The Future New Home of 'Friends' and 'Game of Thrones' Has a Name and A Ton of Great Content

By Dustin Rowles | Streaming | July 9, 2019 |

By Dustin Rowles | Streaming | July 9, 2019 |

WarnerMedia’s forthcoming streaming service has a name now, and while it is not a great name, it is very good branding: HBO Max.

It’s good branding because it’s a reminder that you’re basically just paying between $0 and $2 extra a month to get HBO, which many of you already have, plus everything else that WarnerMedia owns, which includes the DC Universe, Harry Potter, TBC, CNN, TruTV, Cinemax, the Cartoon Network, etc., etc., plus all the shows that Warner airs on other networks, like the forthcoming Batwoman series on CW and, of course, Friends and Fresh Prince of Bel Air, which will eventually air exclusively on HBO Max.

There’s a lot of new programming coming, as well. Some of it is HBO and some of it is HBO Max, but for all intents and purposes, they will be one in the same when HBO Max launches in the Spring of 2020.

“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
Highlights of HBO programming previously announced for 2020 and 2021 include:

Stephen King’s “The Outsider,” a dark mystery starring Ben Mendelsohn, produced and directed by Jason Bateman
“Lovecraft Country,” a unique horror series based on a novel by Matt Ruff, written and executive produced by Misha Green, and executive produced by Jordan Peele and J.J. Abrams

“The Nevers,” Joss Whedon’s new science fiction series starring Laura Donnelly

“The Gilded Age,” the opulent world of 1885 New York from “Downton Abbey’s” Julian Fellowes

“Avenue 5,” high satire aboard a space-bound cruise ship from Armando Iannucci (“Veep”), starring Hugh Laurie and Josh Gad

“The Undoing,” a psychological thriller from David E. Kelley, directed by Susanne Bier starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Grant

“The Plot Against America,” reimagined history based on Phillip Roth’s novel written and executive produced by David Simon and Ed Burns, starring Winona Ryder and John Turturro

“Perry Mason,” the classic legal drama for a new generation, executive produced by Robert Downey, Jr. and Susan Downey, with Matthew Rhys in the title role

“I Know This Much Is True,” a complex family drama starring Mark Ruffalo playing twin brothers, one of whom has schizophrenia, based on the best-selling novel by Wally Lamb, written and directed by Derek Cianfrance.

I understand that everyone is wary of yet another streaming service, but beyond Netflix, this is probably the best one, because it basically gives you HBO plus the entire Warner and New Line Cinema catalog plus a bunch of network content for virtually the same price.