HBO Max Announces Rebranding as Max, Launching May 23, With First Teasers for ‘The Penguin’, ‘True Detective’ Season 4, and ‘Harry Potter’ Series Announcement
Warner Bros. Discovery announced during an event the launch of the HBO Max and Discovery Plus combined service, which will be named Max, available starting May 23 in the US.
Three price tiers have been set, and they’re a bit more complex than before: an ad-supported tier for $9.99/month or $99.99/year; an ad-free tier for $15.99/month or $149.99/year, and lastly, an ad-free 4K UHD resolution tier for $19.99/month or $199.99/year. The platform will arrive in Europe in 2024. To further emphasize the weight of the announcement, the company followed it up with a long string of first-looks at upcoming series that will be premiering in the platform, as well as the announcements of several new series that have been ordered.
The Penguin first teaser
While it’s been only a month since the Colin Farrell spin-off series from The Batman started shooting, the first teaser trailer was released along with the image above. The cast includes Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz, Michael Kelly, Shohreh Aghdashloo, and Deirdre O’Connell, with Clancy Brown and Michael Zegen recurring too. According to Variety, the list has also expanded to include Carmen Ejogo, François Chau, and David H. Holmes.
Lauren LeFranc is writer, executive producer, and showrunner, with Craig Zobel directing the first three episodes. Zobel, Matt Reeves, Colin Farrell, and Dylan Clark are executive producers. Check out the first teaser, which gives off strong Sopranos vibes:
Harry Potter series ordered at Max
Following last week’s Bloomberg report, David Zaslav announced on Wednesday that the studio has given a full series order to the first-ever live-action show set in the Wizarding World. It is described as a faithful adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s novels, with an all-new cast, and each season will adapt one of the books. Rowling will be an executive producer, but will not be too heavily involved on the creative side as far as we know. Neil Blair and Ruth Kenley-Letts are executive producing too.
Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO of HBO and Max Content put out the following statement:
“We are delighted to give audiences the opportunity to discover Hogwarts in a whole new way. Harry Potter is a cultural phenomenon and it is clear there is such an enduring love and thirst for the Wizarding World. In partnership with Warner Bros. Television and J.K. Rowling, this new Max Original series will dive deep into each of the iconic books that fans have continued to enjoy for all of these years.”
Added Rowling:
“Max’s commitment to preserving the integrity of my books is important to me, and I’m looking forward to being part of this new adaptation which will allow for a degree of depth and detail only afforded by a long form television series.”
The series seems to be in the very early stages of development, and WBD will have to invest a lot of resources into it if they are really serious about it. During last week’s episode of The Hot Mic With Jeff and John, reporter Jeff Sneider said that, while not a lot of details about the show have transpired, the network would be looking into casting an actress of color for one of the three lead roles, namely Hermione Granger.
BURBANK, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 12: (L-R) Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO, HBO & Max Content, Kathleen Finch, Chairman and Chief Content Officer, US Networks Group, David Zaslav, President and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, and JB Perrette, President & CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery Global Streaming and Games, onstage during a Warner Bros. Discovery Streaming Press Event at Warner Bros. Studios on April 12, 2023 in Burbank, California, where they announced the merge of HBO Max and Discovery Plus into Max. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images for HBO)
New Game of Thrones spin-off receives series order
HBO also announced that they have given a series order to the second Game of Thrones spin-off series, titled A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight. While a lot of details remain under wraps, the network did provide an official logline for the series:
“A century before the events of ‘Game of Thrones,’ two unlikely heroes wandered Westeros… a young, naïve but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his diminutive squire, Egg. Set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory, great destinies, powerful foes, and dangerous exploits all await these improbable and incomparable friends.”
George R.R. Martin and Ira Parker will both serve as writers and executive producers, while Ryan Condal (House of the Dragon showrunner) and Vince Gerardis will executive produce.
A century before @GameofThrones, there was Ser Duncan the Tall and his squire, Egg.
Executive produced by George R. R. Martin, Ira Parker, Ryan Condal, and Vince Gerardis, A Knight of the #SevenKingdoms: The Hedge Knight has received a straight to series order. #StreamOnMax pic.twitter.com/MRPUke5Upt
— HBO Max (@hbomax) April 12, 2023
This was especially relevant this week, as it came out just after HBO announced the second season of House of the Dragon had started principal photography, and a few days after Variety reported that the network is exploring a prequel series focused on Aegon’s conquest of the Seven Kingdoms.
Clearly, it was too early to make an announcement on that front, but it seems like they are fully committed to Westeros. Other projects that remain in reported development include a prequel series focused on The Sea Snake and a sequel series to Game of Thrones with Kit Harington returning as Jon Snow.
New The Big Bang Theory spin-off series
Warner Bros. Discovery has also announced they are in the early stages of development of a new spin-off series from The Big Bang Theory, one of the biggest sitcoms of all time. The Jim Parsons-led series, which wrapped its 12-season run in 2019, already has a spin-off on the air on CBS — Young Sheldon, starring Ian Armitage, which is currently in its sixth season.
Warner Bros. TV seems committed to exploiting one of its biggest successes on the comedy side, but we don’t know much else about it. Plot details are currently kept under wraps, but we might learn more in the coming months as development moves along.
New series set in The Conjuring universe
Another project in early development at Max is the first-ever series set in the horror universe of The Conjuring movies. Plot details remain locked away, but it’s been said that it will continue the storyline established in the films. Peter Safran is executive producing via his company’s overall deal with WB TV, and James Wan is also in talks to executive produce.
BURBANK, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 12: (L-R) Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO, HBO & Max Content, Kathleen Finch, Chairman and Chief Content Officer, US Networks Group, David Zaslav, President and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, and JB Perrette, President & CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery Global Streaming and Games, onstage during a Warner Bros. Discovery Streaming Press Event at Warner Bros. Studios on April 12, 2023 in Burbank, California, where they announced the merge of HBO Max and Discovery Plus into Max. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images for HBO)
New It prequel series Welcome to Derry adds four to cast
The news first came out in a report by Variety and was echoed during the Wednesday Max unveiling event — the upcoming It prequel series Welcome to Derry (working title) has added its first four cast members. They are Taylour Paige, Jovan Adepo, James Remar, and Chris Chalk. It’s also been revealed that the series is targeting a 2024 release date on Max.
Jason Fuchs will write the teleplay for the first episode, based on a story by Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti, and Fuchs. Andy Muschietti will direct multiple episodes of the series, including the first one. Fuchs and Brad Caleb Kane will serve as co-showrunners on the project. Andy Muschietti and Barbara Muschietti (through their Double Dream production company, which has an overall deal with WBTV), Fuchs, Kane, Shelley Meals, Roy Lee, and Dan Lin will executive produce.
First teaser released for True Detective: Night Country
As part of the unveiling of Max, WBD revealed several first looks at upcoming TV series that will be released on the platform. We’ve already covered the first look at The Penguin, but another exciting project is the upcoming fourth season of True Detective, which is coming this year under the title True Detective: Night Country (a more specific release date is yet to be determined).
Issa López is the showrunner, sole writer, and director of all the episodes; the cast includes Jodie Foster, Kali Reis, Fiona Shaw, Finn Bennett, Isabella Star LaBlanc, Aka Niviâna, Anna Lambe, Joel D. Montgrand, Christopher Eccleston, and John Hawkes. Here is the official logline for the series:
“When the long winter night falls in Ennis, Alaska, the eight men who operate the Tsalal Arctic Research Station vanish without a trace. To solve the case, Detectives Liz Danvers (Foster) and Evangeline Navarro (Reis) will have to confront the darkness they carry in themselves, and dig into the haunted truths that lie buried under the eternal ice.”
Check out the teaser here:
First teaser released for Kate Winslet’s The Regime
Previously known as The Palace, the upcoming limited series The Regime stars Kate Winslet and tells the story of a modern European regime as it begins to unravel. The cast includes Matthias Schoenaerts, Guillaume Gallienne, Andrea Riseborough, Martha Plimpton, Hugh Grant, Danny Webb, David Bamber, Henry Goodman, Stanley Townsend, Louie Mynett, Rory Keenan, Karl Markovics, and Pippa Haywood.
Check out the teaser for the series, coming out in 2024:
First teaser and photo released for The Sympathizer
The Sympathizer
Last but certainly not least, Warner Bros. Discovery also unveiled the first teaser and image for The Sympathizer, the upcoming series from Park Chan-wook that stars Robert Downey Jr. in multiple roles. Coming out in 2024, here is the official logline for the show:
“Based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name, ‘The Sympathizer’ is an espionage thriller and cross-culture satire about the struggles of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy during the final days of the Vietnam War and his resulting exile in the United States.”
Check out the first teaser here:
The cast includes Hoa Xuande, Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Vy Le, Alan Trong, Vy Le, Ky Duyen, Sandra Oh, and Robert Downey Jr. Park Chan-wook is co-showrunner, executive producer, writer, and director of the first three episodes. Don McKellar is also co-showrunner, executive producer, and writer. Fernando Meirelles directs episode 4, while Marc Munden directs episodes 5-7. The writers’ room also included Mark Richard, Naomi Iizuka, Maegan Houang, Anchuli Felicia King, and Tea Ho. The Sympathizer is a co-production between HBO, A24, and Rhombus Media, produced in association with Cinetic Media and Moho Film too.
Max will start its global rollout with a launch in the states on May 23, 2023. Also available on that day will be Shazam! Fury of the Gods; coming out in the fall, The Flash will also speed into the platform following its theatrical run. More will be revealed in the coming months.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as authors like Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
