Jon Stewart and HBO have decided not to proceed with their highly anticipated animation project that they've been teasing for what seems like forever. According to the New York Times, the two will still be moving forward with future projects, but HBO has indeed confirmed that the animation series will never see the light of day.
The network brought the former "Daily Show" host on in November 2015 to create "digital shorts" that would be featured on the digital apps the network provides including "HBO Now" and "HBO Go." The two have agreed to step away from the project following complications with its execution, though Stewart's four-year deal with HBO is still in place.
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"HBO and Jon Stewart have decided not to proceed with a short form digital animated project," the network's statement reads. "We all thought the project had great potential, but there were technical issues in terms of production and distribution that proved too difficult given the quick turnaround and topical nature of the material. We’re excited to report that we have some future projects together, which you will be hearing about in the near future."
If the project had stayed on its initial track, the animated series would have been available for quite some time by now (the original target was to debut it in time for the 2016 election.) "The goal was to produce a once-a-day release, but as delays set in, HBO executives told Mr. Stewart not to set an arbitrary deadline," The Times reported. The digital shorts would have been just a few minutes in length and include an occasional voiceover from the comedian.
"Appearing on television 22 minutes a night clearly broke me,” Stewart said previously. "I’m pretty sure I can produce a few minutes of content every now and again."
Though it's not quite clear what the future projects will consist of, fans can at least look forward to other announcements about other endeavors still in the works.
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