Warner Bros. has finally announced a launch date for HBO Max, the much-awaited streaming service from HBO, and it’s to be 27th May! The announcement comes after a lot of dilly-dallying about will it, won’t it, what with the COVID-19 outbreak showing no signs of abating. But now, with the announcement of the date of launch, all speculation has been laid to rest.
Along with the launch date, the head honchos at Warner Bros. have also revealed the content slate that will be available at launch for viewers to watch. HBO Max has lined up a collection of 50 Original series, several of which will be available at launch. These include ‘Love Life’, starring Anna Kendrick; a documentary series, ‘On The Record’; non-scripted series ‘Legendary’ and ‘Craftopia’; kids series ‘Looney Tunes Cartoons’; and ‘The Not Too Late Show with Elmo’.
The keenly awaited Friends Reunion Special will not be available at the 27th May launch, owing to Coronavirus Shutdown delays. But all 236 episodes of Friends will be available for streaming at launch. So will all 12 seasons of The Big Bang Theory, Sesame Street episodes from the last 50 years, Studio Ghibli’s animated features, classic movies from Turner Classic Movies, DC movies like Joker, Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman, in addition to Warner Bros. and New Line movies such as Casablanca, The Wizard of Oz, etc. Premium Criterion Collection movies also find a place in the content slate of HBO Max.
Also available at launch will be HBO favourites such as Game of Thrones, The Sopranos, Sex and the City, Deadwood, Westworld and others. The streamer launches with nearly 10,000 hours of programming, some of which will be curated froml other WarnerMedia brands such as CNN, TNT, TBS, truTV, Turner Classic Movies, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Crunchyroll, Rooster Teeth and Looney Tunes.
New customers can sign up for HBO Max at $14.99 per month. Existing HBO Now customers, from both HBO and AT&T’s TV platforms, will be upgraded to HBO Max at no additional cost.