Update: 07/11: Variety reported today that Matt Reeves' The Penguin TV series and Dune: Prophecy are getting rebranded from Max to HBO Originals TV shows.
Warner Bros. Discovery is making a subtle pivot to its original programming, as CEO of HBO and Max Content May Bloys has revealed that the upcoming Harry Potter TV show and the It prequel series Welcome to Derry are being rebranded as HBO Original series instead of Max.
In a new interview with Variety, Bloys explained that the Harry Potter TV series, which is slated to premiere sometime in 2026, in addition to Welcome to Derry, and the just-greenlit Green Lantern TV show titled Lanterns will all be moving from the Max to the HBO Originals umbrella.
It marks quite the shift from the previous messaging, with the Harry Potter series and Welcome to Derry both specifically branded as content developed for the streaming platform. Bloys elaborated on the decision in the interview with Variety, saying they found more similarities between HBO and Max content as they developed it.
"We felt like we had to delineate between an HBO show and a Max show," Bloys said. "The idea of using Warner Bros. IP as a delineation for Max felt right. At least that gives you a clear lane. But as we started producing those shows, we used the same methods and the same kind of thinking as how we would approach HBO shows. In a lot of cases, the same talent that has worked on HBO shows."
The Harry Potter TV series has been in the works since 2021. Though Warner Bros. Discovery has kept a tight lip on details, including what the series will focus on, reports claim the series will be a more faithful adaptation of the novels authored by J.K. Rowling. In June 2023, actor Daniel Radcliffe, who played the titular character in the films from 2001 until 2011, explained in an interview with Deadline that he was unlikely to make a cameo in the show.
Meanwhile, the series Welcome to Derry will serve as a prequel to the recent It films directed by Andy Muschietti. Though it was previously reported that actor Bill Skarsgård would not reprise his role as Pennywise the Clown, last May, it was confirmed that the actor would return to portray the character after all. Welcome to Derry is currently slated to premiere sometime next year.
While the Harry Potter TV show Welcome to Derry and Laterns will skip the Max originals branding, some upcoming Max original shows that are still under the banner include The Batman spinoff series The Penguin and Dune: Prophecy, both of which are slated to hit the WB-owned streaming service later this year. However, in the case of the former, Bloys suggested that the series would have received the original HBO branding if the timing had been better.
"We will start in 2025, although The Penguin would be an obvious fit as an HBO Original," Bloys explained. "Unfortunately, the process of licensing it internationally has already started."
