HBO

Max lumped several categories into a ‘Creators’ label not out of grumpiness about the WGA strike, but because Warner Bros. Discovery’s IT people didn’t have time to do it right, says a new report in Deadline (via AVClub).

So they just smashed them all together, and the executives didn’t know until it happened. Untangling it could take weeks. Ah, Hanlon’s Razor.

As if it wasn’t already painfully obvious how ready studios are to further devalue the labor workers do to make their films and TV shows possible, Max’s new interface has done away with listing writing and directing credits in favor of a catch-all “Creators” label.

Because hey, what’s the difference between a writer, a non-writing producer, and a director? They’re all just little content machines, right?

Warner Bros. Discovery is repeating past mistakes with the Max app that rolled out for Apple’s tvOS today. It’s using a custom video player, which means you lose out on some features and a convenient method of quickly scrubbing through content with the remote.

HDR and Dolby Vision aren’t working right for some people, and Max has seemingly ditched support for Apple’s “Up Next” watchlist. Bugs are to be expected on launch day, but hopefully WBD will be receptive to feedback and fix some of this ASAP.

The service formerly known as HBO Max is finally going through with its silly, disruptive rebrand this week, and to mark the occasion, Warner Bros. Discovery is reportedly gearing up for yet another round of layoffs expected to impact the company’s cable TV business.

The revamped streaming service will have more than 350 of them. That said, HBO Max apparently already has customizable avatars, but I can’t figure out how to actually set one. Hopefully Max makes that easier!

And Just Like That’s always been pretty lighthearted, but this “Last Supper”-esque ad for the show’s second season really makes it seem like it’s going to lean into the Che Diaz hate this summer.

What you’ll get is likely to be a blank screen. Streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney Plus, and HBO Max are understandably nervous about letting people make copies of their copyrighted stuff — but just as understandably, fans want photos and clips of their favorite scenes. Here’s how to get that screenshot you’re trying for.

Stewy, the devious private equity guy from Succession, took over Slate’s Dear Prudence advice column this morning with some, well, frank life tips. “Lawyer the f*** up and wait for the pusillanimous piece of fool’s gold to die,” Stewy advises a reader scared of being cut from their uncle’s will. “Who is this guy? He sucks ass,” he says to a woman complaining about her lazy husband. “Block this f***er,” he orders a reader conflicted about a needy friend.

(The column was actually written by Arian Moayed, the actor who plays Stewy.)

If Natasha Rothwell’s Belinda had somehow shown up in The White Lotus’ second season, things might have turned out very differently for Tanya McQuoid. But if Tanya hadn’t met her fate the way she did, there’s a chance that Belinda might not be coming back for The White Lotus’ third season on HBO.

It’s tempting to share your Netflix, Hulu, and HBO Max (excuse me, Max) accounts with family, friends, and that nice neighbor across the street. But sometimes, things can get out of hand. If you want to check who you’ve shared your account with — and maybe drop a few no-longer-friends from it — here’s how.

Praise for and enthusiastic discussions about Abbott Elementary have never been hard to find online, but that wasn’t the case with HBO Max’s South Side before it was cancelled last month.

Shows come and shows go, but in a new interview with Vulture, Abbott Elementary writer Brittani Nichols breaks down perfectly what made the people’s decision to only make noise about the show after its cancellation so odd.

Adult Swim and Warner Bros. have yet to announce who will be taking over voicing duties for Rick and Morty’s eponymous duo following Justin Roiland’s ouster earlier this year. But tucked into today’s big Max presentation was the tiniest mention of Rick and Morty: The Anime, suggesting that we’ll be hearing some new voices by year’s end.

You’d be hard pressed the name the fictional country Kate Winslet will rule over with a dictatorial iron fist in HBO’s upcoming series The Regime from Will Tracy. But her willingness to do whatever it takes to maintain power is quite clear in the series’ teaser that dropped during today’s big Max reveal.

Max, the family-friendly rebrand of HBO Max, released a trailer for upcoming six-part series SmartLess: On the Road. The docuseries will go behind the scenes of the popular (if toothless) podcast hosted by Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, and Sean Hayes. And it’s shot in black and white, so you know they mean business.

Just a few weeks ahead of its May 23rd debut on the newly-rebranded Max, there’s a new trailer for Tze Chun’s Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, a Gremlins prequel set to delve into Gizmo’s history and, you know, mogwai secrets.

In its fourth season, True Detective’s heading to Alaska to tell the story of how six men vanish from a research lab in the Arctic. While that premise alone is compelling as hell, it still doesn’t quite capture raw energy Jodie Foster’s radiating in the season’s new teaser trailer.

I know we all rejoiced when The Big Bang Theory went off the air in 2019 after 12 seasons. But it brings me no joy to inform you that more is coming. The details are scant, but a new show set in the universe was announced at Warner Bros. Discovery’s big HBO Max rebranding event today....bazinga.

Warner Bros. Discovery just sent press invites to an event on April 12th to discuss “our future in streaming.” At the event, the company is expected to bring a lot of content from Discovery Plus over to the maybe-soon-to-be-former HBO Max. It may also reveal a more expensive subscription tier that offers better video quality, according to Bloomberg.

I’m really interested to see what comes from the show, which we’ll be covering here at The Verge.