If you've been waiting to exhale, it might just be safe to do so now. Well, at least according to Warner Bros. CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels recently said that the company's strategy of content cutting for tax purposes is now over, but not without a few high-profile casualties.

Some of the casualties of Warner Bros.' 2022 cuts included the highly anticipated Batgirl, J.J AbramsDemimonde, and Westworld. Of the cancelations, Wiedenfels said, “[w]e’re done with that chapter”. He continued, “[t]hat was very important to all of us to really use 2022 to leave the purchase accounting behind us leave those initial strategy changes behind us get it all, get it all out there in terms of our restructuring estimates, and then be able to turn the page and move forward."

He also noted that their sometimes brutal cancelations received “a lot of public noise." However, rather than reflecting on the ways in which the company's cuts might have a devastating impact on the now canceled, and sometimes removed, projects, he instead focused on how these cuts were “a reflection of an industry that went overboard and went on a spending frenzy. There was a lot of thinking of, ‘let’s do more, more, more,’ not necessarily ‘let’s do the exact right things, let’s do what works.’”

Dolores looking to the distance in the show Westworld.
Image via HBO

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It might be worth noting, however, that some of the projects given the ax were not yet released. So it's hard to say whether those projects 'worked' or not. It's also worth noting that in addition to canceling the series, the company also pulled the entire series from its platform entirely, effectively snuffing them from existence. These decisions served as a harsh reminder of streaming content impermanence, even as its appeal is hinged on steady and readily available catalogs of content.

And though Wiedenfels gave assurances that cost-saving cancelations were over, he did note that there is "opportunity for more trims," he said. He continued, noting that "[t]here’s a real estate portfolio where there may be better structures for us to generate liquidity. We’re in the process of analyzing those less-visible, non-core parts of the portfolio.”

And at least in terms of finances, it looks like Wiedenfels has the company moving in a more positive direction. Though the company still has a debt of about $50 billion, no debt repayments loom overhead and interest rates appear to be generous, at least according to Wiedenfels himself. As for the content cuts' impact on viewership, that is yet to be seen.