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.
Welcome back, Warner Bros. and Discovery.
From carrier promos to straight discounts, the deals landscape is dotted with ways to save on your monthly bills.
A collection of 15 shows will be available on HBO Max, Vulture reports, including the Ricky Gervais-led version of The Office. They’ll be available until the end of September.
[vulture.com]
During an interview with Variety, HBO Max head Casey Bloys said the next season “is definitely planned for 2027,” though there might not be another one after that:
Craig [Mazin] is still working it out whether it will be two more seasons or one more long season. It hasn’t been decided yet, and I’m following Craig’s lead on that.
The next season will be the first without the involvement of The Last of Us co-creator Neil Druckman, who is shifting focus to upcoming Naughty Dog games.
The new half-hour limited series doesn’t have a name just yet, but HBO describes it as a celebration of American history that will star Larry David, a handful of other Curb Your Enthusiasm alums, and some “noteworthy guest stars.”
Warner Bros. Discovery had said the switch would happen sometime this summer, and now Variety, Deadline, and The Hollywood Reporter all say the move is imminent.
[variety.com]
If you’ve been waiting for Warner Bros. Japan’s follow-up to Batman Ninja, some good news: (HBO) Max announced today that Batman Ninja vs. Yakuza League is set to make its streaming debut this summer on July 3rd.
HBO’s Mountainhead is a snapshot of everything that’s ridiculous and terrible about Silicon Valley’s billionaire class.
As Deadline notes, the cross-platform viewer number that (HBO) Max just released for last night’s finale is down from the season premiere’s 5.3 million, but the company expects that “The audience will grow significantly due to low viewing levels over the Memorial Day holiday weekend.” According to the press release, the show’s global audience now numbers more than 90 million.
If you’ve seen the finale, what do you think about where the show is headed now?
The last few minutes of the season 2 finale are an important indication of where the story is going.
If you didn’t see Bong Joon Ho’s Mickey 17 during its theatrical run, you can catch it on Max starting May 23rd.
[press.wbd.com]
The next Game of Thrones spinoff is now coming out in 2026 instead of 2025, Variety reports. HBO content chairman and CEO Casey Bloys apparently said at an event that it would come out in “winter,” though, so seems like it will be an early 2026 debut.
Warner Bros. Discovery did the right thing today — people mostly hated when HBO was cut from “HBO Max.”
HBO just dropped a trailer for Mountainhead, the new film from Succession creator Jesse Armstrong, which hits HBO and Max on May 31st.
While Succession skewered the media, Mountainhead has its sights on big tech. Steve Carell, Cory Michael Smith, Ramy Youssef, and Jason Schwartzman play Silicon Valley billionaires holed up in a mountain retreat while the outside world works through some crises, and I’m guessing they’ll have one or two of their own.
If The Brutalist’s 3+ hour runtime kept you from seeing it in theaters, some good news: you’ll be able to stream the movie at home on Max starting May 17th.
HBO’s post-apocalyptic world is more than just Joel and Ellie, though the second season doesn’t tell the whole story.
In a new interview in Variety, Neil Druckmann, creative director of The Last of Us series, doesn’t seem confident the popular game turned HBO hit will get a third installment. “I guess the only thing I would say is don’t bet on there being more of ‘Last of Us.’ This could be it,” he says in the interview.
Which is odd because just last year Druckmann said he thinks there’s one more chapter left to the story.
Succession may be over, but Jesse Armstrong has written and directed a new feature length project for HBO about “a group of billionaire friends get together against the backdrop of a rolling international crisis,” which sounds like the next best thing to the show coming back for another season. The movie stars Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman, Cory Michael Smith, and Ramy Youssef, and it’s set to debut this spring.
Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming service is expanding to yet another country, with the Australian launch coming on March 31st. The timing is good for fans of the post-apocalypse: The Last of Us’ new season starts streaming in April.
It seems like Warner Bros. Discovery has been pleased with My Adventures with Superman because the studio has kicked off production on a Green Lantern-centric spinoff series as well as a new show revolving around Teen Titans mainstay Starfire according to The Hollywood Reporter.
While The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim wasn’t exactly worth a trek to the theater, you might want to check it out when it starts streaming on Max on February 28th.
Nothing is official until HBO confirms it, but Deadline is reporting that John Lithgow is in talks to play Dumbledore in the network’s upcoming Harry Potter reboot series scheduled to debut some time next year.
If you haven’t had a chance to catch Gints Zilbalodis’ animated feature Flow, you might want to check out Max on February 14th when the film makes its streaming debut.
Between The Penguin, Dune: Prophecy, and I Saw the TV Glow, Max has you covered when it comes to last-minute streaming options to get you through the holidays.
