After four seasons, the latest of which was stained with criticism, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s HBO series Project Greenlight has been canceled.
The series first premiered in 2001 with the aim to give aspiring filmmakers a shot at developing a movie under Damon and Affleck’s guidance. However, HBO said in a statement that the network “decided in early 2016 another season did not make sense for us.”
Unfortunately, the show’s most notable moment is also its most controversial. The episode many will remember—its season four premiere last year featuring producer Effie Brown—saw Damon failing to comprehend Hollywood’s crippling diversity, to the point of ignorance. Variety reports:
The show itself has bounced around, airing for its first two seasons on HBO from 2001-2003, heading to Bravo for its third season in 2005, and then being resurrected on HBO a decade later.
“’Project Greenlight’ works — careers have been launched and sustained as a direct result of this contest,” Damon said in a statement when the show was picked up. “Pete Jones, John Gulager, Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan are just a few of the PGL alums who’ve gone on to do great things in Hollywood, and Ben and I are really proud of that.”
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In an interview with Associated Press to promote Jason Bourne, Damon said, “I’m not one to question [their programming]. They do such a great job. But we have to take it out again.” Certainly, he’ll be fine. He and Affleck plan to pitch Project Greenlight elsewhere, possibly to a streaming medium.
