In a really strange story we nearly had an Austin Powers cartoon series in 1999 following the runaway success of The Spy Who Shagged Me. HBO purchased the rights to make a 13 episode cartoon series based on Austin Powers to be aired the following year. The reason the deal with HBO creates strange bedfellows with Austin Powers is at the time HBO was only really known for two dramas; The Sopranos and Sex in the City. Putting a cartoon Austin Powers series alongside this line-up does seem like quite a strange thing in hindsight. The fact is HBO was originally just a channel that showed movies hence its name Home Box Office. Nowadays the channel is known for producing other high quality dramas like Boardwalk Empire, The Wire and Game of Thrones as well as branching out to comedy with television shows like Girls. Back then though HBO had only just started making its own content and so a cartoon series based on a successful film was probably seen as a good way to bring more viewers and paid subscribers to HBO. We will never get to see what the show could have been as the 13 episode first season was cancelled early in production.
Phil is the Head Of Video for WhatCulture and resident YouTube expert. He has 15 years experience in digital video and currently manages 10 YouTube channels with over 8 million combined subscribers. He is well versed in all aspects of video production having previously been involved in video editing, presenting and writing. Before WhatCulture, he ran his own video production company, producing award winning short films and music videos. Since then you will find him popping up on our Wrestling channel or busy behind the scenes organising live events, managing pre and post production and implementing YouTube strategies.
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