rebranding<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\t\u201cI know you\u2019re all shocked, but the good news is I have a drawer full of stationery from the last time around,\u201d Bloys quipped at the time.<\/p>\n
\n\tBut the jokes underscored a meaningful strategic shift. No longer was WBD trying to compete with Netflix for global domination, they were playing to be the premium layer sitting above it.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201c[Netflix] is the basic cable of today, and in today\u2019s world, consumers still want to add to their entertainment portfolio with must-have truly unique programming that only we can deliver,\u201d Bloys told the audience of journalists Thursday. \u201cWe looked at all the research and came back to what they want are HBO originals, pay-one movies, the Warner Bros. TV library, the procedurals, for lack of a better word, but the elevated network [programming] that we\u2019re working on, documentaries, comedy specials. We just came back from trying to offer too much, so we are trying to be very specific in what people value from us, and want from us.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.hollywoodreporter.com\/wp-content\/themes\/vip\/pmc-hollywoodreporter-2021\/assets\/public\/lazyload-fallback.gif\")
<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tCasey Bloys during Warner Bros. Discovery\u2019s 2025 Upfront Presentation at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on May 14, 2025 in New York City.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDimitrios Kambouris\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
\n\tThere are signs that it is working. HBO Max has been growing at a time when other streamers are stagnating. HBO, it turns out, still means something to a lot of media consumers.<\/p>\n
\n\tBut the new HBO isn\u2019t quite the same as the old HBO. Back in the heyday of the brand, original adult dramas and comedies lived alongside a vast library of the biggest movies on the planet. But streaming has changed the movie business, not only tweaking the types of projects that get made, and how many get released, but with companies like Disney, NBCUniversal and Paramount now hoarding their projects for their own platforms.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe TV business has changed too. Broadcast TV, once the home for a seemingly endless supply of procedurals, has been cutting back on scripted entertainment in favor of more unscripted shows and live sports. Cheaper content, or must-watch content, with scripted often the odd man out.<\/p>\n
\n\tSo Bloys has embarked on a mission to figure out how to HBO-ify those missing pieces, to find a suitable replacement for the licensed blockbuster films that once dominated HBO\u2019s lineup, and to find a way to take the humble network show and make it HBO-worthy.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe result has been two-fold: IP tentpole fare led by Game of Thrones, DC Studios, and Harry Potter and other Warner Bros. library content, which is meant to offset the loss of many films (Warner Bros. and A24 output deals notwithstanding): \u201cThat affinity and immediate awareness paired with HBO\u2019s singular approach to storytelling has proven very valuable to filling that theatrical void,\u201d Bloys said, announcing renewals for House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which will keep GoT programming on a yearly cadence through at least 2028.<\/p>\n
\n\tAnd then there\u2019s the Max Originals. Bloys acknowledges that it took a little time for them to figure out what a Max Original really is in relation to an HBO Original (\u201cUntil recently, a Max Original may have been a bit nebulous for you, you\u2019ve probably asked me about it, a bit nebulous for you, a bit nebulous for me,\u201d he quipped). But, he says, they\u2019ve cracked it.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI can say now that Max Originals serve a very specific purpose: We are leaning into more cost-efficient, yet elevated and high quality series with a greater number of episodes that can return each year,\u201d Bloys said, with The Pitt being the quintessential example. \u201cThese originals are designed to attract audiences that are adjacent to the typical HBO fans, while also feeding our strategy to deliver 52 weeks of new programming a year.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tBloys added that having elevated broadcast fare, from procedurals like The Pitt and some upcoming projects in development like a police drama, a family drama and the Big Bang Theory spinoff Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, provides a reliable cadence to consumers who have grown frustrated with years-long gaps between other high-profile shows.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cThat kind of habitual viewing, not only week to week, but on an annual basis, is really important in terms of setting habits,\u201d Bloys noted.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tThe Pitt<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tWarrick Page\/HBO Max<\/p>\n
\n\tAnd having seasons that expand beyond the 8-10 episodes that have become common in streaming could ultimately generate not only richer universes of characters and IP, but could prove to be training grounds for the next generation of creative talent.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cAs an industry, we\u2019ve gotten away from television, which when I started, it was 26 episodes, then the standard kind of whittled down to 22 episodes,\u201d Bloys said. \u201cBut you really have to kind of set that up from the beginning to give yourself worlds that generate, in [The Pitt\u2019s] case, 15 hours of story. It\u2019s why hospital shows were a staple, because a new story \u2014 or several \u2014 walk in the door every time. You know you have to set up first, a world that generates the story, and you also have to work with people who know how to do that, who\u2019ve worked on it for years. It is a different skill, I would say, generating 15 episodes of compelling stories, as opposed to crafting eight to 10.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tBut the heart of HBO is still the HBO Original shows, and Bloys and his team are still executing on those, full steam ahead. Curb Your Enthusiasm might have ended, but Larry David is back (with the Obamas!) for a new comedy series. Entourage and Girls are in the past, but I Love LA is helping to fill that void with a voice that is uniquely Rachel Sennot\u2019s, while Euphoria returns with a cast that jumpstarted multiple movie careers. <\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWhat we\u2019re usually looking for is a point of view,\u201d Bloys said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a long history, going back to Gary Shandling, Larry David, Lena [Dunham], Issa Ray, Danny McBride, we\u2019ve got a long history of writer performers, especially in comedy, it\u2019s a really good combination to give you a specific tone and point of view.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tThe adult dramas and dramedies that helped define the cable channel are still a cornerstone, from The White Lotus and Task to the forthcoming DTF St. Louis.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\tJason Isaacs and Parker Posey in \u2018The White Lotus\u2019 season three finale.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFabio Lovino\/HBO<\/p>\n
\n\tThe result is a mix of programming that serves multiple audiences but carries with it a compelling throughline: Whether it\u2019s House of the Dragon, The White Lotus, The Pitt, or I Love LA, an HBO show is a good show. Not every show will be for every HBO Max subscriber, but every HBO Max subscriber knows that every show has a level of quality that they respect.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cYou have to start with, what\u2019s a good show. What do we believe in? What is a good script?\u201d Bloys said, adding that his team doesn\u2019t set any guidelines on how many HBO Originals vs. Max Originals vs. IP-driven tentpoles get the green light. \u201cThe great thing about development is you just give yourself as many options as possible in all of the formats and genres that you saw [Thursday].\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tHBO\u2019s tagline, for years, was \u201cIt\u2019s not TV, It\u2019s HBO.\u201d It was brand positioning that placed HBO above the vast array of channels at every consumer\u2019s fingertips. HBO floated above the fray, and it made it into a culture-defining brand.<\/p>\n
\n\tBloys is once again leaning into that ethos. Streaming might be the delivery mechanism by which people get their fix, but they aren\u2019t watching \u201cstreaming,\u201d they are watching HBO Max.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A funny thing happened over the course of the streaming wars: As the end goal of the tech…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":148379,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[156,2592,111,139,69,437],"class_list":{"0":"post-148378","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-hbo","10":"tag-new-zealand","11":"tag-newzealand","12":"tag-nz","13":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148378"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148378\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/148379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}