Why HBO Pulled Real Sex, Cathouse & More From Its Streaming Service

In the 1990s, HBO produced adult-themed shows like Real Sex and Cathouse, but they have moved away from that sort of edgy content in the years since. Home Box Office (HBO) pioneered the concept of the paid channel service going as far back as the early 1970s and helped revolutionize TV throughout the ensuing decades. By the 1990s, HBO began producing original content, which flourished into shows like Tales from the Crypt and the groundbreaking drama The Sopranos. HBO's advantage over basic cable channels was that strict FCC regulations regarding content censorship did not affect them.

Because of that freedom, HBO wasted no time exploiting the lack of regulations by producing several shows and reality series catering to a more adult audience. While a majority of the most popular HBO shows of all time have been fiction, groundbreaking series like Real Sex lived up to its name with a variety of soft-core offerings that only served to make HBO even more popular as the '90s wore on. However, HBO eventually moved away from sex in the new millennium and has even begun purging its adult-oriented past from its modern streaming offerings.

HBO Pulled Real Sex From HBO Go

The Shows Suffered From Waning Popularity & A Push For Original Programming

Before the advent of Max, HBO offered its streaming content through HBO Go, which carried a host of the channel's original content from the past and present. However, in 2018, HBO began scrubbing shows like Real Sex, Cathouse, and Taxicab Confessionals from its streaming lineup, which mirrored those shows' complete erasure from HBO's live TV schedule.

In the 1990s, adult entertainment was all the rage on premium cable channels, and it was a major selling point for HBO. However, as an HBO representative noted "there hasn’t been a strong demand for this kind of adult programming, perhaps because it’s easily available elsewhere" (via LA Times).

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While that may explain why HBO has long stopped producing soft-core content, it doesn't fully explain why the network has chosen to erase its sex-filled past. While the usual sex and nudity were always a draw for HBO's late-night shows, they were approached with a human element that separated HBO from other premium channels that offered sex. Perhaps HBO's puritanical shift is in conjunction with the ramping up of exclusive content in their push to be the top dog in the original TV show streaming game.

HBO Max Has Also Pulled Programming

Max Is Wiping Other HBO Shows From Its Streaming Service

HBO's sex-based former programming isn't the only thing on the chopping block, as several HBO shows disappeared from HBO Max, including hits like Vinyl. Following the switch-over from HBO Go to HBO Max, now known as Max, the network began axing some of its content from the platform, including HBO exclusive shows.

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However, it is essential to note that Max's original shows have remained untouched, which could suggest that HBO is gearing up its signature streamer to be a home of original content alone. Fluctuations within the company have been an excuse to erase specific programs from existence, and many HBO originals are still in jeopardy.

How Fans Have Reacted To Pulled HBO Shows

Fans have noticed Max's move to remove many beloved shows from the streaming service. When it removed Vinyl, many fans took to Reddit to show their confusion. While the reasoning was often blamed on "accounting," one Redditor wrote, "Sure seems like they’re starting to sell their library off for parts. Seems incredibly short sighted and focused entirely on quarter to quarter revenues." Another Redditor didn't understand the reasoning at all, writing:

" Someone steeped in Hollywood accounting and merger accounting could spend a week explaining to me how it makes accounting and financial sense to stop streaming your own original content and I still will never understand this. "

HBO has also removed original shows like The Nevers and Westworld, which angered fans when it happened. The latter brought on an onslaught of complaints about the service. On Redditor wrote, "It genuinely left a bad taste in my mouth when not only did I find out it was canceled, but was subsequently being removed from HBO. I had just finished Season 2 and was 2 episodes into season 3 and suddenly I couldn't watch it anymore." While Real Sex was the start, Max seems intent on erasing much of HBO's history.