Many of the creators had not been informed about the removal until after it already happened.

Back in August, streaming service HBO Max generated major controversy with the sudden removal of numerous shows and movies from its library. For several of these shows, especially popular animated shows like Infinity Train and OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes, this was also followed by a complete scrubbing of their internet presence. In the case of Infinity Train, there is now no legal way to watch the show online, and sales of DVDs have been completely halted.

Animated show 'OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes' was one of 36 programs removed from HBO Max in August. “We are not sure how the show being available to people was a problem in any way,” says 'OK K.O.!' creator Ian Jones-Quartey @ianjq. https://t.co/RF4ETdkktW

— Inverse (@inversedotcom) September 13, 2022

Several of the animators whose shows were removed spoke to Inverse, revealing that this removal wasn’t just sudden and confusing to viewers, but to them as well.

“We are not sure how the show being available to people was a problem in any way,” said An Jones-Quartey, creator of OK K.O.

“Looking at the wide breadth of all the shows that were taken off of the service, it’s hard to even see a throughline between them,” Jones-Quartey says. “We’re still just not sure why some things were taken off and other things weren’t. The whole thing is just very confusing, and there hasn’t been much outreach to anybody.”

‘Infinity Train’s social media posts and even the original YouTube pilot vanished when the show was removed. “I’ve never seen that before, not even in cases where shows have been taken down from various streaming sites due to some kind of controversy." https://t.co/RF4ETdkktW pic.twitter.com/HOAoVfym9Z

— Inverse (@inversedotcom) September 13, 2022

“It has me worried. I think it has most people worried, fans and creators alike,” said Infinity Train creator Owen Dennis. “It makes it seem as though all of this is much more impermanent than fans and creators of this kind of art were led to believe.”

“It’s not like you get paid residuals on a tweet mentioning your show’s name three years ago. I don’t really know what the end game is here because I’ve never seen anything like it before.”