HBO Max will be shortened to just Max and combine all of Warner Bros. Discovery's offerings – including HBO originals, Warner Bros. films, Max originals, the DC universe and Harry Potter – as well as all of Discovery's content, including HGTV, Food Network, Discovery Channel, TLC, ID and more, said Warner Bros. Discovery at an event on Wednesday.
The combined service will be offered as three tiers: Max Ad-Lite, allowing two concurrent streams for $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year; Max Ad Free, allowing two concurrent streams and 30 offline downloads for $15.99 per month or $149.99 per year; and Max Ultimate Ad Free; allowing four concurrent streams and 100 offline downloads for $19.99 per month or $199.99 per year. Max Ad-Lite and Ad Free will stream in 1080 p resolution with Dolby 5.1 surround sound, while Ultimate Ad Free will stream up to 4K UHD resolution in Dolby Atmos sound.
Current subscribers will maintain their subscriptions at the same price and their profiles, settings, watch history and so forth will automatically migrate to Max.
“From the biggest superheroes to real life champions; from culture-shaping dramas to taste-shaping entertainment; from fantastical realms to the realest of worlds, Max will offer an unrivaled range of choice,” said JB Perrette, president and CEO, global streaming and games, Warner Bros. Discovery, in a statement. “This new brand signals an important change from two narrower products, HBO Max and Discovery+, to our broader content offering and consumer proposition. While each product offered something for some people, Max will have a broad array of quality choices for everybody.”
Warner Bros. Discovery also announced a slew of new series in development, including a long wished-for Harry Potter TV series, with JK Rowling executive producing; a new Game of Thrones series based on George R. R. Martin's prequel novellas, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms; a Big Bang Theory spinoff; a horror series based on The Conjuring, and more.
“The Max service is a wide-ranging mosaic of content that will be unmatched in the breadth, reach, and excellence of its offerings,” said Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO, HBO and Max Content, also in a statement. “We are unique because we have the best-in-all-categories across the board by any measure – be they ratings, awards, fandom. We know we can satisfy any craving because we have the brands that people love. At Max, they will find what they want, when they want it.”
Warner Bros. Discovery also unveiled several new trailers and teasers for upcoming shows, including:
The Sympathizer, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Viet Thanh Nguyen, stars Hoa Xuande, Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Ky Duyen, and Sandra Oh and reveals star and executive producer Robert Downey Jr. playing multiple roles.
The Penguin, starring Colin Farrell, is a series spun out of DC's latest Batman movie that starred Robert Pattinson in the title role. WBD offered a first-look production teaser on Wednesday.
True Detective: Night Country, starring Jodie Foster and Kali Reis, is the fourth iteration of the anthology detective show that starred Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrellson – who serve as executive producers and are about to star in their own Apple TV Plus comedy – in season one. This season is set in Ennis, Alaska and features Foster and Reis as detectives looking to figure out what happened to eight missing men as “the long night” sets in.
The Regime is a limited series starring Kate Winslet (Mare of Easttown) that looks like Succession meets The Crown, which makes sense because several of its executive producers, including Frank Rich, and writer Will Tracy worked on Succession. The Regime, which is also executive produced by Winslet and Stephen Frears, is slated to premiere in 2024.
SmartLess: On the Road follows Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes as they tour the country for their podcast.
And Magnolia Network's Chip and Joanna Gaines add a new series to their stable: Fixer Upper: The Hotel.
Also coming to the service are Discovery's latest survival series Survive the Raft; a Rick and Morty spinoff called The Anime; Investigation Discovery's Lost Women of Highway 20: Cartoon Network's Tiny Toons Looniversity and TLC's Love & Translation.
Max officially launches in the U.S. on May 23.