For decades, HBO has been an anchor of the cable portion of Television Critics Association’s press tour with the network’s signature three-hour block of wall-to-wall panels packed with big stars. This summer, for the first time in as long as anyone can remember, there will be no HBO presence at TCA in Pasadena. In fact, the entire newly merged Warner Bros. Discovery is skipping the upcoming press tour as the company is going through the integration process, including layoffs, with the next wave rumored to come during TCA.
Ironically, it was on the day of HBO’s TCA session during the winter 2018 press tour that the network was hit with buyouts as part of the cuts instituted following AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner and the launch of WarnerMedia.
In addition to HBO, which has announced big news on signature shows like The Sopranos and Game of Thrones at TCA over the years, Discovery also has been a TCA regular, with its boss, WBD CEO David Zaslav, making occasion on-stage appearances.
While it is sitting out TCA, WBD is taking a strong contingent to Comic-Con this month, led by the Game Of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon.
The 2022 TCA summer press tour, the first in-person edition of the long-running bi-annual event since winter 2020, is set to begin July 27.