Here's every original movie and TV show coming to HBO Max. With Disney+ and Netflix's subscription numbers rapidly rising throughout the coronavirus lockdowns, WarnerMedia may've picked the perfect time to enter the streaming wars. The company has set their new service HBO Max to premiere in the U.S. on May 27, 2020, and is bringing projects like Zack Snyder's cut of Justice League and season 2 of DC Universe's Doom Patrol TV series to the table, in a bid to get people to sign up. Many of the bigger titles aren't scheduled to arrive until 2021 at the earliest, so it remains to be seen if that impacts HBO Max's growth and leads to softer numbers starting out.
Another wild card factor is the price. HBO Max will cost the same as HBO Now, but that's more than Disney+ and Netflix, and with COVID-109 wreaking havoc on the economy, people might be hesitant to sign up for yet another service if they're not already an HBO customer. HBO Max will sweeten the deal by including a massive library of WarnerMedia-owned content at launch, but if they want to keep up with their competitors, they need to deliver the goods when it comes to exclusive releases.
While they've yet to set dates for most of their original movies and TV shows, HBO Max has roughly outlined its lineup of exclusive content for the first couple years. Here's what's coming to the streamer.
Zack Snyder's Justice League
Release: 2021
Director Zack Snyder's original vision for the DCEU will finally see the light of day with Zack Snyder's Justice League (or, as it's better known, the Snyder Cut). Snyder estimates only a quarter of the footage he shot made it into Joss Whedon's theatrical cut of Justice League, and the whole thing will span about four hours. HBO Max is considering releasing the project as either a single film or miniseries and will spend roughly $20-30 million to finish it (which is also what they intend to spend on most of their exclusive films).
Green Lantern
Release: TBA (No Earlier Than 2021)
Arrowverse architect Greg Berlanti is adapting the Green Lantern comic books as a live-action series that will focus on the stories of two Lanterns from earth before it dives into the Sinestro saga. DC Comics veteran Geoff Johns is also working on the project, though the series isn't expected to take the place of the Green Lantern Corps DCEU movie Johns is writing. For now, it's unclear if the Green Lantern TV show will tie-in directly with the Arrowverse or any other DC Comics series on HBO Max.
Justice League Dark
Release: TBA (No Earlier Than 2021)
J.J. Abrams and his production company Bad Robot will bring DC Comics' Justice League Dark franchise to life in a live-action TV show. Guillermo del Toro spent years developing a Justice League Dark movie for the DCEU (featuring characters like John Constantine, Etrigan the Demon, and Zatanna), but he left the project in 2015 and subsequent attempts to revive it failed. Abrams' reportedly $500 million deal with WarnerMedia includes Justice League Dark films, so those could take the place of del Toro's movie.
Dune: The Sisterhood
Release: TBA (No Earlier Than 2021)
A spinoff of director Denis Villeneuve's Dune movie, The Sisterhood will revolve around the powerful, yet mysterious, group of women known as the Bene Gesserit. Writer Jon Spaihts was originally set as the series' primary showrunner, but has since stepped down to focus on writing a sequel to Villeneuve's film (which only adapts the first half of Frank Herbert's novel). Good Girls Revolt creator Dana Calvo signed on as co-showrunner prior to Spaihts' departure, and is currently serving as its primary architect.
Overlook
Release: TBA (No Earlier Than 2021)
In addition to Justice League Dark, Abrams and Bad Robot are working on a prequel series to The Shining titled Overlook for HBO Max. The show is currently being compared to A&E's Psycho prequel series Bates Motel in the way it expands upon the story and mythology of its predecessor, and has already received an official green-light. Dustin Thomason and Scott Brown are reportedly lined up to write the show, having previously re-imagined the works of Stephen King with their Hulu series Castle Rock.
Friends Reunion Special
Release: 2020 (tentative)
The Friends cast will reunite for this unscripted reunion special, which is tentatively titled The One Where They Got Back Together. HBO acquired the rights to stream Friends on HBO Max in a $425 million deal and originally planned to film the reunion special in March in order to make it available on the service at launch. However, production was delayed indefinitely when the coronavirus pandemic took a turn for the worse in March, and it's currently unclear when filming will be able to take place.
Raised By Wolves
Release: 2020
A sci-fi series developed by Aaron Guzikowski, Raised by Wolves was partly helmed by Ridley Scott and marks the legendary filmmaker's first time directing for television since he started making movies (not counting his unaired The Vatican pilot). The show stars Amanda Collin and Abubakar Salim as two androids assigned to raise human children on a newly-colonized planet and was initially set to air on TNT before it moved to HBO Max. It completed filming prior to the pandemic lockdowns, so it should be able to premiere this year as planned.
The Boondocks
Release: Fall 2020
Aaron McGruder is reviving his newspaper comic strip-turned cult animated series The Boondocks for HBO Max, and the show has already been renewed for a second season. The re-imagining will continue to chronicle the day-to-day lives of the elderly Robert Freeman and his grandsons, Huey and Riley, as their suburban neighborhood in Maryland is taken over by the tyrannical Uncle Ruckus and "his bizarre neo-fascist regime." HBO Max is also planning to release a brand-new 50 minute special, in addition to the two seasons.
An American Pickle
Release: August 6, 2020
Seth Rogen stars in An American Pickle as Herschel Greenbaum, a U.S. immigrant in the 1920s who falls into a vat of pickles and is brined for 100 years, only to wake up in the present-day and discover his sole surviving descendant is his great-grandson Ben (also played by Rogen), a "mild-mannered computer coder." The movie was filmed in late 2018 and originally going to be released by Sony Pictures, but HBO Max acquired the rights in April 2020 and announced plans to premiere it the following summer.
Superintelligence
Release: 2020
Melissa McCarthy and her actor-director husband Ben Falcone team up for the fourth time with Superintelligence, a sci-fi action-comedy about an ordinary woman (McCarthy) whose life is slowly taken over by the world's first artificially super-intelligent being (voiced by James Corden). Warner Bros. originally planned to release the film in theaters in December 2019, but it was later dubbed a better match for the HBO Max service. The film is already complete and expected to being streaming in the second half of 2020.
Let Them All Talk
Release: TBA
Mery Streep stars in this Steven Soderbergh-directed comedy about a successful author who goes on a trip with her oldest friends to have some fun and come to terms with the darker parts of her past. HBO Max acquired Let Them All Talk in August 2019 (around the same time production got underway) and has since signed Soderbergh to a three-year first look deal. The movie was already in post-production before the coronavirus lockdowns and HBO most likely has a late summer or fall 2020 premiere date target in mind.
Other HBO Max Original Movies & TV Shows
Live-Action TV Shows & Minieries
- Love Life - A rom-com anthology that follows a different person (from their first to last romance) each season.
- Gossip Girl - This Gossip Girl sequel/soft reboot takes place eight years after the original show and follows a new collection of Manhattan private schoolers.
- The Flight Attendant - Kaley Cucoco stars in this series (adapted from Chris Bohjalian's novel) about a flight attendant who wakes up to find a dead body lying next to her.
- Grease: Rydell High - A sequel series to the classic musical Grease, Rydell High continues to follow the lives of the students at the eponymous high school.
- Tokyo Vice - U.S. journalist Jake Adelstein (Ansel Elgort) investigates Tokyo's seedy underworld in this '90s-set crime drama based on the real Adelstein's memoir.
- Made for Love - Cristin Milioti stars in this dark comedy show (based on Alissa Nutting's book) about a woman who flees her husband, only to learn he's fitted her with a high-tech tracking device.
- Circe - This adaptation of Madeline Miller's book reimagines ancient Greek mythology from the perspective of the goddess Circe.
- College Girls - Mindy Kaling created this single-camera comedy about three freshman roommates who attend Evermore College in Vermont.
- Crime Farm - Nicole Kidman is producing this series about real-life married forensic homicide experts Selma and Richard Eikelenboom.
- DC Super Hero High - This Elizabeth Banks-produced comedy series revolves around the gifted children (and future superheroes) at a boarding school.
- Drama Queen - An autobiographical drama series based on TVLine co-founder Michael Ausiello's time growing up as a closeted, TV-obsessed teenager in '80s New Jersey.
- Duster - Bad Robot's series revolves around the getaway driver for a budding Southwest crime syndicate in the '70s.
- Generation - Zelda Barnz and her father Daniel created this show about a group of high schoolers in a conservative community who begin to explore modern concepts of sexuality.
- Strange Adventures - Greg Berlanti produces this DC superhero anthology series that explores stories about the intersecting lives of regular people and super-humans.
- Rap Sh*t - A Florida female rap group attempts to become professional musicians in this Issa Rae-produced series.
- The Uninhabitable Earth - This Adam McKay-based anthology series (adapted from David Wallace-Wells' book and magazine article) explores possible futures resulting from global warming.
- Americanah - Lupita Nyong'o stars in this miniseries adaptation of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's novel about a young Nigerian couple as they struggle to establish new lives in the U.S. and UK.
- Station Eleven - Humanity tries to recover after a flu pandemic wipes out most of the population in this miniseries based on Emily St. John Mandel's sci-fi book.
Animated TV Shows, Miniseries & Specials
- Tooned Out - A live-action/animated hybrid series about a man who suddenly finds himself aided by iconic cartoon characters in the real world.
- Adventure Time: Distant Lands - These four hour-long specials will continue to follow the adventures of Finn, Jake, and the various residents of the Land of Ooo, picking up from the Adventure Time cartoon series.
- Looney Tunes Cartoons - Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, and the rest of the classic Looney Tunes characters return in this series of animated shorts.
- Aquaman: King of Atlantis - James Wan produces this three-part animated miniseries chronicling Arthur Curry's early days ruling as King of Atlantis.
- Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai - This animated prequel series to the original Gremlins movie takes place in 1920s Shanghai and reveals how a 10-year old Sam Wing met Gizmo.
- Little Ellen - Ellen DeGeneres produces this animated children's show, which is told from the perspective of her seven-year-old self.
- Jellystone - Hanna-Barbara characters Yogi Bear, Boo-Boo, Jabberjaw, Captain Caveman and more try to live, work, and play together in this animated series about life in the eponymous town.
- Tig N' Seek - This children's animated series revolves around 8-year old Tiggy, his gadget-building cat Gweeseek, and their day to day adventures at the Department of Lost and Found.
- The Fungies - Young science-loving Seth gets into all sorts of trouble with his Fungie friends in this prehistoric animated comedy series.
- Close Enough - Originally developed for TBS in 2017, this animated sitcom follows a millennial couple as they raise their young daughter in an L.A. duplex.
- The Prince - Six-year-old Prince George causes problems for the British monarchy in Gary Janetti's animated satirical sitcom.
- Santa Inc. - Seth Rogen and Sarah Silverman lends their voices to this animated comedy series about a female elf (Silverman) who attempts to become the first female Santa Claus after Santa's original successor (Rogen) is kidnapped by Amazon.
Movies
- Unpregnant - Harley Lu Richardson and Barbie Ferreira star in this film about a college-bound high school senior (Richardson) who travels with her ex-best friend (Ferreira) on a 900 mile road trip to get a legal abortion.
- Charm City Kings - A teenager tries to join an infamous group of Baltimore dirt-bike riders in this feature adaptation of the 2013 documentary 12 O'Clock Boys.
- Bobbie Sue - Gina Rodriguez stars in this movie about a headstrong young lawyer who discovers her client is trying to exploit their company's workers, and sets out to take both them and her law firm to court.
- I'll Be the One - Nahnatchka Khan is directing this film adaptation of Lyla Lee's novel about a bisexual Korean-American girl who participates in the reality TV singing and dancing competition series K-Pop Shining Star.