The Big Picture
Ar
Halloween was merely three months away and many stores had already started to put out their spookiest decorations when Max released yet another piece of terrifying news concerning its ever-waning catalog. The victim, this time, was the beloved Cartoon Network original Over the Garden Wall, which left the platform on August 31, exactly two months before the scariest holiday of the year. This came as shocking news to lovers of both the date and the show: ever since its release in 2014, Over the Garden Wall gained a considerable following as a Halloween classic due to its autumnal vibes as well as to its remarkably spine-chilling plot and atmosphere. Thus, to many, announcing the show’s removal from the Max catalog so close to the holiday felt almost like a personal attack on fans. After all, how would they be able to watch their beloved series on such a special date when it is now nowhere to be seen?
Now, that isn’t exactly true. We can all hold our horses, at least for a little while longer: Over the Garden Wall has been released on both DVD and Blu-Ray, and, at least to American viewers, it remains available on Hulu. However, none of this changes the fact that Max removing an award-winning cult classic from its platform remains an indicator of a larger problem pertaining to streaming platforms as a whole. To cut to the chase, streamers just aren’t equipped to handle cult shows and movies in general, especially in this day and age in which it feels like every day a new series or film is at risk of disappearing from platforms worldwide. While, once, it felt like streaming platforms would be a way for viewers to access an ever-expanding catalog of gems that didn’t necessarily have to please a wide audience, now it seems as though streamers can’t be trusted with some of our most beloved pieces of media – unless, of course, said media is also beloved by everyone and their moms.
Two brothers find themselves lost in a mysterious land and try to find their way home.
‘Over the Garden Wall’s Removal from Max Is a Strong Representative of Streamers’ Cult Classic Crisis
If that is indeed the case, then Over the Garden Wall never stood a chance. Created by Katie Krentz and Pat McHale, the Cartoon Network series about two siblings facing a world of danger after traveling over the wall of their hometown’s graveyard came into existence in a particularly prolific decade for TV animation. It was an era that saw the birth and rise of shows such as Adventure Time, Regular Show, and Gravity Falls – an era that favored inventiveness and experimentation. Krentz and McHale took advantage of this general sentiment, delivering a 10-episode-long limited product that played with childhood’s deepest fears and paid homage to classic animation.
But, unlike its more popular sister shows, Over the Garden Wall never found its way to the hearts of a wide viewership. Likewise, the series never lent itself well to merchandise. Thus, it was not particularly lucrative. What Over the Garden Wall did earn Cartoon Network was critical acclaim and a couple of Emmy awards, one of which was for Outstanding Animated Program. The show was also nominated for the Annies for Best Animated TV — Broadcast Production for Children’s Audience — but lost to Gravity Falls. Likewise, the series garnered a devoted following, a good chunk of which was well over their childhood years, who took to Etsy and Tumblr to share their own homemade art of the show in the absence of official merchandise.
And, yet, none of this was enough to save Over the Garden Wall from the ire of Max under the rule of David Zaslav. The show still joined the long list of series removed from the platform ever since Warner Bros. merger with Discovery, a list that includes other cult classics, such as Westworld and Space Ghost from Coast to Coast. The argument is typically that the viewership isn’t enough to justify the electricity and the bandwidth necessary to keep them online. Thankfully, many of these shows won’t remain MIA for a long time: Westworld, alongside a handful of other series, is set to be moved to an ad-supported streaming service, while Space Ghost is still available on Adult Swim’s website. The same cannot be said, however, for critically acclaimed shows like Infinity Train and The Gordita Chronicles.
The Removal of Cult and Critically Acclaimed Movies and Shows Isn’t a Max-Exclusive Problem
This problem isn’t exclusive to Max. Ever since the streaming bubble began to burst, somewhere in mid-2022, practically all services have announced that they will be removing content from their platforms as a way to cut costs. This wipe-out has left a series of casualties in its wake. Both Disney’s services, Disney+ and Hulu, have removed acclaimed and beloved shows such as Y: The Last Man and Willow, the latter being dropped from the streamer merely five months after the release of its first season. Taking a page from the Disney book, Paramount+ also kicked Grease: The Rise of the Pink Ladies off its platform only three months after its first season came out. The streamer also cut the Star Trek animated series Star Trek: Prodigy, among numerous other shows. Many of these examples have no physical copies nor are available anywhere else.
This purge has prompted a discussion online about the impossibility of new cult classics emerging from the streaming era. The logic goes that, if a show or movie is made, as soon as it proves itself not immediately profitable, then it has no time to find its way to a knowing audience that will pick it up and infuse it with new meaning. This is a fair debate, but there is something much more insidious that needs to be pointed out: streamers are also not friendly to existing cult classics. Shows like Over the Garden Wall, Westworld, and Y: The Last Man already had a devoted, albeit small, fandom formed around them. Deriving from such media juggernauts as Star Trek and the original Willow, Star Trek: Prodigy and Disney+’s Willow also had a home at least in the hearts of the most die-hard fans. Being streaming originals, these shows had no physical media release, which means that, now, there is virtually no legal way to watch them.
Is There a Solution to This Problem?
It’s not just a matter of attending to fans’ wants and needs. There is also something to be said about media preservation when we look at the current streaming landscape. After all, with many of these shows airing absolutely nowhere and completely out of reach, there’s nothing to guarantee that they are being protected for future generations. There isn’t even a guarantee that such interest exists, since said shows have already been deemed unprofitable by an algorithm that determined that they simply aren’t watched enough.
The solution to this problem, as is usually the case, lies in bringing more humans into the equation. If big streamers allowed for some level curation, such as smaller, arthouse platforms like Criterion and Mubi, shows like Over the Garden Wall, Star Trek: Prodigy, and Willow wouldn’t be so easily dismissed. They would either remain available or return to the platform from time to time, to be enjoyed by their fans in appropriate moments. No one would fault Max for removing Over the Garden Wall from its platform for most of the year only to bring it back on Halloween for a holiday special, for instance.
Another thing that we desperately need back is releases on physical media. One reason the absence of Over the Garden Wall and Westworld won’t be felt as much by its fans is that copies of these shows can still be owned by them. Even when Hulu decides that Over the Garden Wall is not profitable for them anymore, the series’ most devoted followers will still be able to watch it somewhere without committing any sort of crime. But what about Willow? What about Prodigy or Pink Ladies? It is about time that streaming originals gain their own copies on Blu-Ray and DVD. Sadly, though, with Disney discontinuing physical releases for an entire continent, this does not seem to be a priority.
Over the Garden Wall is currently streaming on Hulu in the U.S.
Watch on Hulu
