HBO Max Original Shows Will Release New Episodes Weekly, Won’t Drop Seasons All At Once
By Jacob Hall/Oct. 29, 2019 4:24 pm EST
HBO Max’s Kevin Reilly revealed this news is the most abstract method possible, suggesting that some shows may released differently than others:
The key words there are “weekly HBO release pattern,” and it makes sense. After all, HBO shows like Game of Thrones, Succession and now Watchmen build buzz week by week, keeping people talking and keep the conversation going for longer than a weekend. Reilly further emphasized this, pointing to the success of recent hits:
“Our max original rollout strategy will also be curated based on the specific piece of content, but will largely mirror the weekly HBO release pattern.”
And yet, in this age of peak TV, many audiences have come to expect entire seasons to binge on day one. Is HBO Max going down the right path? Or will this make their shows feel like something special, a weekly event? Personally, I prefer the latter – shows built to be experienced once a week often avoid the pitfalls of streaming series, which can spin their wheels a bit too often.
“Our creators also see the difference in rolling out shows gradually and letting them breathe. [Hits] like Succession and Chernobyl became part of the zeitgeist with a weekly release schedule, rather than fading quickly after a binge and burn. We know people love to binge and on HBO max you can binge previous seasons and library content to your heart’s desire…”
We’ll find out what the public thinks when HBO Max launches in May 2020.
