Space Ghost Coast To Coast Has Been Removed From Max – Here's Why Fans Are Furious
The projects underneath the Warner Bros. Discovery umbrella have undergone some serious changes since the merger, which tragically include the cancelation of high-profile projects like the "Batgirl" movie and the removal of countless beloved shows and movies from their streaming offerings, with animation taking a heavy hit. After the initial bloodbath, there were hopes that the new Max streaming platform would ensure the remaining library would stay available in perpetuity. Sadly, that isn't the case, and the introduction of Max has meant the elimination of additional shows and movies. In arguably one of the most egregious decisions, the Max streaming app has removed all 11 seasons of "Space Ghost Coast to Coast."
"Space Ghost" wasn't included on the platform at the time of the Max app launch back on May 23, 2023, but a tweet from writer Sean T. Collins (who is a well-documented fan of the show) discussing the deletion recently went viral, which was how thousands of people learned of the show's quiet removal. "Max has removed 'Space Ghost Coast-to-Coast' — the show that spawned Adult Swim, which is one of WBD's most successful and recognizable brands," Collins wrote. "One of the most influential television shows of all time, gone."
Created by Mike Lazzo and featuring a reimagined take on the original Hanna-Barbera character of the same name, "Space Ghost Coast to Coast" was the first time Cartoon Network had dabbled in the landscape of adult animation and forged the path that would ultimately lead to groundbreaking series like "The Venture Bros.," "The Boondocks," and even "Rick and Morty." It's an unfathomably ridiculous decision to remove any project off of a platform if it's owned by the parent company, but the decision to kick "Space Ghost" to the curb is blatant disrespect to the history of one of Warner Bros. Discovery's most important intellectual properties.
A brief timeline of Space Ghost Coast to Coast
"Space Ghost Coast to Coast" originally ran on Cartoon Network from April 1994 to December 1999, with a revival return on Adult Swim from May 2001 to April 2004. The series was the first to be produced by Williams Street, which at the time was called Ghost Planet Industries. The original "Space Ghost" series from the 1960s was Hanna-Barbera's attempt at a Saturday-morning superhero cartoon and was designed by the legendary Alex Toth, but the reboot saw the character as the host of a surrealist late-night talk show. The characters, backgrounds, and events were all animated, but Space Ghost would interview live-action people he believed to also be superheroes, who would appear on a monitor next to his desk.
Made with some pretty intense budget limitations, the series often recycled clips from the original series, adding crude animation effects to connect them to the episode story at hand. The cheap appearance of the show became part of the charm, as did inconsistencies in the continuity. The series is responsible for launching six different spin-off series; "Cartoon Planet," "The Brak Show," "Aqua Teen Hunger Force," "Perfect Hair Forever," "Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law," and launched the "Toonami" block of anime programming. Both "Sealab 2021" and the live-action series "The Eric Andre Show" also owe a great debt to "Space Ghost," and the absurdist, cringe humor the show introduced set the mood for a majority of Adult Swim shows.
In the current adult animation landscape, it's hard to express just how revolutionary and weird "Space Ghost" was when it invaded TV screens back then. Nothing like it had ever been made before, and one could argue that without the oddity that is "Space Ghost," the subversive interview shows we currently enjoy in live-action like "Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis" or even "Hot Ones" wouldn't exist.
Space Ghost launched Adult Swim
The success of "Space Ghost Coast to Coast" is what proved to Cartoon Network that there was a market for adult animation, a way to keep viewers without a bedtime from changing the channel and an incentive for those who were "too cool" to watch re-runs of "Scooby Doo" not to write off the network as just for kids.
In the same way that Cartoon Network was created to preserve the library of animation acquired by Turner Broadcasting, Adult Swim was a leader in expanding the public's understanding of what animation was capable of doing. This wasn't an adult sitcom that happened to be animated like "The Simpsons," it was a mind-bending, lo-fi satire that embraced the bizarre. "Space Ghost Coast to Coast" and the advent of Adult Swim did the impossible from a business perspective, (it appealed to the coveted 18-34-year-old demo) and has consistently dominated the audience pool ever since.
But "Space Ghost Coast to Coast" wasn't just good for Adult Swim, it also served as an avenue for Cartoon Network to get experimental. When the network was toying with its own original programming for the first time, it did so through a three-channel-simulcast (TBS, TNT, and Cartoon Network) event called the "World Premiere Toon-In" where "Space Ghost Coast to Coast" showcased members of the Council of Doom as judges in a beauty pageant-style competition between five animation directors. Craig McCracken, creator of "The Powerpuff Girls" ultimately won, and the pilot for the show was aired. The other competitors included Pat Ventura ("Aladdin," "Tom & Jerry Kids"), Van Partible ("Johnny Bravo," "Pete the Cat"), Eugene Mattos ("Young Justice," "Godzilla: The Series"), and Genndy Tartakovsky ("Dexter's Laboratory," "Samurai Jack," "Primal"), all figures that have produced monumental achievements in the world of animation.
'I'll be dead long before you were born and I'll be dead long before you'll be dead!'
The public's response to the show's removal has been overwhelmingly negative, with screenwriter Kyle Tague pointing out the cruel irony that, "Incredibly, they offer Space Ghost Coast-to-Coast avatars for your user profile, but not the show itself." So you can log in and stare Tad Ghostal directly in the face, but you can't watch his interviews on the service. Voiceover artist and comedian Meredith Nudo tweeted about the series' importance and delivered a call for a complete physical release. "I am being 100 percent serious when I say that 'Space Ghost: Coast to Coast' deserves the complete series boxed set treatment from Criterion Collection," Nudo wrote. "It's one of the most influential comedies and animated series over the past two decades. We can't rely on streaming for preservation."
Fortunately, roughly 50 or so episodes (which is just under half the show's run) can be streamed for free on the Adult Swim app without the requirement of a cable login, full seasons can be purchased for about $10 through VOD services like iTunes, and physical releases are still on the market so thankfully, the series hasn't been completely launched into the void. But what does it say about Warner Bros. Discovery if one of the most historically influential works on their roster isn't deemed valuable enough to be part of their precious streaming app?
As a fan, it's incredibly frustrating to watch the devaluation of art in favor of corporate greed happen in real-time, but I can't even imagine how it must feel for the people who dedicated years of their lives to making the show the beautiful and bonkers masterpiece that it is to have to see their work discarded with such blatant disregard.
Someone should call up Zorak. He'll know how to handle such insolence.