Following the likes of Disney+, Paramount+, Discovery+, CNN+, Apple TV+, BET+, Lionsgate+ (internationally, that is), Samsung TV Plus (no “+†sign in that one!), and roughly 102,849,279,591 other streaming services launched in the recent past, Epix has chosen a new name: MGM+. The fresh nomme de stream will take effect January 15, 2023, on the heels of a new season of Godfather of Harlem, Epix’s most watched original series, and it obviously leverages the brand cachet of Epix’s corporate parent, MGM — itself under the holdings of Amazon.
A few new series have also been green-lit for the service’s lineup: the crime drama Hotel Cocaine from Harlem showrunner Chris Brancato, set in the ’70s and ’80s; Belgravia: The Next Chapter, a sequel to the historical drama Belgravia; an untitled docuseries on the Amityville Murders; and the two-part documentary San Francisco Sounds (a working title), about the city’s music scene from 1965 to 1975. Nothing else is changing for the streamer soon to be f.k.a. Epix, which currently has ad-free subscriptions for $5.99 per month, but the rebrand is as much a corporate calculation as anything. Someone at Amazon pointed at the name “MGM†and thought, That’s more glamorous than “Epix,†and it’s three letters, not four. Voila: streaming magic!