HBO isn’t using Joss Whedon’s name in marketing The Nevers

Yesterday, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel star Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase) detailed her experiences working with creator Joss Whedon, whom she alleged “created hostile and toxic work environments,” giving plenty of examples to show what she was talking about.

Whedon has been under fire for a while now, ever since Justice League star Ray Fisher (Cyborg) accused him of “gross, abusive, unprofessional, and completely unacceptable” behavior on set. This was all happening while the Avengers director was readying a new show for HBO: The Nevers, a Victorian fantasy drama about women with superpowers.

Whedon exited The Nevers a couple months back, citing exhaustion and the difficulty of making the show in pandemic conditions (HBO has since hired screenwriter Philippa Goslett to replace him as showrunner). That sounded reasonable enough, but the more information that comes out, the more I think that he proooobably left at the request of Warner Bros., with the exhaustion line as a cover. I can’t prove that, but it’s the feeling I’m getting.

And I’m feeling it even stronger after reading what HBO chief content officer Casey Bloys had to say about the subject to The Hollywood Reporter:

"When I read Charisma Carpenter’s accounts, it was distressing. On The Nevers, he’s left the show. You’ve seen his statement. We were already planning, as you saw, to not say “From Joss Whedon” or “the director of [Avengers].” It hasn’t really affected the campaign. Yes, you would expect to have that name [in marketing materials] but the show and the creative is going to speak for itself. A marketing campaign can only do so much; the show and the creative have to stand on its own."

If they were already planning to downplay Whedon’s involvement with the show before Carpenter’s story came out, I figure they must have known something was on the way; after all, the studio carried out an investigation of Whedon in response to Fisher’s complaints.

What happens to The Nevers now that Joss Whedon has left?

It leaves The Nevers in a weird place. To start, HBO is going forward with the show. “I mean, [Whedon] has left the show and it’s a wildly talented cast,” Bloys told Entertainment Weekly. “I think there’s no reason to delay it or not put it out there. So, no plans to do that.” But how do you sell a show that Whedon conceived, wrote and directed as a show that has nothing to do with Whedon?

We’ll find out when The Nevers premieres in April.

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