HBO Max Launched In The UK And Ireland, Here’s What You Can Watch
HBO Max is coming to the UK and Ireland, for the first time bringing together HBO’s shows and films under its own banner to our shores. There’s a huge amount of entertainment not just from HBO but also Warner Bros, DC, and TNT Sports, both old and new. We’ve put together a list of some of the biggest shows available in the new subscription:
Current shows
Euphoria
Zendaya, Jacob Elordi, Sydney Sweeney, and Hunter Schafer are all back next month for Euphoria’s third season, which you’ll be able to watch immediately on HBO Max in the UK and Ireland. This final crop of episodes will see the return of Rue (Zendaya) and co. to our screens for the first time in 4 years, with the characters now as young adults having left school behind. Rue herself is living sober, but has looming debt issues, while Cassie (Sweeney) and Nate (Elordi) are in a toxic marriage. Jules (Schafer) meanwhile navigates art school.
The Pitt
It’s been widely praised and talked about in the US, but HBO’s The Pitt hasn’t yet debuted in the UK. That changes with HBO Max’s launch this side of the pond, introducing us to the hour-by-hour pressure of Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center. Noah Wyle, known for his roles as Dr John Carter in ER and Steve Jobs in Pirates of Silicon Valley, leads the cast as Michael “Robby” Robinavitch, a skilled but often short-tempered physician, as he works with his team to save lives and keep the hospital from getting overwhelmed. Praised for its more realistic depiction of healthcare, it’s sure to be a popular pick when it debuts here.
House of the Dragon
This summer will also see House of the Dragon back for Season 3, as Westeros becomes somehow even more divided and consumed by conflict. The Targaryen civil war is growing by the day, and caught up in the middle of it are Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), Daemon Matt Smith, and Alicient (Olivia Cooke). Major plot points expected (judging by the books) are The Battle of the Gullet and the Fall of King’s Landing, as those who back Rhaenyra and those who back King Aegon II do battle. The previous two seasons, as well as the whole of Game of Thrones and the recent A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, will also be on HBO Max.
The White Lotus
Season 4 of The White Lotus is not expected until next year, but in the meantime, you’ll be able to catch up on the previous seasons in Hawaii, Italy, and Thailand when HBO Max launches. What we do know about Season 4, though, is that it will be heading back to Europe, this time to France, and once again will boast a star-studded cast. Helena Bonham Carter, Steve Coogan, Alexander Ludwig, Marissa Long, Vincent Cassel, Chloe Bennet, and Kumail Nanjiani are some of the confirmed names so far, and creator Mike White once again returns as head writer.
The Last of Us
Season 3 of The Last of Us will also debut next year, continuing the apocalyptic story of this hugely successful adaptation of the acclaimed video game. You can go back and watch the previous two outings, which start with Joel (played by Pedro Pascal) agreeing reluctantly to help find a safe haven for young teenager Ellie (Bella Ramsey) in a world ravaged by a virus leaving people as the ferocious, mutated Infected (you can just call them zombies.) Season 2 focuses more on Ellie, and introduces Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), who’ll have more of a presence in Season 3.
Throwbacks
Friends
A show that needs zero introduction, Friends has hopped around in its availability in the UK, having left Netflix in December. Luckily, it comes under the Warner Bros. umbrella, so if you’re itching to rewatch Rachel, Ross, Monica, Chandler, Joey, and Phoebe’s 10 seasons of classic sitcom antics (and don’t want to dust off your old DVDs), you’ll be able to stream the whole show on HBO Max from today. “We were on a break!”, “Pivot!”, “Joey doesn’t share food!”- it’s all there waiting.
Sex and the City
A rather different group of friends in NYC, the iconic Sex and the City’s 6 seasons are coming to HBO Max as well, 28 years after it first started airing. It remains as popular and appealing as ever, chronicling Carrie, Samantha, Cynthia, and Kristin’s exploits in love and friendship. Whether you’re amongst the younger Gen Z cohort and wanting to dive in, or if you’ve seen it all more times than you can remember, you can get stuck straight in. And Just Like That… may not have gotten the same reception, but all 3 seasons of that show will be available, too.
Succession
It feels odd to already be calling Succession a throwback show, but 3 years on from its finale, it’s still as engrossing a watch as ever. Following the lives of the hugely wealthy Roy family, it begins as patriarch Brian Cox’s Logan Roy is approaching the point of having to relinquish control of his media empire, Waystar Royco. His children, including Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Shiv (Sarah Snook), and Roman (Kieran Culkin) – as well as Shiv’s husband Tom (Matthew MacFayden) all come into conflict over the future of the company and the money.
And still to come…
Harry Potter
Surely the biggest HBO show to come in the future (and probably in all of TV), the long-awaited new adaptation of the cultural juggernaut that is Harry Potter, is set to release on Christmas of this year. With a new cast to follow in the footsteps of the movies, you’ll be able to relive Harry’s wizarding journey. The show is promising to more expansively adapt the books (that’s gonna be a lot of seasons!), with Dominic McLaughlin, Alastair Stout, and Arabella Stanton as the “Golden Trio” of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Joining them are John Lithgow as Albus Dumbledore, Nick Frost as Rubeus Hagrid, Paapa Essiedu as Severus Snape, and Johnny Flynn as Lucius Malfoy, just a few of the faces who’ll be inhabiting the Wizarding World. It’s unlikely to be a coincidence that the first official image from the series was released in the week of HBO Max’s launch in the country where HP is set, showing Harry clutching his broomstick.
