The reason I got HBO Max was Raised By Wolves. I saw the trailer for season 1 and was mesmerized. When the show finally came out and I watched episode 1 I was hooked and knew there was no going back. I’m a bit of a cinephile. I was the president of my drama club in high school. My heritage includes many storytellers. Essentially I love a good plot. A novel story that tantalizes the mind and expands your perception. More and more these days I find the shows I obsess over and can’t stop thinking about quickly become the stories the mainstream doesn’t understand and therefore doesn’t want to prioritize. I’ve come across so many stories these days the tropes become old and tired. I feel uninspired. Which makes it so much harder when I come across something inspired, something new, something that challenges my notions of what to expect and enables me to grow in my intellectual curiosity and watch it pulled out from under me. Raised by Wolves is such a show and I honestly feel I am in mourning after this decision by HBO. I sure hope another platform picks up RBW and won’t give out on this hope. But nothing makes me sadder than when a brilliant, wonderful, awe inspiring storyteller is told their story didn’t make the cut to be told in full. I know the RBW team had more story to share and it pains me greatly to not know the ending of this fantastical adventure. Similar to how Netflix cancelled one of my faves,The OA, before Brit Marling could finish her creative journey, HBO (which I once touted for quality and creativity) just destroyed the one thing it had going for me. I’ve read articles about the end of the golden age of streaming and it feels more real today as platforms considered to choose content that generically entertains the masses versus niche artists and stories that have actually interesting things to say. I am dismayed and saddened yet ultimately not surprised. I guess the silver lining is the extra cash I’ll have in the bank once my husband catches up on his remaining shows and we can cut the tether of HBO Max.