Yesterday came a confirmation at last that Paramount+ is set to fold Showtime into its SVOD service – resulting in the newly rebranded premium tier called ‘Paramount+ with Showtime’ which will also be the new name for Showtime’s linear cable channel.
Shortly after broke the news that three single seasons had been cancelled – the already aired “American Gigolo” and “Let the Right One In” along with the just finished production “Three Women” which will be shopped around.
Now, Showtime has joined the list of outlets pulling content from their streaming platforms in an effort to cut costs and focus resources on shows with franchise potential. The Hollywood Reporter reports that several short-lived and under-performing series have already begun to be pulled from its streaming platform.
Along with the aforementioned ones there’s also the Jim Carrey vehicle “Kidding,” the first season of the Joseph Gordon-Levitt led anthology series “Super Pumped,” the Kirsten Dunst-led “On Becoming a God in Central Florida” and the Jeff Daniels-led adaptation of “American Rust”.
Also vanishing are acquired series “The End” and “Wakefield” with additional shows expected to be included in the mass removal. Showtime is expected to let the rights holders for the impacted programs shop the series around to other services.
It’s a strategy employed by HBO Max which removed a slew of series, including the high-profile “Westworld,” from the platform last year in a cost-cutting measure.
