HBO is Having a Serious Drama Problem

HBO is losing dramas left and right, and the fact that Vinyl isn’t a hit doesn’t help.

It is common for a studio to announce a project and for that project to fall through. It happens constantly in the film industry; director’s announce pet projects that never happen and studios do the same. HBO, however, has found itself in a bad situation. A high number of dramas that have been announced, such as shows from David Fincher, have been dropped.

AUSTIN, TX – FEBRUARY 11: James Jagger attends the premiere of HBO’s ‘Vinyl’ at the Alamo Drafthouse on February 11, 2016 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Gary Miller/Getty Images)

According to the very same Hollywood Reporter article that shone a light on Vinyl’s absurdly high price tag, HBO is coming off as desperate for a hit. Westworld has been delayed and has been facing challenges even before that, the two(!) David Fincher shows are now dead in the water, Steve McQueen’s series has been canceled, as has a series about Lewis and Clarke.

If that seems light high number of casualties, that’s because it is.

It’s possible that HBO putting all of its might behind Vinyl to make it a hit has meant that other projects have had to fall by the wayside. According to the Hollywood Reporter’s article, an unnamed HBO star doesn’t think HBO is currently willing to take risks are allow growth:

"“If you can get something on there, I still think it’s a great place to be…But if you’re looking for a steady hand to shape and mold, I don’t think that’s happening.”"

While not exactly damning words, they don’t exactly inspire confidence. It would appear that HBO is treading very carefully with their current projects right now. They need something besides Game of Thrones to rival Netflix and Amazon and they’re having trouble finding it.

Next: Go behind the scenes of Girls' season five premiere.

It’s too early to tell whether Vinyl will end up being their ace in the hole, but it’s clear that HBO is putting all of their eggs in that basket.