Super Deluxe, where many comedy creators got their start, is shuttering
Things are tightening up at Turner Media and, as Deadline reports, the latest victim is Super Deluxe Studios.
Super Deluxe launched as a digital comedy hub for Turner Broadcasting System back in 2006, and served as a platform for talented-but-green creators looking to make a name for themselves. With a pronounced bend toward alternative comedy, Super Deluxe put out early videos from the likes of Zach Galifianakis, Maria Bamford, Chelsea Peretti, and Tim and Eric.
After Super Deluxe petered out, Turner rebranded it in 2015 as “a tech incubator,” still producing comedy videos but chasing the same mobile ubiquity as its Funny or Die peers. The refurbished studio teamed up with a new wave of creators, including Joanna the Scammer, Jamie Loftus, and warped political comedy wizard Vic Berger. In addition, it released regular series like Cheap Thrills and Mansplaining.
Super Deluxe had been branching out at the time of its shuttering, with deaf dramedy series This Close on Sundance Now (a second season is currently in production) and a series order at Netflix for a Stephan Gaghan-produced supernatural drama, Chambers, which is still scheduled for 2019.
The axing is another sign of consolidation at Time Warner, following the shutdown earlier this week of its Korean drama streamer DramaFever. It looks like the ongoing trend of throwing money toward becoming the next monolithic content provider has the unfortunate side effect of squeezing out the (weird) beloved little guy.
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