Internally, we’ve promised ourselves we’re not going to be the doom and gloom of the internet… besides, this one is actually official(ish) – WBD can/will likely change things as they see fit – and you can check out the entire list(also ish – it may update a time or five) right here.

Suffice to say, streaming was not what it was advertised as. You really thought you were going to get EVERY SINGLE PROGRAM FROM EVERY SINGLE NETWORK AT THE TOUCH OF YOUR FINGERTIPS… for $9.99 $12.99 $15.99 (with or perhaps without ads)? Sorry to burst your bubbles, but there’s a reason the entertainment industry had two major strikes for the better part of this year. Not to mention the fact that the United States Congress wants to look into WBD’s potentially shady handlings of films that have been made and then axed before they hit theaters/streaming just to get a tax write off.

As usual, it’s all about the almighty dollar. WBD is going to stream what makes them the most money – from the Game of Thrones’ to the 90 Day Fiancé’s and any other show that gobbles up the biggest pieces of the streaming pie, enough to generate Max’s own revenue and feed the WBD corpo machine. And what about the shows that don’t get as much love? That’s right… it’s off to either another streaming service, FAST or worse, not available on the internet at all (OMGZ LOST MEDIA!!!!)

The good news, however, is that all hope is not lost. We’re here to tell you (at least in the United States – and if you aren’t… well, isn’t that what VPNs are for?) there are plenty of other avenues to pursue outside of Max and other streamers willing to hot potato the crap out of your favorite AS programs. Consider this a Guide to Viewing AS Elsewhere:

Step 1: Make Peace with your Streaming Apps – Love it or Leave it

As previously mentioned, the streaming apps like Max (and also Hulu, which still carries a smattering of AS programs) are going to provide you with programming that they WANT/CAN (if they money’s right). Still, if they feel inclined to, they could always add random shows back to the apps or even sell rights off to other apps or FASTs (free, ad-supported television). In a previous article, I break down how WBD’s planned FAST could be one of many apps to benefit from some of the lesser (or more well-)known AS shows. Existing FASTs such as PlutoTV could also carry a channel or two with AS content much like they do with many other shows/programs like Comedy Central and MTV.

Step 2: Purchase Shows Digitally – You Bought Them, You Own Them (mostly)

While streaming is definitely more affordable, if you’re really that serious about having access to a program or programs, why not purchase them digitally? There’s still (and continue to be) episodes of classic and new AS shows on a number of digital platforms… the newer DVD/BluRay sets even give you a digital component. Vudu has a number of AS shows, as do Microsoft/X-Box, Apple/iTunes, Prime Video and more! While there’s no guarantees they’ll last forever (what IS forever, anyway?) at least you’ll know your money is going towards the actual show and not a barren wasteland of Bobby Flay specials. Plus, a lot of these that we’ve mentioned have download features (and you guys are pretty smart when it comes to files).

Step 3: Do You Have Cable? Perfect…

If you’re fortunate enough to be one of those who haven’t “cut the cord” and still have TV/Cable there’s two more avenues for you to pursue. First, the wonderful world of OnDemand… another streaming component, similar to Max and the like. You can view whatever shows the service has available… for instance, Verizon Fios’s OnDemand has a number of classic shows plus pilots and specials that only aired once. Speaking of cable… if you have internet along with it, you also have access to adultswim.com‘s full library, and the multitude of “Full Season” shows they’ve been slowly adding to the catalogue.

Step 4: Physical Media – The Lost Art of Entertainment

Digital and Cable just plain turn you off? Why not seek out physical media? Sure, there’s a number of shows that either a) Were not available on DVD or BluRay or b) Are out of print and sold at ridiculous prices. But there are still plenty of ways to seek them out. Check out your local malls and see if FYE has anything used available. Check Amazon or eBay to see if there are deals. DeepDiscount.com is a good site to find good deals. If you have a Region Free DVD player, why not seek out the classic Madman Entertainment DVD sets made in Australia? There are even people such as CrummieMedia who downgrade series to VHS format… to quote Classic Mystery Science Theater 3000: Keep Circulating the Tapes!

Step 5: If All Else Fails… Arr?

BACK IN MY DAY… (always hated that phrase, but I’m afraid it works in certain instances like this) We didn’t have DVD sets at all. We had VHS tapes and capture cards and occasionally stuff that aired on adultswim.com. We recorded, encoded, and shared them amongst ourselves… occasionally burning files to CDs and DVDs to play on PCs and DVD players… what a time to be alive. Again, (and without really encouraging anything…) you’re smart so if you know how, then you know. Enough said.

To Sum Things Up… as HBO max, WarnerMedia promised us the world with entire archives of shows and movies at our fingertips. However, in typical corpo fashion, Warner Bros. Discovery pulled the rug out from under us and the now Max app is just another streaming app where we can (occasionally) see whatever programing they decide to show us, whenever they feel something (maybe) is profitable. To that point, there’s an entire universe of alternatives to catch programming elsewhere, so if need be just save your $15+ a month for any/all of the above.

After being removed earlier this year from max (at the time HBOmax), the series has returned to streaming.

It comes as a surprise as Warner Brothers Discovery did not disclose it’s return in their August 2023 max press release. Likely a result of the misplaced outrage over last month’s Venture Bros. confusion.

The stealthy drop on max comes just ahead of the eagerly awaited release of Metalocalypse: Army of the Doomstar, the last of three movies Adult Swim greenlit in May 2021 based on classic fan favorite IPs.

The Venture Bros. is NOT leaving max! At least not the entire series…

In an official press release today, Warner Bros. Discovery shared their list of shows and movies leaving the service next month, and while the series’ two mini-specials, A Very Venture Christmas and From the Ladle to the Grave: The Shallow Gravy Story, are listed as leaving on the twelfth of next month, the rest of the series isn’t mentioned.

Previous reports stated that the complete series was due to leave the WBD streaming service on August 12th, which seemed to be news to series creator, Jackson Publick.

The two 15 minute specials were previously unavailable when the show was streaming on Hulu.

In this day and age, the FAST apps are just as in-demand as the premium ones. PlutoTV (one of the first, and now owned by Paramount Global) has been one of the most successful, likewise Tubi (Fox Network’s FAST), and Freevee (formerly IMDBtv, owned by Amazon). With the networks snatching up FAST apps, it only stands to reason that WBD would benefit from their own. The question is, what content would they place on the app?

Recently, we’ve seen kind of a swap out of content from the paid apps to the FAST ones… WBD in particular has been taking content (I.e.: Westworld and FBoy Island) off of HBO max and loaning it out to the Roku Channel. Between Adult Swim content being removed as well programming that never made it to HBO max, it only stands to reason that a lot of this content would benefit on WBTV. Not only the ones that are/will be taken down, but also talking about the lesser known titles that never made it to HBO max. The more “underground” titles such as Stroker & Hoop, Saul of the Molemen, Fat Guy Stuck in Internet, or Emmy award winners such as Childrens Hospital and and a dozen others.

Between what has and what hasn’t already been streamed, the potential to bring classic/current content to an entirely new audience seems endless and worth putting on WBTV. We’ll just have to wait and see.

You can find us (and a number of other awesome podcasts) on the ACPN family of shows.

The Emerald City Video Podcast is a periodic podcast hosted by entertainment journalist Russ Burlingame, with a rotating cast of hosts who used to work at the Emerald City Video store in East Syracuse, New York. The store was once awarded by the Video Software Dealers of America as the best small video store in the U.S. Though it closed in 2009, the store’s legacy still touches the daily lives of a lot of the people who used to work there, and the Syracuse community as a whole still has a lot of fondness for its memory.

The idea behind the podcast, which launched in 2016, was to bring the discourse you would get at a video store — talking with real humans about your movies, rather than trusting in an algorithm — back to…well, if not the world, or even Syracuse, at least to the guys who maybe missed that human connection the most: a bunch of pop culture junky loudmouths who used to run a really cool video store. Over the years, the Emerald City Video banner has flown over a number of themes, including specific episodes about TV series like Riverdale and Psych.

If you like what we’re doing here, you can become a patron of the Emerald City Video Podcast, which comes with fun perks. You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook. We also have Instagram and Vero accounts where we share images, photos, memes, and nonsense. You can support us on Patreon, too, and do things like requesting custom episodes and the like.

Be back for more by noon on the fifth day, and please — always remember to rewind your videocassettes.

Today, in a change of pace, Turner has announced that they have inked a deal with Netflix competitor, Hulu in order to bring both classic and new Cartoon Network/Adult Swim content to the streaming giant. With Turner slowing down their DVD releases (especially with their Swim lineup, the majority of which have become “Made to Order” DVDs on the WBShop website), it seems like a better fit than Netflix to bring their networks (the deal also includes content from TNT/TBS) to Hulu. In addition, it’ll be great to see some of the older shows, since many are only available through adultswim.com’s video website and then only for those with cable/satellite accounts.

Here is the full press release from Turner:

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., and Hulu today announced an extensive, multi-year licensing agreement that will grant Hulu the exclusive SVOD rights to previous seasons of Turner’s popular programming from Cartoon Network and Adult Swim as well as select current and upcoming series from TNT and TBS. The deal marks the first-ever licensing agreement between Turner Broadcasting and Hulu.

All episodes from past seasons of TNT’s The Last Ship and Murder in the First will be available to stream exclusively for Hulu subscribers. Additionally, all episodes from past seasons of popular Adult Swim original series including Rick and Morty, Black Jesus,NTSF:SD:SUV and Cartoon Network original series such as The Amazing World of Gumball, Steven Universe, Over the Garden Wall and Clarence will be made available to stream through an SVOD service for the first time ever on Hulu. All Cartoon Network series will be available to stream ad-free in the Hulu Kids environment.

Full prior seasons of Adult Swim and Cartoon Network series such as Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Dexter’s Laboratory, Ben 10, as well as current juggernauts Robot Chicken, The Venture Bros., Adventure Time and Regular Show will be available to stream exclusively to Hulu subscribers for the first time through the deal.Hulu will also become the exclusive SVOD destination to stream Adult Swim and Cartoon Network classics, including Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, Sealab 2021, and The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack. 

Through the agreement, Hulu obtains exclusive SVOD rights to certain future series that will launch on TNT, TBS, Adult Swim and Cartoon Network over the coming years – including TBS’s upcoming series Angie Tribeca,which will be available to stream exclusively on Hulu after its full-season run on TBS.

“This deal with Hulu demonstrates the power of Turner Broadcasting’s branded networks and the high demand for our programming in the marketplace,” said David Levy, president of Turner Broadcasting. “This is a great opportunity to grow the reach of the networks’ original programming and complements our strategy of utilizing multiple platforms – including SVOD – to drive sampling, introduce new viewers to our content and give current fans the opportunity to explore and enjoy Turner’s new and existing series in a branded environment.”

“The addition of multiple titles from Cartoon Network represents a significant step forward in continuing to build a strong programming offering for the kids audience on Hulu,” said Craig Erwich, Senior Vice President and Head of Content, Hulu.  “The adult animation series from Adult Swim, as well as the additional series from TNT and TBS, are a perfect addition to our current offering.”