It has been a difficult year for the animation industry. When it was announced that Warner Bros. and Discovery had merged, no one would have guessed that the result was that multiple animated shows and projects were not only canceled but also completely deleted from the HBO Max library. Multiple creators and contributors have taken to social media to voice their (legitimate) grievances, but Last room creator Olan Rogers had a little more spice in his words. The creator posted a tweet on September 24 with the following statement which can be read below.
Five years of my life.
Three seasons of TV.
Blood Sweat and tears.
… became a tax write-off for the network that owns Final Space.
yep. That is it. That’s why it has disappeared all over the US.
Five years of work gone. When the license is increased internationally, Netflix will remove it and then it will be gone forever. There are no more physical copies of S1 and S2, and no physical copies of Season 3 were ever made.
Your memory of Final Space will be the only evidence it ever existed unless you own a copy.
I’ve tried to process what this feels like; it was difficult because it is so absurd.
Like a tax write-off, really? Or maybe I’ve become so numb to bad things happening in my life because of the frequency with which it’s happened that I didn’t really register this sting.
But the sting has broken off under my skin. And now it’s annoying. Look, I get it; this decision was simply business. But Final Space will always be personal to me. Some may say I should give up and move on, and I’ve continued with many projects that I’m very passionate about, but I won’t give up on this story and these characters. I will never stop fighting for Final Space. If it takes years, so be it!
#renewfinalspace
It’s a banner you’ve all waved, and it’s a rallying cry that I can stand behind as I go through this long dark night in search of an end to this story.
-Olan
The never-ending battle
Last room is a show about a charismatic (but not very smart) astronaut named Gary Goodspeed who befriends a mysterious alien with divine powers. Gary affectionately calls the alien Mooncake. The two are quickly chased by the evil Lord Commander and are thus tasked with saving the universe. Along the way, the two assemble a crew of sober shipmates, who carry their own emotional baggage.
The show initially started as an attempted ten-episode web series, but was shelved when Rogers and series artist Dan Brown were busy with various projects at the time. After a two-year hiatus, the show was rebooted in an effort to pitch to Cartoon Network. Rogers uploaded the new pilot to his personal YouTube channel, where it caught the attention of Conan O’Brien! O’Brien convinced Rogers to pitch the series to TBS, where it was picked up. Last room would officially premiere on the network in 2018, episodes would be repeated on Adult Swim.
When asked about the future of the show in 2018, Rogers stated he had six seasons of material ready to go. In May 2022, Rogers announced that: the show was cancelled due to the merger between Warner Bros. and Discovery, but still had hopes of “putting an end to it”.
Along with his statement, Rogers posted several photos of new merch which can be found at his online storewhere fans can buy merchandise for Last room.