HBO has been attacked for a ‘lack of diversity’ by a senior executive after they ended a series co-produced by Eva Longoria and Zoe Saldaña.
They may be responsible for some of the most popular TV and streaming series in the world including Succession, Game of Thrones, Sex and the City and The Sopranos but HBO have been slammed for their decision to cancel one show.
Screenwriter and producer, Brigitte Muñoz-Liebowitz, lashed out at the entertainment giant when she discovered the second series of her latest show had been cancelled just weeks before they were set to begin filming.
Brigitte, who has also written One Day At A Time and Diary of a Future President, was executive producer on the HBO show, the Gordita Chronicles, where Hollywood A-listers, Eva Longoria and Zoe Saldaña were joint co-executive producers.
The comedy series follows Carlota 'Cucu' Castelli and her family who leave Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic to start a new life in Miami. It’s set in the 1980s and has lots of references to popular culture of the era.
It also looks at the humour in immigrant life and the complexities of being in a new country and trying to achieve the American Dream
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The series is narrative by Adult Cucu (Orange Is The New Black star, Dasha Polanco), who works as a reporter in the present day.
The show premiered in June but just six months later it was pulled from HBO Max – the streaming platform.
Brigitte said: “Not only was it disappointing when we heard about the cancellation, it was a shock because we were working to start shooting a few weeks later.
"It felt very unjust. It didn't matter that our show was beloved, it didn't matter that we had good audience numbers. It didn't matter that we were writing about content that was important for underrepresented communities. None of that mattered.”
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Considering the series featured a Latin American cast and focused on the narrative of a minority group, the producer believes Hollywood doesn’t champion diversity.
She said: “It's wild to have to fight so hard to keep your content on the air. And a big part of it is the demographics of the people making choices on the business side. If we don't have executive talent who see themselves in the material, they're not going to care enough to fight for something because they don't connect to it.
“And again, this is a piece of a diversity problem that we have in Hollywood right now."
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