XOXO, streaming enthusiasts: bad news, HBO Max's axe has swung again, this time for the cancelled "Gossip Girl" reboot. The series, which features Georgina Sparks, played by Michelle Trachtenberg from the original series, is set to return for its second season finale on Thursday, January 26.

Showrunner Joshua Safran broke the news on social media, as he did with "Gossip Girl," saying in an Instagram post (opens in new tab) that the series "will not be continued on HBO Max." Saffron gave fans more hope after he thanked "the networks and studios for their trust and support, the writers for their devious minds and dexterity, the superstar cast for their supreme collaborators and friends, and the staff for their hard work, dedication, and love for the project."

The team has not given up on the "Gossip Girl" reboot, and Saffron said, "We are currently looking for another home, but in this climate, it may prove to be an uphill bottle [sic]. Thanks for watching. I hope you will watch the finale next Thursday.

Saffron may have meant it literally when he wrote "how it all comes together." The Hollywood Reporter (opens in new tab) notes that sources (presumably not "Gossip Girl" herself) have stated that the second season is designed to have some kind of ending. We assume that the writing was on the wall for both the creative team and the executives at WBD and HBO Max.

The cancellation is just another tile in a string of bad news for HBO Max. Parent company Warner Bros. Discovery is currently in cost-cutting mode to write off WB-related debt, which has led to the cancellation of the nearly completed film Batgirl, the removal of Westworld from the FAST (free ad-supported streaming television) service, or seeing a recent $1/month price increase for HBO Max.

Oh, and HBO Max cut a bunch of Looney Tunes and Flintstones seasons earlier this month. All to save internal spending on content.

In other words, The Last of Us is a hit for HBO, but not all is well at the home box office. Something even stranger is about to happen: the impending merger of HBO Max and Discovery Plus could result in a new app called Max this spring.

Initial rumors regarding the merger of HBO Max and Discovery Plus indicated that the former would be dismantled and the latter would remain intact. However, with each news of the cancellation of HBO and HBO Max, that may not be a reality; while HBO Max remains the best streaming service, reasons to think otherwise are becoming harder to ignore.