted content on HBO Max, the programs being cut as part of the Paramount+ merger with Showtime won’t simply cease production, but will be taken off the streaming platform altogether. As of right now, all of the cut series are still streaming on Showtime, so if you’re interested in any of them, it would be a good idea to binge them while you still can.
Critically speaking, the biggest losses from the Paramount+ and Showtime merging are the dramedy Kidding and the dark comedy On Being a God in Central Florida. The former series starred Jim Carrey as the children’s TV star Mr. Pickles. Carrey took home the Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy Golden Globe trophy for his performance in the first season.
Meanwhile On Being a God In Central Florida is led by Kirsten Dunst, who was likewise nominated for a Golden Globe for her Showtime series. Dunst plays Krystal Stubbs, a low-wage worker who manages to work her way up the ladder of a cult-like pyramid scheme. Both series were canceled in spite of their critical acclaim, but remained available for streaming on Showtime’s platform nonetheless.
When the newly merged streaming service — which will be renamed Paramount+ with Showtime — unveils its combined content, the series American Gigolo and American Rust will be two of the less missed series as far as most reviewers are concerned. The former series remakes 1980’s American Gigolo with Jon Bernthal in the lead role, and its production was plagued with difficulties. Meanwhile, reviewers praised the individual performances by actors like Jeff Daniels and Maura Tierney on the crime drama American Rust, but felt the narrative simply lacked the weight necessary to remain interesting.
