HBO Max has canceled “Sweet Life: Los Angeles” after two seasons.
The reality series, which was created by Issa Rae, is the third unscripted series to get the axe at the streamer this week. First, as exclusively reported by PvNew, was Elan Gale’s fan-favorite “FBoy Island” on Monday, followed by voguing competition series “Legendary” on Tuesday. Those shows ran for two and three seasons, respectively.
Named after the 2012 Frank Ocean song “Sweet Life,” the series followed a friend group of Black 20-somethings through their career and personal pursuits while living in South L.A. Season 1 debuted in 2021, while Season 2 came in 2022. Cast members included Amanda Scott, Briana Jones, Cheryl Des Vignes, Jerrold Smith II, Jordan Bentley, P’Jae Compton, Tylynn Burns, Rebecca Magett, Rob Lee and Jaylenn Hart.
“Sweet Life: Los Angeles” was the first series to come out the overall deal WarnerMedia signed with Rae, who first worked with HBO as the creator and star of the hit series “Insecure.” The deal, valued at $40 million, came a year before Warner Bros. merged with Discovery and moved under the leadership of CEO David Zaslav. As the merger created redundancies across the company, with Discovery already overseeing brands like the HGTV, Food Network, ID, Travel Channel and more, unscripted content on the Warner Bros. side has been heavily deprioritized.
HBO Max’s remaining unscripted slate includes shows such as “Selena + Chef,” “The Big Brunch,” “Kraftopia” and “The Hype,” but their fate’s don’t seem promising. Read PvNew‘s July analysis of the dilemma of unscripted TV at HBO Max, including anonymous insight from WBD insiders, here.
“Rap Sh!t,” a scripted comedy, was the second project to come out of Rae’s overall deal with WarnerMedia. The series was renewed for a second season in September.
