Max Finally Begins Replacing Generic ‘Creator’ Lists with Separate Writing, Directing, Producing Credits
When Warner Bros. Discovery’s new streaming platform Max launched on May 23, it was accompanied by some fairly standard issues. The new app didn’t download automatically for all users, kids content was hard to find, and kid-friendly sections were littered with more mature content that many parents might object to their child watching.
A month later, many of the more glaring issues have long been smoothed over, but Max is just now rolling out a fix for an issue that rankled many in the creative community; the decision to replace separate credits for writers, producers, and directors with the generic “Creator” label. The outcry against the swap was immediate and furious, and WBD promised a fix was on the way hours after Max’s launch.
Now, some Max shows are seeing the proper credits restored to their show pages. The rollout began earlier this week, and a source tells Deadline that it should take another week or so to see the changes applied to every title on the service. New titles to be listed will include standard Hollywood credits, such as “Based on Source Material By” (when applicable), “Created By,” “Developed By,” “Director(s),” “Producers,” and “Writers.”
“We agree that the talent behind the content on Max deserves their work to be properly recognized,” a WBD spokesperson told The Streamable last month. “We will correct the credits, which were altered due to an oversight in the technical transition from HBO Max to Max and we apologize for this mistake.”
Throughout the process, WBD executives have claimed that it was an IT error that had caused the mistake. Company streaming head J.B. Perrette took responsibility for the slip-up, but Deadline reports that one of the reasons it took so long for a solution to the problem to roll out is because the app had to be tinkered with differently on every platform it is offered through (Roku, Prime Video, etc.).
Now that the issue is finally being resolved, WBD executives can pivot their focus. The company is reportedly launching a livestream of CNN on Max in Europe this year, and is working to determine the best way to do likewise in the United States. Merger and acquisition talks have bubbled up around the company again as well, so resolving this issue of properly crediting writers, producers, and directors is a good item to have crossed off WBD’s checklist.
Max
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