Remembering Infinity Train, the show that felt like the beginning of the end for animation at Warner Bros

The Western animation industry is in a rough state at the moment, pretty much across the board. I constantly see people from a range of specialisations struggling to get work, because the work just isn't there, despite anime being more successful than ever. I've been feeling a bit extra sad about it recently because I've been rewatching Infinity Train, a special little show that only managed to run for four seasons, that really felt like the beginning of the end for animation at Warner Bros.

Now, don't get me wrong, the signs had been there for years beforehand as well. Steven Universe was constantly getting shafted by Cartoon Network, mostly because of its explicit LGBTQ themes, and despite how good it was OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes was cancelled before it had the chance to tell all the stories it wanted to. The writing was on the wall, and only the biggest of hits could survive in the modern era. I think it's what happened to Infinity Train, though, that really highlights how animation would go on to be treated at Warner Bros.

Book Two Official Trailer | Infinity Train | Cartoon Network

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For one, there's how the show was released. The first couple of seasons aired on Cartoon network, in August 2019 and January 2020 respectively. But then, in May of 2020, Warner Bros. finally launched its streaming service, at the time dubbed HBO Max. August 2020 saw the release of the third season of Infinity Train, now moved to HBO Max, probably because its tone was potentially slightly too mature for Cartoon Network's slightly younger-skewing audience (even though shows like Adventure Time had plenty of somewhat adult themes).

The fourth season aired on the streaming service in 2021 too, and it's clear they were both hurt by that fact. A severe lack of advertising both off and on HBO Max meant that the show didn't get the numbers it deserved, by Warner Bros. standards at least, and it ultimately never got a fifth season, even though it had a pretty active fandom. Unfortunately, it got worse from there.

In 2022, it was completely removed from Max, the very place seasons three and four aired. Except, it still got worse! Because in 2023, the show was also removed from digital platforms for purchase, making it essentially impossible to watch legally (since then it appears to have been made available again, but a strange and stressful thing its removal still was).

Now, we're at a point where Warner Bros. is writing off the live-action, animation hybrid film Coyote vs. Acme, which tested incredibly well, just because it felt it could save more money doing that than it could making money if it was actually released. Yes, we're getting new Adventure Time shows, plus a new movie, and a second season of its spin-off Fionna and Cake, but that's simply capitalising on a pre-existing IP, a popular move of most Hollywood studios these days.

Infinity Train is easily a show that could have gone on for seasons and seasons, its anthology structure was perfect for that, but because some bigwig decided that streaming was the future and ruined it - despite the fact that Warner Bros. is now moving away from the Max Originals branding, and two of its biggest upcoming shows, The Penguin and Dune: Prophecy, now set to air on HBO before they arrive on Max. Not even absolutely stunning animation like Scavengers Reign can survive on Max, the show now hoping to get a second season at Netflix.

I really love what little there is of Infinity Train, and if you're able to I think you should check it out. Each season builds out the show's weird world in such fun, thoughtful, interconnecting ways, and its treatment will forever be a stain on Warner Bros. record (as if there aren't enough already). I just hope that at some point, we'll at least get an animation revival of some kind, because live-action just can't capture certain things in the same magical way.