New streaming service HBO Max finally gets a release date!

Is the world ready for another streaming service? Well, a lot of us are still stuck at home because of the coronavirus pandemic if need to distractions, so if you’re gonna do it, now seems like a decent time. And today, finally, WarnerMedia announced when it’s dropping its entry into the streaming wars: HBO Max is coming on May 27, just over a month from now.

WarnerMedia also revealed a few teasers for original content that will be available on Day 1, like the comedy Love Life starring Anna Kendrick…

…The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo…

…and all-new Looney Tunes Cartoons:

There’s also the documentary On the Record, a DIY show called Craftopia, and ballroom dance competition series Legendary. Throughout the summer, HBO Max promises originals will be coming out at a regular clip, including Kaley Cuoco vehicle The Flight Attendant, new episodes of the DC show Doom Patrol, a revival of Cartoon Network’s Adventure Time, an unscripted Friends revival, and more.

I gotta say, none of these originals are particularly making me want to immediately run out and get HBO Max. They don’t have a Mandalorian-sized killer show, and keep in mind that HBO Max costs $14.99 per month, making it one of the more expensive services on the market. There’s s’more original content coming down the line, including an adaptation of Madeline Miller’s Greek mythology book Circe and Dune: The Sisterhood, a sci-fi show about the Bene Gesserit order from Frank Miller’s Dune universe. But who knows how far those shows off, especially with the coronavirus bringing Hollywood to a standstill at the moment?

At the moment, the best thing HBO Max has going for it is the older content, at least for my money. Here’s a quick sampling:

• The complete back catalogs of binge-able comedies like Friends, The Big Bang Theory, and South Park.
• On the drama side, HBO Max will have all of The West Wing, Doctor Who and Pretty Little Liars.
• Impractical Jokers. That series is surprisingly huge.
• HBO Max will be the exclusive streaming home of CW dramas like Riverdale and Batwoman.
• Studio Ghibli’s entire library will be available to stream, including classics like Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away. And as long as we’re talking about anime, HBO Max is promising a new one every quarter, curated by the experts at @Crunchyroll.
• Lots of Adult Swim shows like Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Robot Chicken, Samurai Jack and Rick and Morty.
• The Matrix movies, The Conjuring movies, The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies, and The LEGO Movie…movies.
• WarnerMedia is working with TCM to bring classic movies to the service, including Casablanca, Citizen Kane, The Shining, A Star is Born, Singin’ in the Rain, 2001: A Space Odyssey, “and many more.”
• There will be a lot of BBC on HBO Max, including shows like Luther, Top Gear and the original version of The Office — NBC’s streaming service Peacock will have the American take.
• WarnerMedia has first pick on DC stuff, meaning that Joker starring Joaquin Phoenix will be available to watch.

And of course, HBO Max will have lots of HBO stuff, from Game of Thrones to The Sopranos to Sex and the City to Westworld to Watchmen to The Wire and beyond. It’ll also get HBO’s Game of Thrones follow-up, House of the Dragon, when it comes out.

I think that’s a pretty good lineup of licensed content, but the originals are meh, at least to me. Is this good enough to spend $15 per month on? What do you all think?

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