Back in October of last year, WarnerMedia and AT&T confirmed that its newest streaming service, the highly-anticipated HBO Max, would launch sometime in May of 2020. And now we know when, exactly, subscribers can start watching content.
Today, WarnerMedia has announced that HBO Max will launch on May 27 of this year. As we already know, HBO Max is going to offer a range of original content to bring to the table, which will help it compete with the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and Apple TV+. But the primary strength of AT&T’s and WarnerMedia’s upcoming streaming service is the extensive back catalog it will offer subscribers for $15 per month. (Although, a cheaper, ad-supported option is also in the works.)
Today’s announcement is meant to confirm the launch date for HBO Max, but it also serves as a way to reveal the full slate of original content that will be available on the service from day one. That includes the scripted comedy series Love Life, which stars Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air, A Simple Favor). Warner Bros. is bringing new Looney Tunes cartoons to the streaming service, there’s an underground ballroom dance competition called Legendary, the 2020 Sundance Official Selection feature documentary On the Record, a crafting show posted by YouTuber LaurDIY called Craftopia, and, finally, Sesame Workshop’s The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo. I’ve gone ahead and included a few trailers below:
Love Life
https://youtu.be/uZp_g271jpo
Legendary
Looney Tunes
https://youtu.be/13bU5genKJI
The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo
There will be 10,000 hours of premium content available on HBO Max, and WarnerMedia says that new, original content will continue to be added to the streaming service on a regular basis after the initial launch in late May. That will include an unscripted comedy event bringing back the cast of Friends.
HBO Max’s extensive back catalog will include the likes of Veep and The Wire, along with Game of Thrones, Insecure, Succession, Big Little Lies, and many, many more shows. In addition to that, HBO Max subscribers will be able to watch a variety of films including Joker, The Matrix, The Goonies, The Wizard of Oz, and every single DC film released in the last decade.
Our number one goal is having extraordinary content for everyone in the family, and the HBO Max programming mix we are so excited to unveil on May 27th will bear that out,” said Robert Greenblatt, Chairman of Warner Media Entertainment and Direct-To-Consumer. “Even in the midst of this unprecedented pandemic, the all-star teams behind every aspect of HBO Max will deliver a platform and a robust slate of content that is varied, of the highest quality, and second to none. I’m knocked out by the breadth and depth of our new offering, from the Max originals, our Warner Bros library and acquisition titles from around the world, and of course the entirety of HBO.
So, to recap: HBO Max arrives May 27, 2020, and it will cost $15 per month. Who plans on signing up?
In related news, we know that NBCUniversal’s upcoming streaming service, Peacock, which will also rely mostly on a strong back catalog, will launch for all customers in July. It’s already available for some Comcast customers, though. And then we have the combined might of the newly-merged ViacomCBS, which will launch at some point in the near future.
So more streaming services! Who’s excited about all these options?