WarnerMedia Execs on ‘Friends’ Reunion, ‘Harry Potter,’ Green Lantern on HBO Max
By Elaine Low
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – We now know a little bit more about whether a “Friends” reunion is ever bound for forthcoming streamer HBO Max, if the Harry Potter franchise will make its way to the service, and what the new Green Lantern series will entail.
While many fans are no doubt interested in a “” reunion of some sort, since all 200-plus episodes will be on at launch, Ross and Rachel and company will not be there for you — in any new capacity — just yet.
“There’s interest all the way around, and yet we can’t seem to get that interest aligned to push the button on it,” said HBO Max chief Kevin Reilly at the Television Critics Assn. tour on Wednesday. “Today, unfortunately, it’s a maybe.”
Additionally, the rights to the “Harry Potter” franchise remains tied up with NBCUniversal, but Reilly indicated that the boy wizard and his attendant movies could apparate to HBO Max at some point.
“You know, we did a big deal because, obviously, with Universal and the theme park, that’s been a big part for them, but those discussions will continue on,” said Reilly. “Let’s just say, at some point you can’t have our experience without having ‘Harry Potter’ be a part of it.”
Meanwhile, WarnerMedia is in early stages of talking with TV super producer Greg Berlanti about the series, execs from the company shared on stage, tossing the audience a few morsels about what to expect from the DC Comics project.
“The series so far is going to span several decades and focus on the origin story of two major Green Lanterns on Earth while going into the story in space, and Green Lantern favorite character [and villain] Sinestro,” said WarnerMedia original content head Sarah Aubrey.
On the “Gossip Girl” reboot, Aubrey said that her team has received the first script and that “we all breathed a big sigh of relief, because it’s quite good.”
Fielding questions left and right about WarnerMedia’s forthcoming streamer, Reilly espoused the belief that HBO Max would only serve to fortify the prestige HBO cabler from which it takes its name.
The service is “not a superstore; we’re going to have aisles.”
“We hope that as you go down one of those aisles — we have more things per square foot that you would seek out to have,” said Reilly. “This is not going to be a stumble-by or an algorithm hopefully enticing you into something. We’re going to be as vigilant as HBO has been over the years, now in a wider array of programming, to offer destination programs that you’re going to want to seek out in your household.”
Ahead of HBO Max’s debut, there are also questions surrounding how its existence will impact HBO and DC Universe subscribers.
The company is still “working out what the mechanics are” in discerning the relationship between the niche DC-branded streaming service and HBO Max, which will house DC TV properties such as “Doom Patrol.”
And in untangling how it will all work for people who are subscribed to HBO through their telecom providers, WarnerMedia will create a “frictionless” experience for those who subscribe to HBO through AT&T, and there is a “very visible button” that will allow for a discrete HBO experience, should viewers want it, said Reilly.
On stage, the execs also unveiled a new Adam Mckay project, “The Uninhabitable Earth” and a three-year deal with Steven Soderbergh to create content for HBO Max and HBO, among other announcements.
