Time to figure out whether or not you already have HBO Max
Here’s what’s happening in the world of television for Wednesday, May 27. All times are Eastern.
Top picks
It’s HBO Max Day! There’s a decent chance that you, dear reader, still aren’t sure whether or not you already have access to WarnerMedia’s streaming behemoth, and with good cause. It’s murky. But here’s a gentle overview: HBO Max combines HBO proper with a robust catalog of existing films and television shows and, at present, a scant handful of originals. It costs basically exactly what you’d pay for HBO or HBO Now, and all subscribers to the latter and many to the former will be upgraded automatically. If you get HBO through cable and your cable provider is on this list, you’re also all set. If yours isn’t on that list (and no, Comcast isn’t) [UPDATE: Wow, that was fast], you’ll need to decide if and when you want to make the switch.
If you’ve got it already (or will after you figure out what the hell you do and don’t have), congratulations! You can now watch, to use an industry term, a metric fuckton of stuff, including the films of Studio Ghibli (the studio’s first streaming deal), Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown, Robot Chicken, The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air, The Big Bang Theory, some of the Criterion Collection, and, yes, Friends. The list goes on. You’ll also have the chance to watch new Looney Tunes cartoons, kids’ crafting competition Craftopia, and the following originals.
Legendary (HBO Max, 3:01 a.m., series premiere): “‘Leave it all on the floor!’ is the directive of Legendary. The command speaks to the jaunty energy of HBO Max’s first reality competition show. Pose on FX helped introduce the underground ballroom community, voguing, and houses to mainstream viewers, and Legendary makes the concept into a reality show by bringing together eight houses to compete for a cash prize of $100,000. Competitors are enjoyably shady with each other; there seems to be a significant budget for outfits and accessories; and the judging panel is varyingly supportive, dismissive, thirsty, and impressed. Although there is some bumpiness in the show’s early stages (only the first two episodes were available for review), it’s also clear that Legendary has assembled all the components needed to be a RuPaul’s Drag Race-style hit.” Read the rest of Roxana Hadadi’s pre-air review.
On The Record (HBO Max, 3:01 a.m., premiere): “The documentary On The Record has been described as a film about the secret life of hip-hop impresario Russell Simmons, and about the multiple women—and in particular one woman, Drew Dixon—who have accused him of sexual harassment and rape. But that description puts too blunt a point on the story Dixon tells here, and on the repercussions that the doc’s co-directors, Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering, intend to explore. This isn’t a movie about a mogul who may have gotten away with heinous crimes. On The Record is more about a show business system ill-designed to process the friction these kinds of accusations create. It’s also about how some remarkably gifted people end up getting squashed, to keep the gears of profit properly greased.” Click here to read the rest of Noel Murray’s review.