HBO and WarnerMedia today announced an all-new streaming service called HBO Max, which will combine HBO content with shows and films from CNN, TNT, TBS, The CW, TCM, Adult Swim, and much more.
Essentially, HBO Max will include all HBO original content, WarnerMedia channels, and shows made only for HBO Max. These Max Originals include shows based on Dune, Station Eleven, and Gremlins. You'll have to subscribe to HBO Max to see these shows, as they won't appear on HBO GO or HBO NOW.
The full list of Max Originals follows:
- “Dune: The Sisterhood,” an adaptation of Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson’s book based in the world created by Frank Herbert’s book Dune, from director Denis Villeneuve
- “Tokyo Vice,” based on Jake Adelstein’s non-fiction first-hand account of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police beat starring Ansel Elgort
- “The Flight Attendant,” a one-hour thriller series based on the novel by Chris Bohjalian, which will star Kaley Cuoco, who is also executive producing alongside Greg Berlanti
- “Love Life,” a 10-episode half-hour romantic comedy anthology series starring “Pitch Perfect” star Anna Kendrick, who will also executive produce alongside Paul Feig
- “Station Eleven,” a postapocalyptic limited series based on Emily St. John Mandel’s international bestseller, adapted by Patrick Somerville and directed by Hiro Murai
- “Made for Love,” a 10-episode, half-hour, straight-to-series adaptation based on the tragicomic novel of the same name by Alissa Nutting, also from Somerville and directed by S.J. Clarkson
- “Gremlins,” an animated series from Warner Bros. Animation and Amblin Entertainment based on the original movie
Existing HBO shows like Game of Thrones and Big Little Lies will be available on HBO Max. Other content on HBO Max includes all of Friends, The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Pretty Little Liars, and many of the DC shows on The CW, like Batwoman.
There are also some exclusive deals with producers Greg Berlanti (director of Love, Simon and producer of Arrow and The Flash) and Reese Witherspoon. Berlanti is set to produce four movies focused in the young adult space and Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine company will produce at least two films. In total, HBO Max is set to premiere with 10,000 hours of premium content.
“HBO Max will bring together the diverse riches of WarnerMedia to create programming and user experiences not seen before in a streaming platform. HBO’s world-class programming leads the way, the quality of which will be the guiding principle for our new array of Max Originals, our exciting acquisitions, and the very best of the Warner Bros. libraries, starting with the phenomenon that is ‘Friends,’” said Robert Greenblatt, chairman, WarnerMedia Entertainment and Direct-To-Consumer.
The full list of programming companies supporting HBO Max include: Warner Bros., New Line, DC Entertainment, CNN, TNT, TBS, truTV, The CW, Turner Classic Movies, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Crunchyroll, Rooster Teeth, and Looney Tunes. WarnerMedia said there will be more programming than these channels and companies, but hasn't been specific about what those might be yet.
The new service is being announced one year after AT&T completed its acquisition of Time Warner, which owns HBO. At the time, AT&T leadership suggested it was planning to increase the amount of content released by HBO so that the company has more hours of user engagement, instead of only seeing peak numbers during major broadcasts, like for the final season of Game of Thrones.
HBO Max will launch in the spring of 2020.
