J.J. Abrams' 'Demimonde' Dead At HBO Due To Budgeting Concerns

J.J. Abrams' latest project, "Demimonde" is dead in water at HBO over budgeting concerns by the premium cable network.

J.J. Abrams’ ‘Demimonde’ Dead At HBO Due To Budgeting Concerns

It seems J.J. Abrams is going to have to find a new home for “Demimonde.”

As many expected, his original series will not be going forward at HBO. A source told The Hollywood Reporter that Abrams made a desperate plea to HBO boss Casey Bloys to try to stop the cancelation at the last minute, but it was too late. The premium cable network was rumored to be nervous about Abrams’ budget for the project, which was rumored to be over $200 million dollars.

For comparison, even the “Game of Thrones” prequel, “House of the Dragon,” was less than #200 million dollars.

J.J. Abrams Is Going To Need To Find A New Home For ‘Demimonde’

According to THR, the project had already changed showrunners since it found a home at HBO in 2018 after an aggressive bidding war with Apple. Abrams was supposed to direct the pilot episode before the network started to have some serious concerns over the budget.

The series was supposed to star “Watchmen” actress Danielle Deadwyler as Olive Reed, who is torn away from her husband and daughter in a brutal scientific accident. As per Deadline, Olive is forced to unravel a conspiracy to reunite with her family, who has been lost to a dark, distant other world.

THR reports that the project may find a new home at Apple or Netflix, where Abrams currently has other shows in the works. Apple had previously tried and failed to secure an exclusive deal with Abrams’ Bad Robot production company which was rumored to be worth around $500 million dollars.

It seems that “Demimonde” might end up with Apple now that HBO has officially axed the project. HBO was recently acquired by Warner Bros. Discovery, which has led to multiple projects on the chopping block.

Sources told THR that CEO David Zaslav has been charged with cutting $3 million dollars from the streaming service and wasn’t happy with what Abrams had put forth from their deal in 2019, which was estimated to be worth around $250 million dollars.

Several Shows Are Being Axed By HBO Since Discovery Merger

“Demimonde” is not the only project that has to find a home on a new streaming service. Last year, “Overlook,” a sort of “The Shining” spin-off, found a new home on Netflix after it was dropped by HBO. “Overlook” had been one of three series that Bad Robot had proposed in April 2020. However, “Overlook” still remains without a cast, and updates since that time have been few and far between.

Abrams and Bad Robot, which he runs with his partner and wife Katie McGrath, also has the fourth season of HBO’s “Westworld” coming out on Sunday, June 26. Bad Robot itself also continues to evolve through video games and podcasts.

In addition, Bad Robot is also behind several projects at HBO and HBO Max, including the adult animated “Batman” series, “Subject to Change,” “Fledgeling,” “Duster,” and the DC Justice League Dark franchise that features Constantine and “Madame X.”

Although “Demimonde” is going to have to find a new home, there are still plenty more Bad Robot productions on HBO.