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Our Flag Means Death and 10 other great original shows Max has brutally canceled

The cancelation of shows like Rap Sh!t, Our Flag Means Death and Julia are only the most recent executions made by Max. Max arguably has the best library of original scripted shows of any streaming service, and it seems determined to destroy all of it.

By Dan Selcke

Leslie Jones, Nathan Foad, and Rhys Darby in Our Flag Means Death - Photograph by Aaron Epstein/HBO Max
Leslie Jones, Nathan Foad, and Rhys Darby in Our Flag Means Death - Photograph by Aaron Epstein/HBO Max /
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Julia (Time of Death: January 2024)

Julia is another recent casualty of Max's quest to rob us of anything nice. The show is a fictionalized account of how iconic chef Julia Child went from diplomat's housewife to national treasure thanks to her show The French Chef, where she cooked on air to the delight of millions. Anchored by a glittering performance from Sarah Lancashire as Julia, this was the rare show that revolved around over-the-hill adults living, loving and finding meaning. Lancashire is backed up by a terrific ensemble that included David Hyde Pierce as Julia's husband Paul, Bebe Neuwirth as her friend Avis, Fran Kranz as her producer Russ, Isabella Rossellini as her co-author Simone, and more.

Oh, and did I mention that TV veteran Judith Light plays the head of the publishing house that puts out Julia's book? Having all of these venerated actors working at the top of their game was reason enough to keep Julia on the air for as long as the creators wanted, on top of its buoyant, wise, warm humor. In a way, Julia reminds me of South Side in that it celebrates the kinds of people who don't normally get their own TV shows, and does a great job of it. Unfortunately, that sort of thing seems to be the kiss of death at Max.

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Amanda Collin in Raised By Wolves Season 2, Episode 2 - Courtesy of Coco Van Oppens/HBO Max /

Raised by Wolves (Time of Death: June 2022)

This article is about Max giving to axe to original shows, and there's no show with a premise more original than Raised by Wolves. In brief, the show is about two androids sent to the distant planet of Kepler-22b to raise a group of human children. While there, they encounter a sect of refugee zealots from Earth who were called to the planet by a deity named Sol, a race of aquatic mer-people who want to procreate, and a flying baby snake that becomes a huge kaiju monster by the end of season 2. It was weird and unpredictable, and it was put out to pasture right as it hit a huge cliffhanger with its season 2 finale.

And remember that Raised by Wolves is a sci-fi action show, so the budget is higher than, say, a show about people living their lives on the south side of Chicago. The premise is so weird I'm kind of shocked it was greenlit, but that's also exhilarating; how can you not appreciate a network willing to take a chance on a show like this? And how did they same network later become so risk-averse?

Those aren't rhetorical questions. Read on:

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