In the past two months, Hollywood has had to confront a wave of sexual harassment and abuse allegations. The response to the alleged behavior of Harvey Weinstein, Brett Ratner, and Kevin Spacey, among many others, has been swift and just, but painful nonetheless. Shows have been canceled, movies shelved, awards reneged. While the victims recover from sharing their stories publicly, rank and file employees have lost their jobs, their work never realized.

“It’s a huge disappointment. It was nice to put something together that was so progressive. It was exciting to see that in television,” said Kelani Lim, animator at Bardel Entertainment. “But I’m also very supportive of the women coming forward. I can’t imagine the distress they went through all this time. As distressing as it’s been [for me], if it meant me losing my job for them to come forward, I would be happy to do it again.”

The number, speed, and severity of the recent allegations have allowed little time to discuss the impact of the fallout on many below-the-line employees. According to David Wachtenheim, who directed the pilot and was scheduled to helm episodes three and seven of the production, The Cops centered on two Los Angeles beat cops, voiced by C.K. and Brooks, and the mundane aspects of their daily lives.

“They talked about yoga, lunch, issues with cops and minorities, social issues,” Wachtenheim said. “The fact that they might have to answer a call, that was a side thing. It was more about their relationship. And it was very much the [comedians’] personalities.”

Burbank-based Starburns, founded by Community and Rick and Morty show-runner Dan Harmon, isn’t the only company to suffer from the cancellation. The studio has a long-running contract with Vancouver-based animation house Bardel, which was on its way to hire close to 60 people to animate the episodes when the accusations, which C.K. later admitted were true, broke. The Canadian animation community is thriving currently, and the studio was able to put close to 50 percent of its crew onto other shows while the rest are being actively recruited by other studios in Vancouver.

“Everyone is disappointed,” said Tina Chow, director of development and strategy for Bardel. “But had we been in a different climate where the animation industry isn’t as robust, there would have been a bigger impact.”

Most of the ire for the losses is aimed at the comedian himself.

“It’s all so selfish,” said Wachtenheim, who was previously head of story for Hotel Transylvania 2. “No apology was sent directly to us. I’m sure [Louis] didn’t think, ‘Who else is this going to affect?’ These women, they are affected, and their families. And it goes well beyond that tight little circle.”

Starburns Industries declined to comment for this story. TBS says the network still hasn’t officially canceled the show, which was set to debut in March, and some hold out hope it can be saved. Nickelodeon continued production on The Loud House after its creator, Chris Savino, was forced to resign amid sexual-harassment allegations in October, and Pixar’s new film Coco still scored at the box office over Thanksgiving weekend despite studio chief John Lasseter announcing a six-month sabbatical, under a cloud of sexual-harassment allegations.

But The Cops is a different beast. Insiders say the show is a direct reflection of C.K.’s irreverent brand of humor. He and Brooks’s comedic timing and banter was said to be a highlight of the production. Brooks, who declined to comment, could feasibly continue without his partner, but many find that scenario unlikely. “Albert was a big part of the pilot and the script re-writes,” said Wachtenheim. “But it seemed like Louis was calling the shots.”

The animators themselves threw out some suggestions for replacing C.K., including Jason Alexander, Zach Galifianakis, and Patton Oswalt. But the most likely outcome is that the show will quietly die, while those who spent months designing its storyboards and writing its scripts will hopefully go on to other work. Many are disappointed it had to end before the public could see what they had been working on.