HBO and Warner Bros. Discovery dished out lots of news, teaser trailers, and other info at their press event today about rebranding HBO Max to Max. In short, there’s lots of good stuff coming to Max in the future, including “The Penguin,” Park Chan-wook‘s “The Sympathizer,” Stephen Frears‘ “The Regime” with Kate Winslet, and “True Detective: Night Country.” So, if you’re not already a Max subscriber, sign up before these shows premiere in 2024.
But plenty of other shows are on the way to Max soon, too. One of the biggest tidbits from the press event today: Warner Bros. Television has ordered a Max original series that adapts J.K. Rowling‘s “Harry Potter” series. HBO will produce the series over the next decade, with each season dedicated to one of the seven original books. The new series will also features an all-new cast.
“We are delighted to give audiences the opportunity to discover Hogwarts in a whole new way,” said Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO of HBO & Max Content. “Harry Potter is a cultural phenomenon, and it is clear there is such an enduring love and thirst for the Wizarding World. In partnership with Warner Bros. Television and J.K. Rowling, this new Max Original series will dive deep into each of the iconic books that fans have continued to enjoy for all of these years.”
Rowling added this comment to the show’s press release: “Max’s commitment to preserving the integrity of my books is important to me, and I’m looking forward to being part of this new adaptation which will allow for a degree of depth and detail only afforded by a long form television series.”
Elsewhere in the Max-verse, Deadline reports that Peter Safran and James Wan have a show based on “The Conjuring” movie series in development. Wan produces through his Atomic Monster Productions, and Safran through The Safran Company in association with WBTV, where The Safran Company is under an overall deal.
There’s no word yet on the show’s plot, but Warner Bros. TV and New Line Cinema obviously want to squeeze more money out of their horror franchise cash cow. The first seven films in “The Conjuring” franchise have made over $2 billion at the global box office collectively. The eight in the series, “The Nun 2,” hits theaters on September 8.
And lastly, “Gremlins: The Secrets Of The Mogwai” premieres on Max after its rebranding goes live on May 23. The animated series serves as a prequel to the 1984 “Gremlins” film, with a young Sam Wing (the shop owner in the original movie) as he befriends a Mogwai named Gizmo in 1920’s Shanghai. Other voice actors on the series include Matthew Rhys, Ming-Na Wen, James Hong, B.D. Wong, Izaac Wang, AJ LoCascio, and Gabrielle Nevaeh Green. Additional guest voices include Sandra Oh, Randall Park, George Takei, and Bowen Yang. Zach Galligan, who plays Billy Peltzer in the 1984 film, also shows up for a guest appearance.
So, lots coming to Max in the next calendar year-plus. Oh, and did we mention that Chuck Lorre may have a “The Big Bang Theory” spinoff in the works at Max, too? All the more reason to subscribe to the streamer soon. Check out teaser trailers for “Gremlins: Secret Of The Mogwai,” the new “Harry Potter” series, and the the Max rebranding below.
