Current Events > TIL Owl House, one of the most popular cartoons going on right now

(+) Yeah! (+)

was forced to resolve the show early/cancelled because an executive thought it "didn't fit the brand" because it was too serialized and the audience skews older.

(AMA by the series creator)
https://www.reddit.com/r/TheOwlHouse/comments/q1x1uh/ama_except_by_anything_i_mean_these_questions_only/

SO WHAT WAS IT?! At the end of the day, there are a few business people who oversee what fits into the Disney brand and one day one of those guys decided TOH didn't fit that "brand". The story is serialized (BARELY compared to any average anime lmao), our audience skews older, and that just didn't fit this one guy's tastes. That's it! Ain't that wild? Really grinds my guts, boils my brain, kicks my shins, all the things. It sucks but it is what it is.

In any case, there are still a lot of awesome TOH episodes left to come out, and all the support IS seen and appreciated. Not only does it support the crew but it encourages studios to take bigger risks on shows coming down the pipeline. And, who knows? Maybe there's a future for the Owl House world if DTV has different people in charge.

Ugh, this is why executives suck.

...so should I watch this?

Squall28 posted...

...so should I watch this?

Definitely, tbh as much as the shortening sucks, it was kinda a blessing in disguise since the show's pacing in s2 became MUCH more tight, with it being the best stretch of the show by FAR (and I fully trust the crew to stick the landing in the 3 specials whenever they come). Also heavily recommend Amphibia (basically its sister show), it's not as structurally sound, but it's still a lot of fun and the emotional beats hit hard

Though "fun" fact, after the whole "Disney funding don't say gay" stuff the creator said she can't really take the executives on good faith anymore.

Squall28 posted...

...so should I watch this?

If you're ok with female protagonists and LGBT romance.
mehmeh1 posted...

Definitely, tbh as much as the shortening sucks, it was kinda a blessing in disguise since the show's pacing in s2 became MUCH more tight, with it being the best stretch of the show by FAR (and I fully trust the crew to stick the landing in the 3 specials whenever they come). Also heavily recommend Amphibia (basically its sister show), it's not as structurally sound, but it's still a lot of fun and the emotional beats hit hard

Though "fun" fact, after the whole "Disney funding don't say gay" stuff the creator said she can't really take the executives on good faith anymore.

Yeah, it seemed Disney had something going with these two shows but they want to end their big makers just because of serializations and older audiences? This is probably one of the reasons why anime is so popular.

The curse where you're too serialized for the kids audience, but now low-brow enough for networks like Adult Swim and Fox.

02fran posted...

If you're ok with female protagonists and LGBT romance.

Yeah, it seemed Disney had something going with these two shows but they want to end their big makers just because of serializations and older audiences? This is probably one of the reasons why anime is so popular.

to be fair Amphibia didn't get canned, it got its full 3 season run and ended the story like the creator wanted (he always said he wanted it as a 3 act story)

Sounds like a boomer exec didn't "get it" and cancelled it for that reason. I thought we had gotten past this anti-serializing thing in tv/cartoons when DVD and streaming took away the arguments against it.

I care so much

Ivynn posted...

Sounds like a boomer exec didn't "get it" and cancelled it for that reason. I thought we had gotten past this anti-serializing thing in tv/cartoons when DVD and streaming took away the arguments against it.

I guess since it's mainly on the channel and not on streaming they're still trying to push episodic stuff

It's a damn shame
The show started getting really good during the second season.

I actually enjoyed the first episode. Humor is right up my alley.

Tbh, I think these sorta shows always end up better for not overstaying their welcome. Shows like Gravity Falls are fondly remembered for telling their story and peacin' out, as sad as it is to see. Sure, they probably can still have another good season of stories, but as OP pointed out, the pacing is usually helped out.

As a matter of fact, I think the reason why long-running shows run into that pacing issue when they are forced to cancel is that, by the nature of lasting so long, they have to open up a lot more plot threads they normally would have never opened up if the show was shorter.

While it does suck, I think this will actually help the Owl House's legacy in the long-run to end up making sure it ended. With the exception of cartoons like SpongeBob, I think kid's cartoons do a much better job at ending when they should than adult cartoons, which in a way, shows a lot more maturity. Think about what Rick and Morty is gonna look like if it has to go on for another decade.

3 episodes in...this show is awesome. I'm going to try to finish binging it before my sub ends. I can see why they said it doesn't fit into the Disney brand though. It feels more like an Adult Swim show.

Squall28 posted...

3 episodes in...this show is awesome. I'm going to try to finish binging it before my sub ends. I can see why they said it doesn't fit into the Disney brand though. It feels more like an Adult Swim show.

There are still 3 eps left btw

Squall28 posted...

3 episodes in...this show is awesome. I'm going to try to finish binging it before my sub ends. I can see why they said it doesn't fit into the Disney brand though. It feels more like an Adult Swim show.

Dang, already lol? Glad I could get someone to find a new show to be interested in.

Solar_Crimson posted...

The curse where you're too serialized for the kids audience, but now low-brow enough for networks like Adult Swim and Fox.

Speaking of that, TIL there's an animated spinoff of Better Call Saul which...
https://www.reddit.com/r/betterCallSaul/comments/uzd9zi/actual_clip_from_the_slippin_jimmy_spinoff/
https://www.reddit.com/r/okbuddychicanery/comments/uzlncj/not_a_meme_just_scenes_from_slippin_jimmy/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bCGEZNuJWY

What the actual fuck. Apparently none of the BB/BC crew are involved with it and it's written by the creator of some adult swim show called Momma Named Me Sheriff. Why does this exist

Squall28 posted...

...so should I watch this?

it has lesbians and well animated fight scenes and several milfs

This is another reason why Alex Hirsch was a genius with planning Gravity Falls to only run for a couple of seasons. It's like walking into a job with your "You can't fire me I quit." moment already planned.

xXfireglzXx posted...

This is another reason why Alex Hirsch was a genius with planning Gravity Falls to only run for a couple of seasons. It's like walking into a job with your "You can't fire me I quit." moment already planned.

IIRC even then he was so tired after s1 that he was thinking of calling it quits and never finishing the show

I love Wendie Malick. I recognized her voice right away.

My kids (18 & 14) love this show and were very upset to learn it had been canceled. They insist its because the main character is gay. FWIW they also liked Amphibia, which I saw mentioned above.

Sariana21 posted...

I love Wendie Malick. I recognized her voice right away.

My kids (18 & 14) love this show and were very upset to learn it had been canceled. They insist its because the main character is gay. FWIW they also liked Amphibia, which I saw mentioned above.

I honestly can't think of any other reason it would have been cut short other than Luz x Amity
Star Vs. had just as much occult stuff and it ran for 4 full seasons, so I very much doubt it had anything to do with that.

Turbam posted...

I honestly can't think of any other reason it would have been cut short other than Luz x Amity
Star Vs. had just as much occult stuff and it ran for 4 full seasons, so I very much doubt it had anything to do with that.

The other guess is serialization, but Amphibia is only a bit more episodic and ran for its 3 seasons