It’s been a rough year for the animation industry. When it was announced that Warner Bros. and Discovery had merged, nobody could have guessed that the result was multiple animated shows and projects being not only canceled, but scrubbed completely from the HBO Max library. Multiple creators and staff members have taken to social media to voice their (rightful) grievances, but Final Space creator Olan Rogers had a bit more bite in his words. The creator posted a tweet on September 24th with the following statement that can be read below.

The Never-Ending Fight

     Final Space

Final Space is a show about a charismatic (but not very bright) astronaut named Gary Goodspeed who befriends a mysterious alien with godlike powers, Gary affectionately names the alien Mooncake. The two are quickly under pursuit of the villainous Lord Commander, and thus are tasked with saving the universe. Along the way, the two gather a crew of level-headed shipmates, who are carrying their own emotional baggage.

Five years of my life.

Three seasons of TV.

Blood, sweat, and tears.

… became a tax write-off for the network who owns Final Space.

Yup. That’s it. That’s why it’s disappeared everywhere in the USA.

Five years of work vanished. When the license is up internationally, Netflix will take it down, 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 proof it ever existed unless you own a copy.

I’ve been trying to process how this feels; it’s been hard because it’s just 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 has been occurring that I didn’t really register this sting.

But the stinger has broken off underneath my skin. And now it’s annoying. Look, I get it; this decision was just business. But Final Space will always be personal to me. Some might say to give up and move on, and I have moved on to many projects that I’m very passionate about, but I will not give up on this story and these characters. I will never stop fighting for Final Space. If it takes years, then so be it!

#renewfinalspace

It’s a banner that you all have been waving, and it’s a rallying cry I can stand behind while I continue into this long dark night chasing an ending for this story.

-Olan

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The show initially started as an attempt at a ten-episode web series, but was shelved when Rogers and series artist Dan Brown were busy with different projects at the time. After a two-year hiatus, the show was rebooted in an attempt to pitch to Cartoon Network. Rogers uploaded the new pilot to his personal YouTube channel, where it caught the eye of Conan O’Brien! O’Brien convinced Rogers to pitch the series to TBS, where it was picked up. Final Space would officially premiere on the network in 2018, episodes would rerun on Adult Swim.

When asked about the future of the show back in 2018, Rogers stated that he had six seasons worth of material ready to go. In May 2022, Rogers announced that the show had been canceled due to the Warner Bros. and Discovery merger, but still had hope to “put an ending on it.”

Along with his statement, Rogers posted several photos of new merch that can be found on his online store, where fans can purchase merchandise for Final Space.