Next year at least one more streaming service will be added to the world, namely HBO Max. There was already HBO Go (or HBO Now), but HBO Max promises to be just that little bit more. HBO, owned by WarnerMedia, of course already has a lot of original series. Think of The Sopranos, Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones. This is what HBO Max must offer as added value.
When the service goes live, WarnerMedia already promises direct access to more than 10,000 hours of content. That is probably a big part of what you can now find on HBO Go / Now, so well-known HBO content. It is currently unknown whether the two services will continue to co-exist. They cost the same: $ 14.99 per month. Moreover, customers of the American AT&T who have HBO Now receive free HBO Max. So it seems that it will be a service on top of Now.
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You pay for the content, but also for not having to look at advertising. It is whispered that HBO Max will be expanded later with a cheaper subscription where you will see advertisements.
One of the big series coming to the new streaming service is Friends. The series that consists of a total of 10 seasons is taken from Netflix and then returned to HBO Max in half a year. The same applies to Big Bang Theory. All 12 seasons of that series (and that is 279 episodes) are brought to HBO Max and remain there for at least five years.
The reboot of Doctor Who, made by the BBC, will at least get the space on HBO Max in America, because that has bought the rights to the series in that country. That too is already eleven seasons, because the reboot of Dr Who started in 2005 and is still running now. More British series are coming to the service: The Office (the British precursor of the American variant), Top Gear, The Honorable Woman and Luther.
HBO Max is also for children. This is how Sesame Street, the American Sesame Street, comes to the service. Not all previous seasons come online, because there are fifty, but the 51st season will start on that streaming service. It then runs together with a few spin-offs from Big Bird and his friends. And a series that looks like children, but is certainly not, is also coming to the streaming service: the satirical cartoon South Park (all 23 seasons).
HBO Max
Other series that come to HBO Max are: Rick and Morty, Pretty Little Liars, West Wing, Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Batwoman and Katy Keene. In addition, a lot of films follow: films from Warner Bros, Cartoon Network, DC Comics and the American channel The CW for example. This includes major titles such as The Lord of the Rings, the Matrix trilogy and Batman films. The complete range of Studio Ghibli films is available especially for fans of Japanese animation: from Spirited Away to Howl’s Moving Castle.
That is all known and existing content, but there will also be originals. Those series and films will be known as Max Originals and there are already 31 series in the making for the first year of the channel: Dune series Dune: The Sisterhood, Japanese police series Tokyo Vice, the comedy The Flight Attendant, romcom Love Life, the post-apocalyptic station Eleven, the sci-fi-like Made for Love, the immigration story Americanah, the Greek mythological Circe and the sci-fi series Raised by Wolves.
Three original films have also been announced, the book-based UNpregnant, the drama Let Them All Talk and the comedy Superintelligence. In addition, there will be original DC comic series, including DMZ, DC Super Hero High, Strange Adventures and Green Lantern. The second season of the already started Doom Patrol is coming to the streaming service. The third season of the Search Party series is also coming to HBO’s new service.
Max Originals
Finally, there will be series from the production house of Ellen DeGeneres, two films from Reese Witherspoon, a series about Aids called Boys and a few reboots, including Gossip Girl, The Boondocks, Grease, Adventure Time, Looney Tunes and the animation series Gremlins. Plus a few shows such as vogue battles in Legendary, designer competition The Greatest Space and two children’s shows: Karma and Craftopedia. Comedy specials are also coming to HBO Max, including Tracy Morgan, John Early, Rose Matafeo and Ahir Shah.
Furthermore, as a service, HBO Max is set up more or less like Netflix: you create your own account and you get recommendations based on what you previously viewed. The streaming service goes online in America in May 2020. When we can expect it in the Netherlands, that is still unknown.
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