Today's the big day for HBO Max which officially dropped the HBO to complete its rebrand to Max. Sadly, that change didn't come without casualties. Following the removal of the Adult Swim classic Metalocalypse from the platform yesterday, the animation cuts kept coming as the comedic talk show Space Ghost Coast to Coast was axed from the platform. Created by Mike Lazzo based on the original Hanna-Barbera character Space Ghost, it marked Cartoon Network's first original foray into adult animated programming, paving the way for the Adult Swim brand known today.
The move apparently came in the hours just before the rebrand took place today. Under David Zaslav, Warner Bros. Discovery has been no stranger to axing content, especially of the animated variety, from their streaming platform following the merger. Much of the changes likely come down to licensing issues as HBO Max had been planning to gut its catalog of content from Cartoon Network with the name change, though the Zaslav regime has universally shown no mercy to animation in an effort to save on residuals. Acclaimed series like Infinity Train have been especially left in the dust by the cuts, leaving viewers with few options to keep watching them.
Thankfully, Adult Swim knew this move was coming with both Space Ghost and Metalocalypse and has migrated all episodes to their official website. This is far from the end of content removal though as the troubling trend continues to grow throughout the industry. While Warner Bros. Discover has garnered the lion's share of flack among creatives, Disney recently turned heads with a content purge on Disney+ and Hulu, taking down Willow just six months after the finale alongside other hits like The Mysterious Benedict Society and Big Shot.
What's the Premise of Space Ghost Coast to Coast?
Space Ghost Coast to Coast was a chaotic take on the late-night talk show format with the titular washed-up hero Space Ghost (George Lowe) interacting with live-action celebrity guests. Episodes would often get derailed by his bandleader Zorak and director-producer Moltar, both voiced by C. Martin Croker, who were forced to work on the show as punishment for all of their evil deeds in the original Hanna-Barbera cartoon. Starting in 1994, the series was initially canceled in 1999 before being revived to join the newly-created Adult Swim brand. Although it didn't begin its run with Adult Swim, it essentially created the brand as the people behind it would go on to create the classics that put the slate of adult series on the map like Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law.
All episodes of Space Ghost Coast to Coast are still available to stream through the Adult Swim website. Check out the first-ever episode from the series via Adult Swim's UK channel below.