Not quite news of the day… more it’s news to me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Lazzo

Mike Lazzo is the head of comedy programming at Williams Street Studios, the company that makes the Toonami, Miguzi, and Adult Swim programming blocks on Cartoon Network. Lazzo started out running Cartoon Network when it was simply a place to show cartoons from the Hanna-Barbera library, after Turner purchased it. In 1996 when Turner and Time-Warner merged he lost control of Cartoon Network and moved over to working for Williams Street. He is commonly and usually incorrectly credited as the creator of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, The Brak Show, Tom Goes to the Mayor, Stroker and Hoop, 12 oz. Mouse, and Squidbillies, among others. However he did help to create the show Space Ghost: Coast to Coast. Lazzo, along with Cartoon Network Executive Khaki Jones, helped restart Home Movies on Adult Swim after the show had been cancelled on UPN. Because the shows under his control have been so popular, he holds a lot of weight in Adult Swim’s decisions. As a senior vice president of Adult Swim, Mike Lazzo has reportedly generally favored creating or acquiring new comedy shows over creating or acquiring anime-style action cartoons. This has been shown in his refusal to acquire the rights to air Excel Saga and publicly-known hatred of The Big O.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Big_O

Recently, it has been revealed that the series is in fact unfinished. The production crew wished to create a third season to tie up the loose ends and finish the series, as per an option on the contract between Cartoon Network and Sunrise, but the head of Adult Swim Comedy, Mike Lazzo, supposedly became jealous of Big O’s ratings on Sundays compared to his programs and threatened to quit if Big O was continued. As a result, Cartoon Network demanded they instead create an ambiguous ending to Season 2, refusing to fund a third season.

My respect for Adult Swim has gone down dramatically since reading this. I was one of the ones who loved The Big O, and had wanted to see a third season to clear up what the hell happened in the last episode. *grumblemutter*