Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Dustin Rowles | TV | November 21, 2025
The initial bids for Warner Bros. Discovery are coming in from three potential suitors: Comcast (which owns NBCUniversal/Peacock), Netflix, and Paramount/Skydance. I’m rooting for them all to fail, but if I had to choose one, I’d probably go with NBCUniversal, if only because — despite promises otherwise — I worry that Netflix would not continue putting Warner Bros. movies in theaters. Meanwhile, Larry Ellison has reportedly already suggested he might fire certain CNN anchors (like Erin Burnett) if Paramount Skydance wins as a favor to the White House. That ain’t right. And with an ownership stake in TikTok already, I don’t want the Ellison empire to grown even larger.
In the meantime, the crown jewel of that purchase — HBO Max — went on a renewal spree yesterday, renewing several of its series. Task, for instance, has been picked up for a second season despite being a “limited series.” Mark Ruffalo is set to return, which suggests it will not be an anthology. I liked Task a lot, but I’m not sure it’ll be the same without those soulful eyes of Tom Pelphrey.
They also renewed their current Sunday night comedy block: The Chair Company and I Love LA. I like the latter, and there’s a good future for the Rachel Sennott series. As for the Tim Robinson comedy? It seems to be buried in chaos these days. I don’t know where it’s going, and it’s frustrating to discover that the first season may not answer the central mystery. I like Robinson, but there is just so much yelling. And wheel spinning. I’ve grown bored with it.
Interestingly, HBO Max has not officially renewed Welcome to Derry yet, although there is a planned three-season arc for the series, with the second season expected to move to 1935.
HBO Max will also be keeping its Game of Thrones franchise around longer. Before the first season has even aired, they’ve picked up the second season of the GoT prequel, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, based on the Dunk and Egg novellas. I will grant that the trailer for the first season actually looks fun.
HBO Max has also picked up House of the Dragon for a fourth season. It’s not yet known if it will be the final season. That season is still being written and is expected to air in 2028.
Outside of HBO Max, Peacock recently picked up a third season of Twisted Metal, a fun little series that I never hear anyone talking about (outside of the Podjiba podcast), but it must be doing well for Peacock to order another year.
Speaking of Peacock, as we wrote last week, they did cancel Rian Johnson’s Poker Face, which is now being shopped around with a new lead, Peter Dinklage. It hasn’t been picked up yet, but HBO Max President Casey Bloys has admitted that he’s had discussions with Rian Johnson about potentially picking it up.
Finally, for our PBS friends, All Creatures Great and Small has been renewed for a seventh and eighth season.
