to the max

Is This (HBO) Max News Real or Did We Make It Up?

By , a Vulture writer covering comedy, theater, and music
Max (sans Ruby). Photo: Max

Wake up, HBO Maxxinistas! Your brand is changing. Warner Bros. held a press event on April 12 in which it announced a bevy of news about HBO Max. First, and perhaps most important, was that HBO Max — an HBO-affiliated streamer known for shows like Hacks, And Just Like That …, and The Sex Lives of College Girls, as well as for having the entire HBO lineup in its library — would be rebranding to just Max. This is partly due to the streamer’s merger with Discovery+, a streamer known for its HGTV access, Trixie Motel, and some 90 Day Fiancée spinoffs. “This is a real moment for us … This is our time. This is our chance, and everything is possible,†Warner Bros. CEO and Batgirl killer David Zaslav said during the event. Coinciding with this rebrand was a whole lot of other news about things ranging from subscription models to upcoming content. There was so much news, in fact, that it became difficult to keep track of. As such, we decided to put together a quiz to help our HBO Maxxinistas become just Maxxinistas. It’s not TV, it’s a quiz!

Is This (HBO) Max News Real or Did We Make It Up?

Go through and figure out which announcements are real news as part of the rebrand, and which are simply things we made up.

HBO Max is dead, starting May 23, and will be replaced by "Max" because the guys at Warner Bros. thought the title "HBO" was making people think the quality of their content was high-quality, but it was not signaling that it was for everybody.
(HBO) Max is changing price points. Now, instead of two price categories (one with ads at $10/month and one without at $16/month), there will be those, plus an extra one that lets you stream on additional devices and watch things in 4K Ultra HD resolution (which you could previously do on HBO Max at no additional cost anyway).
Max is producing a Harry Potter series in which each season will follow one of the books, which is kind of like, "Why? We liked the originals, actually." When asked about J.K. Rowling's transphobia, HBO president and CEO Casey Bloys said, "That’s a very online conversation, very nuanced and complicated and not something we’re going to get into."
Andy Cohen has been poached from Bravo to work at Max with the goal of making shows that nobody thinks are too smart.
Warner Bros. is producing live-action, grittier takes on some of its Hanna-Barbera IP, beginning with The Flintstones, before hopefully expanding to include other series like Yogi Bear and The Jetsons in the franchise.
Max is expanding upon the Big Bang Theory universe, which already includes Young Sheldon, with a new show in collaboration with Chuck Lorre.
Max is dipping back into the Sopranos universe following The Many Saints of Newark with a new series, with the working title The Sopranos: Legacy, following the lives of A.J. and Meadow Soprano's involvement in the family business.
Max is producing a new dating show called Love and Translation, which loosely follows the plot of Duolingo and Peacock's April Fool's joke in which three bachelors will try to find love among a group of women who don't speak English.
Doubling down on our Barbie dreams, Max will feature a cross-branded reality show called Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge in which eight teams of HGTV regulars attempt to remodel a real home into the perfect Barbie dream home.
Due to the increased interest in Girls leading to a Girls-rewatch uptick, a new series titled Women will track lost 30-somethings in Bushwick as they navigate changing careers. Yes, all four actresses will still get their jobs due to nepotism.
Following the success of their podcast SmartLess, Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Sean Hayes will have a documentary series on Max about the cross-country tour of their podcast.
Colin Farrell is starring in a new spinoff of The Batman following the Penguin, and it is appropriately titled The Penguin. The recently released trailer includes Farrell in a fat suit saying the not at all cliché line, "If you step out of line even once, I'll gut you like a goddamn fish."

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Is This (HBO) Max News Real or Did We Make It Up?