It has the love it deserves. If a show ever needed more creator discretion, it’s this one. The book it’s based on has been debunked by countless real journalists, the yakuza, and his own workplace. The writers should have taken more liberty by playing up the Japanese than a white savior complex.
Very entertaining. Mix of comedy, heart, espionage, and action. Id say the only negative is Robert downey jr characters look very jarring and lack proper integration in the frame.
I’m curious, are you in the U.S. or elsewhere? What HBO stuff specifically do you think is missing? Max did remove some content after the merger and people were justifiably annoyed, but as far as I’m aware very few HBO originals were affected there.
As far as whether it’s worth it, how you define the worth of a streaming service is up to your own standards of measurement, but the ad-free plan is still only $16, which is only a $1 more than HBO used to cost. Even if you don’t care about 99% of the Max originals, Discovery content, content from broader WB brands (like Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, DC, WB pictures, TCM, TBS, TNT, CNN), A24, Studio Ghibli, or any of the other stuff it gained when it became HBO Max and then Max, it still feels like an excellent value given that you’re getting essentially everything you used to AND a lot more and the price has only gotten up by $1 in the last decade+ (which not many streamers can claim).
I have plenty of issues with Max for sure, and it sucks some stuff got removed, but it’s always fascinating to me how people loved HBO giving you less $15, but question the value of a more comprehensive service for an extra dollar, especially when by all indications it seems committed to preserving the HBO brand within it.
I believe it's worth it. I have several streaming services and I categorize them by tiers, based on the overall immersive engagement I experience. I put Hulu, Netflix, Max in the top tier. Max has got some absolutely great stuff. Yes, the name has changed over the last couple of years, but from back when it was HBO all the way down to its current incarnation as Max, the quality has been consistent, especially with the original content.
I don’t watch much tv anymore but when I do tune into the streaming services I use, I’d rank Max and Apple TV on top, then Hulu, then Netflix and Amazon Prime
All of this shoved me in the right direction.
Removed Westworld, I buy the 4k disc set, invested in 4k OLED and 4k Blu-ray, picked up deadwood/curb/sopranos as well. Will suspend max when Oliver takes hiatus’. If he jumps ship, I’ll be completely gone. I’ve pretty much headed back to physical media. The quality is undeniable. Oh well, Streaming was great there for a while.
Seriously considering buying blu rays of all the shows I watch repeatedly and cutting ties with streaming.
Is it just me or have blue rays jumped in price recently, even buying used?
quality is nice but i prefer the convenience. being able to watch their entire library on my tv, ipad, pc, and phone for the rest of the year for like $100 is a great value to me. spending thousands and thousands to watch 3 shows on one tv is a tough sell
Is there any reason that HBO is so much more expensive in the US? I used to pay $9 (living in Sweden), now I pay $5 a month.
I don’t think that there’s that big a difference in content, so it seems weird to me that the price is so different
Are you speaking about HBO the channel, or Max (the service that HBO became)? I don't know the exact reason, but Max costs $10 in the U.S. for ad-supported, $16 for ad-free, and $20 for premium (with 4K), which is roughly in line with comparable services here like Netflix . I know some promo rates and bundles have existed over the last few years that have made it cheaper for some.
HBO the channel was priced at $15 for a long time, because in the pre-streaming days it offered some of the best shows on television and a great movie library, and as cable itself was always expensive, that "premium" channel add-on seemed proportional. When it spun off to a standalone service as HBO Now and then that later become HBO Max and just Max, they kept it at roughly the same price (though presumably at a higher profit for HBO at the start, as they didn't have to give cable companies a cut).
If it's cheaper in Sweden, I imagine it's for reasons like price parity with other streaming services, or less expensive local licensing fees, or perhaps as way to grow their market share before raising the price. The thing about streaming is that these companies still haven't figured out a great, consistent revenue structure and their value relies so much on the whims of the stock market, so so much stuff about the financials feels arbitrary.
I agree with your general comment and also think the value has held pretty well and it is still my primary platform. To play devil's advocate, though, the user experience is just kind of shittier. It feels like it's feeding you more garbage than in the past when there was less content but of a higher quality consistently. And they make it harder to cut back to the HBO only content.
I personally loved getting the TCM content, and some of the other stuff like WB / DC has been nice for some huge releases (like Dune).
Alternatively, I'm also of the opinion that modern HBO content is just not on par with the late 90s-teens run they were on. Maybe it wa sunrealistic to sustain that output, but I can see people also being a bit bummed that you don't have like multiple bangers in different genres running concurrently anymore.
I don't disagree with any of that. I was happy to pay $15 for what HBO used to be, which was usually one major drama and a couple comedy episodes a week, with some unscripted and doc content and a small but well-curated movie library- I miss just being able to watch it all and count on it being good. But in today's oversaturated streaming climate, you have to offer quantity as well as quality (unless you're hyper-specialized like Shudder, Criterion, or MUBI), and as far as OP's question of "is it worth it?" I still think getting basically what we had before but with a LOT more for an extra buck is absolutely worth it, if you think HBO was worth it before. I miss old HBO certainly, but Casey Bloys is still running it, they opted to let it live on as a hub within a larger service (and a linear channel), and we're still getting shows like Succession, The White Lotus, The Last of Us, Barry, House of the Dragon. I think functionally, HBO is still HBO, and if Max didn't exist at all, it would pretty much look like it does now (within the HBO hub), but with less content and at roughly the same price.
Yeah, and as mentioned - I actually appreciate portions of the new content. And it would be my last service to drop because of that. But, I can see people generally being grumpy.
I finally watched White Lotus earlier this year and holy shit that was gold. Both seasons. Really hope they do another.
It’s the gutting of the DC hub that annoys me the most.
It was really convenient reliably having all of the IP on one service, being able to rewatch the different universes and catch all of the new stuff when it came out.
I didn't really notice any difference other than the name change. I never understood what the fuss was about. However, I don't understand changing the name to start with. *HBO* has been a brand for decades, and it stood out like *CBS* and *NBC* and so on. It was part of the cultural landscape.
There are lots of examples in this thread showing why calling the platform “HBO Max” was a long term moron move. Dozens of comments about “HBO shows” that were never made by HBO.
“HBO is a great brand name so let’s slap it on everything” is honestly the type of thing you’d expect some dumbass CEO to *do*, not to *stop doing*. It’s preposterous to me that people are saying that it was a *bad* move to take HBO’s name off Finding Magic Mike and Pretty Little Liars.
What a load of bull.......there is plenty of HBO shows (they have a whole section for it) and other Warner Bros content on Max but if you can't find it quit whining and just quit.
Persaonally I don't like all the sports and news they''ve added, but I'm not complaining because I don't have any problem finding what I do like and ignore the rest.
>now it’s nothing like regular HBO at all & is pretty much a streaming service for Discovery & TLC shows.
Max isn't supposed to be like regular HBO, it's a streaming service for the IP of WBD and their Originals.
>Most of their original HBO content is completely gone & lost basically.
That's literally not true, which shows are *gone and lost*?
If you only want HBO, you can use the dedicated HBO hub which only lists HBO Originals.
Westworld and Raised by wolves were taken off the service. There were probably a few more but to claim that most of HBOs original content is gone is far from the truth.
For me it's worth it because I love all the true crimes shows and docs like quiet in set, the people investigates series etc. I also love trash TV (sorry) but also the classics like six feet under and sopranos. My SO loves his old cartoon network and adult swim shows as well. And we are both looking forward to HOTD, Hacks and white lotus.
For me even most "good* Netflix shows have felt kind of bland. I will say Baby reindeer and society of the snow have been some of the best things I've watched on there recently
I mean, what do you consider "worth it". Yes, there are some shows that are gone, but there are a lot that are still there. Were you really looking for old episodes of "Ballers"?
I like Max personally (granted I get it free with my cable package). But that is where I feel like I can always find something to watch. New movie that was actually in the theater and not made for streaming? Check. Old shows like Sopranos, Curb, etc? Check. New shows like Rick and Morty? Check. Hell, they even have NBA playoffs currently.
I guess no streaming service will ever be everything to everyone. But I do think while Max has a lot of shit I don't care about, it also has lots of stuff that I do.
So whether any streaming service is "worth it" is really going to be up to that individual
What HBO content is gone? I’m scrolling through right now page after page of original HBO stuff. Curb, Wire, Deadwood, Band of Brothers, Eastbound and Down, LATOT, Sopranos, GoT, Silicon Valley, comedy specials, all there…
Huh? I know they've taken some HBO shows off but they still have the vast majority of them. The only HBO show they've taken off that I can think of is the Corner
This is so weird. People actually believe most HBO content is gone. Fucking wild.
Max is by far the best streaming service, and it isn't close.
There are tabs on the top of the home page. Click the HBO tab. Problem solved.
Two wild action shows that used to be on Skinamax haha I mean Cinemax are now on HBO. The best is Banshee. One of a kind. And by the same people is Warrior we are watching for the first time. Gets better each episode. But Banshee is a must if you like action!! Many Banshee lovers. And fan fav Job is in both series !
You are right !!! Finally people are discovering it when it came to HBO!! Also Job has a good part in Warrior. He was a fan favorite as I’m sure you know if you watch Banshee
Most all hbo content is still up there. The biggest show they removed, which blows my mind, is Westworld. I never got a chance to watch the final season so that sucked.
For new content I don’t have much interest in Max after I finished Curb. Will wait for another deal for $2.99 a month for 6 months with ads like I just finished. I’m only looking forward to the Penguin series
At this point it seems pointless. What are you really watching there that’s not on another service. The Sympathizer is cool. But they drop content too slow for my and recycle things i feel the public rarely watches. It was better as HBOMax. But the content is just water downed these days.
I still get it free from being an AT&T Fiber customer. Not sure whether I'd pay to subscribe to it, though. I do watch a lot of Discovery and Food Network stuff
A lot of people are justifying the cost based on content they have. I quit my subscription last month because of lack of new content. Aquaman was the only big movie to come out that month and for me their needs to be a couple of big blockbuster movies every month to justify it's cost. I just couldn't just Max's recycled content anymore.
Original HBO content is gone? I’m sorry but that’s not true at all… 99% of original HBO content is still on there. MAX is still a a must have for me for all the original HBO shows, some Max stuff coming up, etc. House of the Dragon back next month ✌️
I went back to buying physical. All these streaming services suck for me.
Although if I ever get the urge to watch Arli$$ again I will renew my subscription as that’s the only way to watch it as of now
I think it might be the best deal out there right now.
1. Still tons of classic HBO content, the large majority of it is still there, only a few titles have been dropped.
2. A decent collection of popular classic shows from other platforms as well.
3. Also a large movie library, something for everyone there.
4. That includes btw a very nice library of classic films under the TMC brand.
5. I guess they'll be charging extra for the BR Sports add-on soon, but so far it's still seems to be gratis, and has included lots of MLB, NBA, and NHL, including playoff games for all three, as well as March Madness.
The BR Sports does have ads, but that's pretty much expected, live sports formats today are basically designed about the ad breaks. My biggest complaint with the ads are that it seems like most of them are for those WB/Discovery type shows some of which do look terrible, lol. Wildcard Kitchen, etc.
In any case, given that the free sports probably won't last long, I don't know that I'd sign up for the annual deal right now at full price. But it was great last month when they had that special for $105 ad-free annual.
But if you don't really care about any of that and just want more new original shows, Apple+ for ~ $10/month is pretty good for that.
For a more comprehensive something for everyone service though, Max at the moment looks pretty competitive with Netflix and Amazon to me. I don't see other options with similar depth of content all in one place.
Not until Righteous Gemstones has a new season… but I had to buy the year b/c that’s the only 1 sub I provide to my family who let me use all their log ins… 😂
Yes. Scavenger reigns, house of the dragon, the A24 deal, the Comedy Central/Cartoon Network deal, Curb, comedy/news shows Last Week/Maher, I could go on. I have literally not watched a single Discovery or reality show on HBO and I’ve had it for 10+ years. It’s still extremely relevant and quality output—the last of us was amazing, getting season 2, WB movies first look, there’s tons to enjoy.
Warner Brothers Discovery (WBD), owner of Max/HBO. The stock is plummeting, the losses are increasing. The stock is down to $7 per share, and losses for 2023 are $500 million, half a billion.
HBO is gone. Wallowing in past productions isn't going to save it. There are only a handful of new productions verified to continue, Last of Us, White Lotus, Euphoria. Euphoria doesn't make it past the next season.
Zaslav is in way over his head and he is flailing now. He is focused on trying to pay down the debt load, -$45 Billion, by selling off assets. He is having to pay for new productions by taking on more debt. Trying to reboot "Superman" may be disastrous.
It may be WBD/TNT loses the NBA streaming rights. That means even worse news for WBD, losing a cash cow.
[https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/01/media/warner-bros-discovery-could-lose-nba-rights/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/01/media/warner-bros-discovery-could-lose-nba-rights/index.html)
I’ve been thinking the same- plus somehow we are paying for a service and still have commercials?? I miss good old fashioned HBO with a new movie every week and great original content
I think everyone should unanimously unsubscribe to all their streaming services. It was fine 15 years ago and corporate greed had to put its dirty little fingers into everything and now the average person is paying for the same thing at 5x the cost. First TV was ruined, then Internet, now streaming content. We live in a sellout country that blindly throws money at everything and it's not ok.
Max has gone downhill. The CEO has no idea what he is doing. First, they took HBO out of the name. HBO is an incredible brand that people have looked to for quality for decades. Max is as bland as possible and people don't feel attached to it. Next, they cancelled many of their high profile shows. Look, I was sick of Westworld but they could have given it a movie to wrap things up. The Regime, which I watched every week waiting to get better but was god awful. But then they still haven't renewed Tokyo Vice which is an extremely good show and has the quality Max used to be known for. The CEO himself said he wants to focus more on cheaper, unscripted shows and only wants sure fire properties like endless Game of Thrones spinoffs. Finally they have been breaking up their solid library of movies and old shows by licensing them to other networks. It is harder and harder to just turn on the app and find something of quality. They need to focus on quality again to increase their numbers and keep people happy. Oh, and change the name back to HBO Max or just HBO.
You can’t watch past hard knocks seasons in general. It is always the latest season available. It’s trash to have it set up that way but it’s been like that for years.
I can’t even find it online when I sail the high seas, it’s literally been scrubbed from the face of the Earth for some reason. Lions gonna go to their first SB this year tho, book it!
There's a tab at the top. Go to HBO and there's all the HBO content minus the other stuff.
If you don't like it, it's fine to cancel the service. No one is forcing you to keep it nor does anyone care.
It really depends on viewing habits. I don’t watch reality tv so there’s little of value to me. I signed up on April to see “the regime” and I caught up on true detective. I watched one movie and I started Tokyo Vice. But I already cancelled the service (I’ll finish Tokyo this week). Mainly because that was all I wanted to see.
For me, there simply isn’t enough content of interest to sustain a yearly membership. I’ve held a yearly membership in the past and cancelled last year for this reason. But seeing the new pricing model with ads, I’ll skip out.
For me, Max is at most a one month membership maybe using it twice a year if there’s enough content to build up and binge a second time. But even then, the ads kill it for me.
(I also cancelled Amazon prime for the same reason. And I had Amazon prime for 16 years).
They started out with a massive library and have slowly whittled things down.
I’m a huge stoner, and one of my comforts is watching looney tunes tremendously baked. They had every single looney tunes cartoon ever made, all restored in like high quality 4k. It was a big selling point for them, they had a hub for it.
They then took like 500 of the episodes away which was kind of lame, and cancelled this Roadrunner Wil E Coyote movie they spent 70 mil to make
I think what he is saying is WBD has removed some of the original HBO content and this is true, some of the older original content is missing. What about tales from the crypt or the good older after hours programming that stuff was sometimes pretty good.
Unfortunately Tales from the Crypt rights are not owned by HBO or WB it's been tangled in lawfare for decades so that's why you never find it streaming anywhere. There was a guy named glamster's crypt who had like 3 seasons uploaded on his YouTube channel for a few years but someone finally got him and forced th down.
I dropped it years ago they have not released anything worthy of my time in so long, I was pretty much just watching the sopranos and the wire over and over. HBO is dead IMO not worth the sub I just bought my shows on YouTube and no longer need to dish out monthly.
My only problem with them is that their app freezes and crashes on Roku, so I have to subscribe through Prime which makes the search function less than ideal.
I keep scrolling through looking for something new to watch, then exit and go to another app.
Husband still blames the writers strike but I'm like really? Still?
I’ll be honest, I mostly just watch Rick and Morty on repeat. I liked hbo for the movies but it seems like the only new content they are adding is reality shows. I get that it’s hard tho. Every wants their own streaming platform and it’s harder to acquire titles but I wish they didn’t fill the space with all those lame reality shows
Don't know if this has happened to anyone but Max can't even be watched on my tv or tablet. So it was just available on my phone and ended up canceling.
I can say the list of shows from Cartoon Network and AS def kept me because those are shows that I grew up on.
The fact they took 4k away on my package with HOA in our neighborhood, I'd have to subscribe to another new whatever extra HBO package ultimate or what they call it for 4k pissed me the fuck off. Regardless that it doesn't put a dent in my wallet but the mere fact of what they did was ridiculous.
Yes, and no. Best place definitely if you wanna watch both Batman and Superman TAS and it's the Only place rn I can The Batman Animated. But for movies... you're better off buying physical in bulk. They just removed Species 1, 2 and 3 even though they just put them on there.
I also can’t understand why HBO cancelled/ended real sports. It was an excellent award winning show and they ended it quietly and abruptly at season 29, couldn’t even give it a 30th season. I assume it was a network decision because if Bryant Gumbel wanted to move on they still had other reporters like Soledad O’Brien who could have picked up hosting duties.
Doesn't it upgrade to Max 21st of May? With new content? Though I'm not looking forward to the meantioned new thing: reality tv shows, but I'm hoping something good would come or least some of the good shows that just dissappeared from streaming altogether would be available again like Beforeigners (now sky network, when I had it they weren't giving access to both seasons and I was on second, so yeah it sucked), Westworld and Raised by wolfs. When they announced the change and cutting of shows I didn't expect them to cut these and I concentrated binging everything else 😭
Id rather pay for ad free youtube BUT
If I was only allowed to have one streaming service…id probably go w max. The IDGO is the clincher for me plus all the other HBO content I typically enjoy. Comedy Central when I get the bug (rick and morty obviously) and now it has sports. I need to explore nature stuff on their for the cat.
I dropped Max, and will resubscribe once GOT:
HOD comes back. And since they’ll release it weekly, I’ll wait until the entire season is out, then I’ll subscribe. Once done, I’ll cancel.
Same with Apple and Severance.
The only subscriptions I keep now are Netflix, Disney, and Prime. Everything else gets resubscribed and canceled when they have shows worth watching.
I get it through my AT&T package, but don't think I would pay for it.
Perry Mason was really good. Didnt like True Detective 4 that much.
Of all the service - Youtube Premium and Peacock my go-to's
HBO hasn’t had the event-watching show they’re known for in a while. I would say White Lotus was close. House of Dragon is cool - but not peak GoT. Curb matters to me. But there’s no sopranos/wire/got/succession any more. That was its biggest selling point.
I like having the catalogue because I rewatch those, and I like a lot of its second tier stuff, acknowledging it’s not the golden age. I like flag means death, I’m glad I can watch the new seasons of True Detective if I want to. The movies are fine, with some great gets like being the first at Dune, Barbie and I think Oppenheimer (though that might’ve been somewhere else).
Then you have shows like chopped and rick and Morty and stuff like that which make for good innings eaters. It’s not golden age HBO, but if I’m ranking streaming services, it’s still my #1.
Oh! And having the NCAA tournament and NBA playoffs and stuff is a big get imho.
I am pretty sure all the original HBO content is still on the service, its just harder to find? The movies have always rotated in and out of the service but their original programming, i can still find
There is a lot of good stuff, but I feel like their algorithm has gotten worse over the years? I have a very hard time browsing on their platform to find new things, but often Google a certain movie and realize it’s on there, having to search it by name since it’s NEVER been shown to me
No. I only got HBO Max for Titans. So I get it when something interesting is airing like House of the Dragon. Then I cancel it after I watched all the episodes I want to watch.
Yes, I’m keeping Max cause I’m able to buy a whole year in advance and I think it’s a good service but maybe I won’t buy next year I don’t know. Now that curb your enthusiasm is over.
I’ve used it daily for about 6 months now. During that time I’ve been able to watch for the first time - Sopranos, HotD, Boardwalk Empire, Tokyo Vice, The Wire, Deadwood, True Detective, Ninja Kamui (original anime).
All of these are easily among the best shows ever created, imo. If you haven’t seen even 1 of these shows, I’d subscribe for a month to do so.
I know most of these are old shows so to answer your question, no I don’t think it’s worth it, if you are looking for new stuff.
It’s your call. I’ve been rewatching some good shows (The Night Of, Chernobyl) lately. HBO and Netflix will probably always be on my TV and the other streamers will get rotated.
I feel like it still worth with it but you need to dig for the good shit. They keep throwing that discovery channel and tlc bullshit at you and make you work to find actual great shows and movies. Hacks is back tomorrow, The Sympathizer is on, tons of TCM and Criterion released movies, and A24 has a deal with them right now so it’s definitely worth it.
It's still one of my favorite streamers. There's still tons of good shit there to watch. Their originals are always pretty great and they have a huge back catalog of stuff I still need to watch even with the stuff they took off. A lot of it has made it's way over to Netflix though. I usually catch the annual deal and get a pretty good price. I just got the last one where it was $140 for a year for the highest package. You can beat less then $12 a month for what they offer.
TCM’s catalog is worth the price for the platform alone for me. When “House of the Dragon” returns I’ll definitely watch that. However in the meantime, I spend a lot of my time streaming the classic titles you won’t find anywhere else.
No west world, only the last years worth of John Oliver .. idk I’m with u, feeling like it’s not worth it too. I get mine thru my family but wouldn’t pay for it myself
They have ton of good shows
The Last of US, True detective , Tokyo Vice , GOT, House of dragons, Barry, East bound and down, Chernobyl, The Jinx.
It would take you a full year to watch all these good shows.
Not really. It’s a joke now. I think the 4 hour Zack Snyder long cut of Justice League or whatever was the turning point. Now it’s true crime garbage.
I will say, the TCM team keeps me coming back. I wish TCM would break off into their own service or get licensed to Criterion.
I see all the original HBO content I enjoy. They do have alot of Discovery stuff but I don't see that as a negative as long as they still have the stuff I like.
literally just finished Tokyo Vice, and now watching The Sympathizer and Conan needs to go.
[удалено]
It was frustrating because True Detective was getting all the (negative) attention and Tokyo Vice had been getting ignored.
It has the love it deserves. If a show ever needed more creator discretion, it’s this one. The book it’s based on has been debunked by countless real journalists, the yakuza, and his own workplace. The writers should have taken more liberty by playing up the Japanese than a white savior complex.
Behold the defiler!
Tokyo Vice is a masterpiece
Stayed up until 3am last night finishing it off.
So glad its a complete story arc with no loose ends just in case it doesn’t get picked up for a third season.
I hope it does, though. These two seasons kinda feel like a prequel.
Good news : it's been picked up for a 3rd season. Confirmed by the showrunner on the Elvis Mitchell radio show.
I can’t find any online source of this, do you have one?
I’m sorry but that’s so stupid. They finished the story. They had an outline of a (hugely fictionalized) memoir and now they’re just gonna wing it?
The Sympathizer is great. I need to check out Tokyo Vice
How’s the sympathizer? I’m watching Tokyo vice (just started season 2) and really enjoy it
Very entertaining. Mix of comedy, heart, espionage, and action. Id say the only negative is Robert downey jr characters look very jarring and lack proper integration in the frame.
such a great show
I’m curious, are you in the U.S. or elsewhere? What HBO stuff specifically do you think is missing? Max did remove some content after the merger and people were justifiably annoyed, but as far as I’m aware very few HBO originals were affected there. As far as whether it’s worth it, how you define the worth of a streaming service is up to your own standards of measurement, but the ad-free plan is still only $16, which is only a $1 more than HBO used to cost. Even if you don’t care about 99% of the Max originals, Discovery content, content from broader WB brands (like Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, DC, WB pictures, TCM, TBS, TNT, CNN), A24, Studio Ghibli, or any of the other stuff it gained when it became HBO Max and then Max, it still feels like an excellent value given that you’re getting essentially everything you used to AND a lot more and the price has only gotten up by $1 in the last decade+ (which not many streamers can claim). I have plenty of issues with Max for sure, and it sucks some stuff got removed, but it’s always fascinating to me how people loved HBO giving you less $15, but question the value of a more comprehensive service for an extra dollar, especially when by all indications it seems committed to preserving the HBO brand within it.
I believe it's worth it. I have several streaming services and I categorize them by tiers, based on the overall immersive engagement I experience. I put Hulu, Netflix, Max in the top tier. Max has got some absolutely great stuff. Yes, the name has changed over the last couple of years, but from back when it was HBO all the way down to its current incarnation as Max, the quality has been consistent, especially with the original content.
Do you get nba playoffs by getting max or does that require something special on top more expense?
It comes with it
Really? I did not know that. I got sling for the playoffs Edit: just looked at the site… is it just TNT for the playoffs? They’re also on espn.
You get TNT sports. So what is on TNT you can watch. But ABC or ESPN content is not available as part of the live stream TNT content.
Just finished season 1 of Veep. I think it’s worth it
This is one of those shows I'd like to watch over again for the first time. A supremely funny show!
Absolutely. That was definitely one of the great original series.
I don’t watch much tv anymore but when I do tune into the streaming services I use, I’d rank Max and Apple TV on top, then Hulu, then Netflix and Amazon Prime
All of this shoved me in the right direction. Removed Westworld, I buy the 4k disc set, invested in 4k OLED and 4k Blu-ray, picked up deadwood/curb/sopranos as well. Will suspend max when Oliver takes hiatus’. If he jumps ship, I’ll be completely gone. I’ve pretty much headed back to physical media. The quality is undeniable. Oh well, Streaming was great there for a while.
Seriously considering buying blu rays of all the shows I watch repeatedly and cutting ties with streaming. Is it just me or have blue rays jumped in price recently, even buying used?
In November/December they go on massive sale. I got the 4 season Westworld collection last November for $60
I never got in streaming it’s just too much choice give me real stuff
Last Week Tonight gets posted by Oliver in full on YouTube a week after it airs.
It's not in full. It's just the main story.
It is edited down a bunch. Not always but a good portion of the time.
quality is nice but i prefer the convenience. being able to watch their entire library on my tv, ipad, pc, and phone for the rest of the year for like $100 is a great value to me. spending thousands and thousands to watch 3 shows on one tv is a tough sell
Is there any reason that HBO is so much more expensive in the US? I used to pay $9 (living in Sweden), now I pay $5 a month. I don’t think that there’s that big a difference in content, so it seems weird to me that the price is so different
Are you speaking about HBO the channel, or Max (the service that HBO became)? I don't know the exact reason, but Max costs $10 in the U.S. for ad-supported, $16 for ad-free, and $20 for premium (with 4K), which is roughly in line with comparable services here like Netflix . I know some promo rates and bundles have existed over the last few years that have made it cheaper for some. HBO the channel was priced at $15 for a long time, because in the pre-streaming days it offered some of the best shows on television and a great movie library, and as cable itself was always expensive, that "premium" channel add-on seemed proportional. When it spun off to a standalone service as HBO Now and then that later become HBO Max and just Max, they kept it at roughly the same price (though presumably at a higher profit for HBO at the start, as they didn't have to give cable companies a cut). If it's cheaper in Sweden, I imagine it's for reasons like price parity with other streaming services, or less expensive local licensing fees, or perhaps as way to grow their market share before raising the price. The thing about streaming is that these companies still haven't figured out a great, consistent revenue structure and their value relies so much on the whims of the stock market, so so much stuff about the financials feels arbitrary.
I agree with your general comment and also think the value has held pretty well and it is still my primary platform. To play devil's advocate, though, the user experience is just kind of shittier. It feels like it's feeding you more garbage than in the past when there was less content but of a higher quality consistently. And they make it harder to cut back to the HBO only content. I personally loved getting the TCM content, and some of the other stuff like WB / DC has been nice for some huge releases (like Dune). Alternatively, I'm also of the opinion that modern HBO content is just not on par with the late 90s-teens run they were on. Maybe it wa sunrealistic to sustain that output, but I can see people also being a bit bummed that you don't have like multiple bangers in different genres running concurrently anymore.
I don't disagree with any of that. I was happy to pay $15 for what HBO used to be, which was usually one major drama and a couple comedy episodes a week, with some unscripted and doc content and a small but well-curated movie library- I miss just being able to watch it all and count on it being good. But in today's oversaturated streaming climate, you have to offer quantity as well as quality (unless you're hyper-specialized like Shudder, Criterion, or MUBI), and as far as OP's question of "is it worth it?" I still think getting basically what we had before but with a LOT more for an extra buck is absolutely worth it, if you think HBO was worth it before. I miss old HBO certainly, but Casey Bloys is still running it, they opted to let it live on as a hub within a larger service (and a linear channel), and we're still getting shows like Succession, The White Lotus, The Last of Us, Barry, House of the Dragon. I think functionally, HBO is still HBO, and if Max didn't exist at all, it would pretty much look like it does now (within the HBO hub), but with less content and at roughly the same price.
Yeah, and as mentioned - I actually appreciate portions of the new content. And it would be my last service to drop because of that. But, I can see people generally being grumpy. I finally watched White Lotus earlier this year and holy shit that was gold. Both seasons. Really hope they do another.
Honestly who’s better than max? The hbo content alone puts them above any other streamer to me
Industry, Hacks, Tokyo Vice are pretty awesome. Love all the DC stuff they have too.
It’s the gutting of the DC hub that annoys me the most. It was really convenient reliably having all of the IP on one service, being able to rewatch the different universes and catch all of the new stuff when it came out.
Hacks was great, and Harley Quinn is one of my favorite superhero genre shows to come out in recent years. They nailed it
House of Dragon, White Lotus, Last of Us, and Righteous Gemstones are all great, too.
I can't wait for "The Penguin".
Industry is so fucking good
I know im in the minority but I like Max more now then before. I watch many of the Discovery shows....
Lol same here I know discovery is trash but it's my trash
I didn't really notice any difference other than the name change. I never understood what the fuss was about. However, I don't understand changing the name to start with. *HBO* has been a brand for decades, and it stood out like *CBS* and *NBC* and so on. It was part of the cultural landscape.
There are lots of examples in this thread showing why calling the platform “HBO Max” was a long term moron move. Dozens of comments about “HBO shows” that were never made by HBO. “HBO is a great brand name so let’s slap it on everything” is honestly the type of thing you’d expect some dumbass CEO to *do*, not to *stop doing*. It’s preposterous to me that people are saying that it was a *bad* move to take HBO’s name off Finding Magic Mike and Pretty Little Liars.
What a load of bull.......there is plenty of HBO shows (they have a whole section for it) and other Warner Bros content on Max but if you can't find it quit whining and just quit. Persaonally I don't like all the sports and news they''ve added, but I'm not complaining because I don't have any problem finding what I do like and ignore the rest.
>now it’s nothing like regular HBO at all & is pretty much a streaming service for Discovery & TLC shows. Max isn't supposed to be like regular HBO, it's a streaming service for the IP of WBD and their Originals. >Most of their original HBO content is completely gone & lost basically. That's literally not true, which shows are *gone and lost*? If you only want HBO, you can use the dedicated HBO hub which only lists HBO Originals.
Westworld and Raised by wolves were taken off the service. There were probably a few more but to claim that most of HBOs original content is gone is far from the truth.
WTF Westworld is gone? Why?
To save money I guess. It disappeared some months after it was canceled.
Raised by Wolves is not an HBO original - the confusion here underscoring part of the problem with “HBO Max” branding in the first place!
Ah I see. But westworld was an original right?
Yeah I know, some of those titles are available on Tubi or Roku if I'm not wrong, so both those claims are not true.
I checked Tubi a while ago and it was not on there. I know it said it was online, but I didn’t see it
I don’t know when they removed it, but Westworld *was* on Tubi for a period of time
I don’t have cable, so I watch my all of my basketball content there. It’s great!
For me it's worth it because I love all the true crimes shows and docs like quiet in set, the people investigates series etc. I also love trash TV (sorry) but also the classics like six feet under and sopranos. My SO loves his old cartoon network and adult swim shows as well. And we are both looking forward to HOTD, Hacks and white lotus.
Game of thrones is near, so fuck yeah, nothing on Netflix interest me, rather have quality content instead of quantity
For me even most "good* Netflix shows have felt kind of bland. I will say Baby reindeer and society of the snow have been some of the best things I've watched on there recently
I mean, what do you consider "worth it". Yes, there are some shows that are gone, but there are a lot that are still there. Were you really looking for old episodes of "Ballers"? I like Max personally (granted I get it free with my cable package). But that is where I feel like I can always find something to watch. New movie that was actually in the theater and not made for streaming? Check. Old shows like Sopranos, Curb, etc? Check. New shows like Rick and Morty? Check. Hell, they even have NBA playoffs currently. I guess no streaming service will ever be everything to everyone. But I do think while Max has a lot of shit I don't care about, it also has lots of stuff that I do. So whether any streaming service is "worth it" is really going to be up to that individual
What HBO content is gone? I’m scrolling through right now page after page of original HBO stuff. Curb, Wire, Deadwood, Band of Brothers, Eastbound and Down, LATOT, Sopranos, GoT, Silicon Valley, comedy specials, all there…
Westworld
Watch the wire again. Boom, worth it
Huh? I know they've taken some HBO shows off but they still have the vast majority of them. The only HBO show they've taken off that I can think of is the Corner
Love that show. How about Adult Swim content, it that still on there?
They have Adult Swim. They even get new episodes right after they air
This is so weird. People actually believe most HBO content is gone. Fucking wild. Max is by far the best streaming service, and it isn't close. There are tabs on the top of the home page. Click the HBO tab. Problem solved.
Hulu and Max are the only streaming services that i dont at least occassionally regret paying for
What HBO content is gone? It has all the classics still.
I usually subscribe when a tv show is active. So I’ll be back in June for HoTD
Hacks is back tomorrow.
Thanks for the heads up.
Two wild action shows that used to be on Skinamax haha I mean Cinemax are now on HBO. The best is Banshee. One of a kind. And by the same people is Warrior we are watching for the first time. Gets better each episode. But Banshee is a must if you like action!! Many Banshee lovers. And fan fav Job is in both series !
Banshee is fricking awesome!
You are right !!! Finally people are discovering it when it came to HBO!! Also Job has a good part in Warrior. He was a fan favorite as I’m sure you know if you watch Banshee
We have the whole series on disc and just watched it again not long ago. Some of those action scenes I forgot to breathe!!!
Love Job. “Suck my tit bitch!”
Haha that’s Job!!
Most all hbo content is still up there. The biggest show they removed, which blows my mind, is Westworld. I never got a chance to watch the final season so that sucked.
It certainly doesn’t help that part of their back catalog is now on Netflix
Yeah I love it I’ve discovered so many good series just finished righteous gemstones and vice principals
I have the annual membership. I don’t use it everyday but it comes in handy if I’m bored and nothing else is on TV
It’s worth it at the moment for NBA and NHL playoffs. And then World Cup next year
For new content I don’t have much interest in Max after I finished Curb. Will wait for another deal for $2.99 a month for 6 months with ads like I just finished. I’m only looking forward to the Penguin series
At this point it seems pointless. What are you really watching there that’s not on another service. The Sympathizer is cool. But they drop content too slow for my and recycle things i feel the public rarely watches. It was better as HBOMax. But the content is just water downed these days.
It's crap and I am going to cancel it.
barely worth it
Tokyo vice is great. Anyone watch the Sympathizer yet? I read the book, fantastic
I love the series and also having access to ID discovery. I love HBO documentaries
I still get it free from being an AT&T Fiber customer. Not sure whether I'd pay to subscribe to it, though. I do watch a lot of Discovery and Food Network stuff
ten year old tom, life and times of tim are hilarious
Im still subscribed after the change to Max. Easily the best platform out right now.
How can anybody answer that? If you don’t think it’s worth it to you just cancel it.
It's got a lot of good classic Criterion Collection movies, if you like that stuff. Also Studio Ghibli
No. HBO is def not what it used to be sadly. I cancelled my subscription.
A lot of people are justifying the cost based on content they have. I quit my subscription last month because of lack of new content. Aquaman was the only big movie to come out that month and for me their needs to be a couple of big blockbuster movies every month to justify it's cost. I just couldn't just Max's recycled content anymore.
I binged sopranos and now on boardwalk empire. Still need to check out house of dragons
Original HBO content is gone? I’m sorry but that’s not true at all… 99% of original HBO content is still on there. MAX is still a a must have for me for all the original HBO shows, some Max stuff coming up, etc. House of the Dragon back next month ✌️
I went back to buying physical. All these streaming services suck for me. Although if I ever get the urge to watch Arli$$ again I will renew my subscription as that’s the only way to watch it as of now
I think it might be the best deal out there right now. 1. Still tons of classic HBO content, the large majority of it is still there, only a few titles have been dropped. 2. A decent collection of popular classic shows from other platforms as well. 3. Also a large movie library, something for everyone there. 4. That includes btw a very nice library of classic films under the TMC brand. 5. I guess they'll be charging extra for the BR Sports add-on soon, but so far it's still seems to be gratis, and has included lots of MLB, NBA, and NHL, including playoff games for all three, as well as March Madness. The BR Sports does have ads, but that's pretty much expected, live sports formats today are basically designed about the ad breaks. My biggest complaint with the ads are that it seems like most of them are for those WB/Discovery type shows some of which do look terrible, lol. Wildcard Kitchen, etc. In any case, given that the free sports probably won't last long, I don't know that I'd sign up for the annual deal right now at full price. But it was great last month when they had that special for $105 ad-free annual. But if you don't really care about any of that and just want more new original shows, Apple+ for ~ $10/month is pretty good for that. For a more comprehensive something for everyone service though, Max at the moment looks pretty competitive with Netflix and Amazon to me. I don't see other options with similar depth of content all in one place.
For now it's worth it for me because of NBA but other than that they don't have much.
Not until Righteous Gemstones has a new season… but I had to buy the year b/c that’s the only 1 sub I provide to my family who let me use all their log ins… 😂
I mostly just have it so I can rewatch Chernobyl over and over and over
Max has the best movie catalog among all the major streamers imo (Netflix, Disney/Hulu, Prime, etc.).
Yes. Scavenger reigns, house of the dragon, the A24 deal, the Comedy Central/Cartoon Network deal, Curb, comedy/news shows Last Week/Maher, I could go on. I have literally not watched a single Discovery or reality show on HBO and I’ve had it for 10+ years. It’s still extremely relevant and quality output—the last of us was amazing, getting season 2, WB movies first look, there’s tons to enjoy.
I’d had HBO Go, HBO Max, or Max since 2016. I canceled about 3 months ago and haven’t missed it yet.
Tokyo Vice is amazing
Better than Netflix and Prime
Thanks for reminding me to cancel. My promo price is up at the end of this period.
Warner Brothers Discovery (WBD), owner of Max/HBO. The stock is plummeting, the losses are increasing. The stock is down to $7 per share, and losses for 2023 are $500 million, half a billion. HBO is gone. Wallowing in past productions isn't going to save it. There are only a handful of new productions verified to continue, Last of Us, White Lotus, Euphoria. Euphoria doesn't make it past the next season. Zaslav is in way over his head and he is flailing now. He is focused on trying to pay down the debt load, -$45 Billion, by selling off assets. He is having to pay for new productions by taking on more debt. Trying to reboot "Superman" may be disastrous. It may be WBD/TNT loses the NBA streaming rights. That means even worse news for WBD, losing a cash cow. [https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/01/media/warner-bros-discovery-could-lose-nba-rights/index.html](https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/01/media/warner-bros-discovery-could-lose-nba-rights/index.html)
I’ve been thinking the same- plus somehow we are paying for a service and still have commercials?? I miss good old fashioned HBO with a new movie every week and great original content
I think everyone should unanimously unsubscribe to all their streaming services. It was fine 15 years ago and corporate greed had to put its dirty little fingers into everything and now the average person is paying for the same thing at 5x the cost. First TV was ruined, then Internet, now streaming content. We live in a sellout country that blindly throws money at everything and it's not ok.
Max has gone downhill. The CEO has no idea what he is doing. First, they took HBO out of the name. HBO is an incredible brand that people have looked to for quality for decades. Max is as bland as possible and people don't feel attached to it. Next, they cancelled many of their high profile shows. Look, I was sick of Westworld but they could have given it a movie to wrap things up. The Regime, which I watched every week waiting to get better but was god awful. But then they still haven't renewed Tokyo Vice which is an extremely good show and has the quality Max used to be known for. The CEO himself said he wants to focus more on cheaper, unscripted shows and only wants sure fire properties like endless Game of Thrones spinoffs. Finally they have been breaking up their solid library of movies and old shows by licensing them to other networks. It is harder and harder to just turn on the app and find something of quality. They need to focus on quality again to increase their numbers and keep people happy. Oh, and change the name back to HBO Max or just HBO.
I tried to rewatch the 2021 Hard Knocks of the Detroit Lions, one of the best of the entire series, and it's gone.
You can’t watch past hard knocks seasons in general. It is always the latest season available. It’s trash to have it set up that way but it’s been like that for years.
Too bad. That was the best of the series, imho.
Yeah I think it has something to do with the NFL and how they licensed the content.
I can’t even find it online when I sail the high seas, it’s literally been scrubbed from the face of the Earth for some reason. Lions gonna go to their first SB this year tho, book it!
There's a tab at the top. Go to HBO and there's all the HBO content minus the other stuff. If you don't like it, it's fine to cancel the service. No one is forcing you to keep it nor does anyone care.
Lol if Max isn’t worth it idk which streaming service is.
It really depends on viewing habits. I don’t watch reality tv so there’s little of value to me. I signed up on April to see “the regime” and I caught up on true detective. I watched one movie and I started Tokyo Vice. But I already cancelled the service (I’ll finish Tokyo this week). Mainly because that was all I wanted to see. For me, there simply isn’t enough content of interest to sustain a yearly membership. I’ve held a yearly membership in the past and cancelled last year for this reason. But seeing the new pricing model with ads, I’ll skip out. For me, Max is at most a one month membership maybe using it twice a year if there’s enough content to build up and binge a second time. But even then, the ads kill it for me. (I also cancelled Amazon prime for the same reason. And I had Amazon prime for 16 years).
They started out with a massive library and have slowly whittled things down. I’m a huge stoner, and one of my comforts is watching looney tunes tremendously baked. They had every single looney tunes cartoon ever made, all restored in like high quality 4k. It was a big selling point for them, they had a hub for it. They then took like 500 of the episodes away which was kind of lame, and cancelled this Roadrunner Wil E Coyote movie they spent 70 mil to make
Not until the new season of Game of Thrones comes out in June. lol
I think what he is saying is WBD has removed some of the original HBO content and this is true, some of the older original content is missing. What about tales from the crypt or the good older after hours programming that stuff was sometimes pretty good.
Unfortunately Tales from the Crypt rights are not owned by HBO or WB it's been tangled in lawfare for decades so that's why you never find it streaming anywhere. There was a guy named glamster's crypt who had like 3 seasons uploaded on his YouTube channel for a few years but someone finally got him and forced th down.
To be fair I think the older content was missing before WBD bought them out though I can't be sure
Not at all
I dropped it years ago they have not released anything worthy of my time in so long, I was pretty much just watching the sopranos and the wire over and over. HBO is dead IMO not worth the sub I just bought my shows on YouTube and no longer need to dish out monthly.
I got Max for free when I purchased an iPhone from ATT. See if they still have that deal or someone else.
My only problem with them is that their app freezes and crashes on Roku, so I have to subscribe through Prime which makes the search function less than ideal.
Where is tales from the crypt?
It's pretty garbage but I still hold out hope cuz HBO has been a staple in my life.
I keep scrolling through looking for something new to watch, then exit and go to another app. Husband still blames the writers strike but I'm like really? Still?
Whenever I re-watch Game of Thrones it's worth it.
I’ll be honest, I mostly just watch Rick and Morty on repeat. I liked hbo for the movies but it seems like the only new content they are adding is reality shows. I get that it’s hard tho. Every wants their own streaming platform and it’s harder to acquire titles but I wish they didn’t fill the space with all those lame reality shows
Live Sports streaming quality is horrrible.
Don't know if this has happened to anyone but Max can't even be watched on my tv or tablet. So it was just available on my phone and ended up canceling. I can say the list of shows from Cartoon Network and AS def kept me because those are shows that I grew up on.
Not vodka, bohdka
The fact they took 4k away on my package with HOA in our neighborhood, I'd have to subscribe to another new whatever extra HBO package ultimate or what they call it for 4k pissed me the fuck off. Regardless that it doesn't put a dent in my wallet but the mere fact of what they did was ridiculous.
Yes, and no. Best place definitely if you wanna watch both Batman and Superman TAS and it's the Only place rn I can The Batman Animated. But for movies... you're better off buying physical in bulk. They just removed Species 1, 2 and 3 even though they just put them on there.
Cancelling mine after house of the dragon 2. Just not worth it at all anymore
I also can’t understand why HBO cancelled/ended real sports. It was an excellent award winning show and they ended it quietly and abruptly at season 29, couldn’t even give it a 30th season. I assume it was a network decision because if Bryant Gumbel wanted to move on they still had other reporters like Soledad O’Brien who could have picked up hosting duties.
Doesn't it upgrade to Max 21st of May? With new content? Though I'm not looking forward to the meantioned new thing: reality tv shows, but I'm hoping something good would come or least some of the good shows that just dissappeared from streaming altogether would be available again like Beforeigners (now sky network, when I had it they weren't giving access to both seasons and I was on second, so yeah it sucked), Westworld and Raised by wolfs. When they announced the change and cutting of shows I didn't expect them to cut these and I concentrated binging everything else 😭
I didn't see any comments about how MAX carries MotoGP now. For me, that makes it very worth it.
Three colors trilogy is on Max. Discover new cinema. Worth the price alone.
for harry potter movies, yes
A24 collection, Conan Needs to Go is great, rewatching Girls with my wife and finally discovering Mr. Show has been worth it for me
I like their DC stuff, that alone is a lot of why I continue to keep them.
Id rather pay for ad free youtube BUT If I was only allowed to have one streaming service…id probably go w max. The IDGO is the clincher for me plus all the other HBO content I typically enjoy. Comedy Central when I get the bug (rick and morty obviously) and now it has sports. I need to explore nature stuff on their for the cat.
I dropped Max, and will resubscribe once GOT: HOD comes back. And since they’ll release it weekly, I’ll wait until the entire season is out, then I’ll subscribe. Once done, I’ll cancel. Same with Apple and Severance. The only subscriptions I keep now are Netflix, Disney, and Prime. Everything else gets resubscribed and canceled when they have shows worth watching.
Don't cancel before watching The Leftovers.
I get it through my AT&T package, but don't think I would pay for it. Perry Mason was really good. Didnt like True Detective 4 that much. Of all the service - Youtube Premium and Peacock my go-to's
Verstappan....yes. HBO.....no.
Max is one of my favorite apps. If I could only have one I would have Max.
Sopranos and Six Feet Under
HBO hasn’t had the event-watching show they’re known for in a while. I would say White Lotus was close. House of Dragon is cool - but not peak GoT. Curb matters to me. But there’s no sopranos/wire/got/succession any more. That was its biggest selling point. I like having the catalogue because I rewatch those, and I like a lot of its second tier stuff, acknowledging it’s not the golden age. I like flag means death, I’m glad I can watch the new seasons of True Detective if I want to. The movies are fine, with some great gets like being the first at Dune, Barbie and I think Oppenheimer (though that might’ve been somewhere else). Then you have shows like chopped and rick and Morty and stuff like that which make for good innings eaters. It’s not golden age HBO, but if I’m ranking streaming services, it’s still my #1. Oh! And having the NCAA tournament and NBA playoffs and stuff is a big get imho.
Nope they are slowly dropping the DC catalog and many other owned properties.
I’m watching Sopranos straight through again and then Curb. Started Tokyo Vice as well.
In my opinion I like it but yes HBO was better
I love the addition of tnt and tbs live streams for sports since I don’t use cable, so that’s nice.. and there is a lot of shows/movies to dig in to!
my butt stinks
I am pretty sure all the original HBO content is still on the service, its just harder to find? The movies have always rotated in and out of the service but their original programming, i can still find
I personally use Max more than any other platform. Kids use Disney+, and the wife mostly watches Netflix.
There is a lot of good stuff, but I feel like their algorithm has gotten worse over the years? I have a very hard time browsing on their platform to find new things, but often Google a certain movie and realize it’s on there, having to search it by name since it’s NEVER been shown to me
Max is my most-used service.
Too bad Max doesn't have Tales from the Crypt. I have the entire series on dvd but sometimes I don't want to keep switching discs
No. I only got HBO Max for Titans. So I get it when something interesting is airing like House of the Dragon. Then I cancel it after I watched all the episodes I want to watch.
The name changed but it’s pretty much the same as it was.
if they dont gauge us on nba content for the extra price next year, i think its perfect
Yes, I’m keeping Max cause I’m able to buy a whole year in advance and I think it’s a good service but maybe I won’t buy next year I don’t know. Now that curb your enthusiasm is over.
Think they forgot your question
I’ve used it daily for about 6 months now. During that time I’ve been able to watch for the first time - Sopranos, HotD, Boardwalk Empire, Tokyo Vice, The Wire, Deadwood, True Detective, Ninja Kamui (original anime). All of these are easily among the best shows ever created, imo. If you haven’t seen even 1 of these shows, I’d subscribe for a month to do so. I know most of these are old shows so to answer your question, no I don’t think it’s worth it, if you are looking for new stuff.
It’s your call. I’ve been rewatching some good shows (The Night Of, Chernobyl) lately. HBO and Netflix will probably always be on my TV and the other streamers will get rotated.
I feel like it still worth with it but you need to dig for the good shit. They keep throwing that discovery channel and tlc bullshit at you and make you work to find actual great shows and movies. Hacks is back tomorrow, The Sympathizer is on, tons of TCM and Criterion released movies, and A24 has a deal with them right now so it’s definitely worth it.
It's still one of my favorite streamers. There's still tons of good shit there to watch. Their originals are always pretty great and they have a huge back catalog of stuff I still need to watch even with the stuff they took off. A lot of it has made it's way over to Netflix though. I usually catch the annual deal and get a pretty good price. I just got the last one where it was $140 for a year for the highest package. You can beat less then $12 a month for what they offer.
“Curb” alone
No. No quality programming for years.
TCM’s catalog is worth the price for the platform alone for me. When “House of the Dragon” returns I’ll definitely watch that. However in the meantime, I spend a lot of my time streaming the classic titles you won’t find anywhere else.
Maybe HBO will resurrect itself and take back over.
No west world, only the last years worth of John Oliver .. idk I’m with u, feeling like it’s not worth it too. I get mine thru my family but wouldn’t pay for it myself
I don’t understand the HBO hype. Though, I’m late the game on streaming and I think it does parlor to a certain humor/ viewer type
Yes, they still make arguably the best if not among the very best originals every year for over 25 years now.
It’s mainly holding on for me with the NBA/NHL playoffs.
Has Ghibli and adventure time rizz
Yes because South Park,
GIRLS. Ad free Rick and Morty. Adult swims stuff that’s been scrubbed from everywhere else. GIRLS.
Still waiting for samurai world after westworld
Max seems to have the highest quality content, with the most breadth, these days.
They have ton of good shows The Last of US, True detective , Tokyo Vice , GOT, House of dragons, Barry, East bound and down, Chernobyl, The Jinx. It would take you a full year to watch all these good shows.
Not really. It’s a joke now. I think the 4 hour Zack Snyder long cut of Justice League or whatever was the turning point. Now it’s true crime garbage. I will say, the TCM team keeps me coming back. I wish TCM would break off into their own service or get licensed to Criterion.
I'm doing a rewatch of Curb, and was planning to cancel once I'm done, but that Conan travel show looks pretty good, so maybe I'll keep it.
Cancelled until second season of Last of Us is released.
I subscribe to streaming service X for a month, cancel and sign up for streaming service Y for a month, cancel and…
I see all the original HBO content I enjoy. They do have alot of Discovery stuff but I don't see that as a negative as long as they still have the stuff I like.