Originally a private cable network, then a premium cable channel, then a mini-network of specialized and dedicated channels, HBO has evolved into a powerhouse of original content production. Game of Thrones is its most obvious success story. But series like Deadwood, The Sopranos, Westworld, True Detective, The Wire, Sex and the City, Girls, and many more have made the network a strong contender in the crowded streaming landscape. With the launch of HBO Max, the network’s offerings have been paired with major titles from Warner Bros., DC, Studio Ghibli, and more. The Verge can help you sort through HBO’s new content and follow its evolving business model as it looks for its next Game of Thrones.
Harley Quinn (Kaley Cuoco) is getting the hell out of Gotham in the upcoming fifth season of her animated Max series premiering on January 16th. And a new trailer teases how her plan to start a new life with Poison Ivy (Lake Bell) is going to go a little left as they cross paths with Lena Luthor (Aisha Tyler), Lois Lane (Natalie Morales), and Brainiac (Stephen Fry).
It took a lot of technical know-how to create Dune: Part Two’s mesmerizing score, and this new video from Expressive E breaks down how Hans Zimmer made it happen using a fleet of Osmose synthesizers.
Max has been available in a handful of European countries since earlier this year, but now that Warner Bros. Discovery and Sky have re-upped their distribution partnership, the one to watch is finally launching in the UK and Ireland some time in 2026.
To remind everyone that Max offers a selection of excellent classic films, the streamer’s TCM hub is rolling out a monthly series of “curational moments” next year that will highlight the work of stars like Cary Grant and Elizabeth Taylor.
If you’ve been waiting to stream Joker: Folie à Deux like a sensible person, the time is almost here because the film is coming to Max on December 13th.
Alison Schapker sees Dune: Prophecy as a story about the ebb and flow of institutional power.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice might not be your go-to holiday comfort watch yet, but you’ll be able to change that on December 6th when the film debuts on HBO Max. The streamer’s also releasing American Sign Language (ASL) and Língua Brasileira De Sinais (LIBRAS) versions of the film in the US / Europe and Brazil, respectively.
HBO’s new Dune prequel series sharpens the Bene Gesserit’s history into a pointed drama that calls for some patience.
HBO’s It prequel series Welcome to Derry still doesn’t have a concrete release date. But the network’s new 2025 sizzle reel features a fresh look at Pennywise (in human disguise) as well as a whole bunch of footage from Creature Commandos, The Chair Company, Dune: Prophecy, and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.
During a Q3 earnings call on Thursday, Zaslav said the company’s games business is “underperforming its potential.” He also acknowledged that “inconsistency also remains an issue” at WBD’s film studio, “reinforced recently by the disappointing results of Joker 2.”
The service now has 110.5 million subscribers, marking “the strongest quarterly gain since the platform’s launch,” according to Warner Bros. Discovery’s Q3 earnings release.
Max launched in Latin America and Europe earlier this year and will roll out in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan later this month.
[Warner Bros. Discovery]
We’ve known for a while now that HBO was aiming to debut its Dune: Prophecy prequel series at some point this fall. But in addition to dropping a new trailer, the network has finally announced that the show will premiere on November 17th.
There was still time for HBO to make its Lanterns show all about Aaron Pierre’s John Stewart, but the network has just officially cast Kyle Chandler to co-star as Hal Jordan.
Though Over the Garden Wall still remains criminally unavailable on Max where it belongs, a new two-minute-long stop-motion short from series creator Patrick McHale and Aardman is coming to Cartoon Network’s YouTube channel on November 3rd.
Though everything about The Franchise’s big budget superhero movie production makes the fictional project seemed doomed to fail, its crew has no choice but to soldier forward in the show’s latest trailer.
If you didn’t catch Ti West’s MaXXXine during its theatrical run, the film’s finally making its way to Max on October 18th and will start airing on HBO beginning the next day.
A 2-hour-long documentary about The Boy and the Heron called Hayao Miyazaki and the Heron was spotted on Max by French animation outlet Catsuka.
According to Max’s description, it was “filmed with exclusive access to Studio Ghibli across an astonishing seven years” of Miyazaki’s work making his latest post-retirement movie (which, by the way, is also now available to stream).
The Watchers, a supernatural thriller based on the book A.M. Shine, hits Max on August 30th, reports Deadline.
Prior to The Watchers, Shyamalan served as a second unit director on father M. Night Shyamalan’s film Old and directed six episodes of Servant, his Apple TV Plus series.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga only hit theaters a few months ago, but Warner Bros. announced today that the film is already making its way to Max next week on August 16th.
House of the Dragon ended its second season with a reminder that this is all just one part of a much larger story.
Even though you can’t see Bill Skarsgård’s Pennywise in this new teaser for HBO’s It prequel series Welcome to Derry, it’s pretty obvious the clown’s going to be up to his regular, degular demonic tricks when he makes his small screen debut.
It’ll be a while before before House of the Dragon is back for a third season, but HBO’s forthcoming A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms spin-off series looks like it’ll keep Game of Thrones fans fed when it premieres next year.
Season two of HBO’s The Last of Us Adaptation will see Catherine O’Hara join the cast as someone very keen on seeing Ellie alive and well. And it looks like Joel’s going to move hell and high water to keep the girl safe in this new preview from the show’s next chapter.
Max has finally given The Penguin a September 19th release date, and the series’ latest trailer pits Oswald Cobblepot (Colin Farrell) against Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti) in a war for Gotham’s streets.
Big pharma doesn’t want the public to know the truth in Adult Swim’s new animated comedy Common Side Effects from co-creators Joe Bennett (Scavengers Reign) and Steve Hely (Veep). And the truth very much seems to be a plant-based key to immortality in this early clip from the show, which is due out in 2025.
With shows like My Adventures with Superman and Rick and Morty: The Anime, Adult Swim has been pretty covered on the superhero and sci-fi fronts. But the programming block is about to get more sporty with Juston Gordon-Montgomery’s Invincible Fight Girl — a new wrestling / action series that looks sick as hell in this preview clip.
There will be plenty of traditional television series like Shōgun and The Bear in the running at the 76th Emmys in September. But given how many Netflix, HBO, Apple TV Plus, Disney Plus, and Amazon projects were just nominated for awards, this year’s competition seems like it could easily go to the streamers.
[The Hollywood Reporter]
