What’s New in Max: 10 Key Changes as HBO Max Relaunches With Discovery Content, Enhanced Features

Editor’s note: These interview was done outside of the FYC event as there was no cast or creatives panel as a part of the event.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer HBO and Max chief Casey Bloys thinks AI has no place in the creative process at his brands. “Two things to keep in mind when I say this: One is, remember I grew up in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, which is Steel Town,” Bloys, the chairman and CEO of HBO and Max content, told Variety co-editor-in-chief Cynthia Littleton during a keynote conversation Wednesday at the Variety TV FYC Fest. “So I am very, very aware of what happens when a company does not think about the future or is not aware of the future. But also, I’ve been at HBO for 19 years and I have never tested a pilot to decide whether to pick it up or not. We just don’t use all of the things other places do, it’s just not something we do. So my take on AI, the idea that AI would be involved in any sort of development or the creative process in the kinds of shows that I do, or we do, at HBO, that’s not something I want to be a part of.

There are a lot of updates coming in from HBO and HBO Max (which is actually just called “Max” at this time).

Jennifer Lopez appears to be nesting amid reports that she closed on a house with Ben Affleck.

Editor’s note: These interview was done outside of the FYC event as there was no cast or creatives panel as a part of the event.

new Max streaming platform in its first week.JB Perrette, Warner Bros. Discovery’s global streaming president, told The Wall Street Journal that 70% of the existing subscribers did move over to the new platform, which combines content from the company’s two main streaming services, HBO Max and Discovery+.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Ella Irwin, after less than seven months as head of trust and safety at Elon Musk’s Twitter, has resigned from the company. Irwin confirmed to Reuters that she resigned but did not provide a reason for her exit. Earlier, Fortune reported that Irwin’s Slack account at Twitter appeared to have been deactivated. Neither Irwin nor Musk have publicly tweeted about her departure. An email to Twitter’s press account requesting comment returned an autoreply with a poop emoji. Attempts to contact Irwin were unsuccessful. As Twitter’s head of trust and safety, Irwin oversaw enforcement of its content moderation policies. Musk, a self-described “free-speech absolutist,” has eased some restrictions in Twitter’s content policies — and reinstated thousands of previously banned accounts. Third-party groups have criticized Twitter for apparent increases in instances of hate speech and lax policy enforcement since Musk assumed control; Musk has previously denied that an increase in hate speech on Twitter.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Vimeo is ending support for its existing TV apps — with the video management and hosting provider telling customers they’ll have a “better ongoing experience” by using video-casting features instead. The company is ceasing support for Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, and Roku as of June 27, 2023. “That means we will remove the TV apps from the app stores and we will not publish any new releases, security updates or provide technical support for TV apps,” Vimeo says in a notice on its help site. Why is Vimeo ending support for its TV apps? According to the message on the customer-support site, “Occasionally, we retire legacy products and features that are no longer consistent with our standards. We believe that our users looking to view Vimeo videos will receive a better ongoing experience by casting via our mobile app, enabling customers to enjoy Vimeo content on their TV.”

HBO and HBO Max (which actually no longer exists and is now called “Max”) have been making a lot of decisions about their cancellations and renewals this year, and we’re bringing you the full recap of everything that has happened.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Max will be celebrating Pride Month in June through a series of events, programming and partnerships highlighting LGBTQ+ voices. Among the initiatives will be partnerships with Them and Newfest to help amplify queer voices, stories and content. The streamer has planned an in-app Pride takeover of the LGBTQ+ Voices page which will highlight queer content premiering in June. Among the programs will be the premiere of the HBO documentary “The Stroll,” which tells the powerful and poignant history of transgender sex workers in New York’s pre-gentrified meatpacking district in the 1990s. The Max original documentary reality series “Naked. Loud. Proud.” will stream. HBO documentaries “Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed” and TaylorMac’s “24-Decade History of Popular Music” are set to air.

Actress Zooey Deschanel has become synonymous with her New Girl character Jessica Day thanks to the chocolate brown hair and thick full fringe that made her character instantly recognisable. Despite the final season of the hit Fox show airing in 2018, Zooey has kept her iconic Jess hairstyle ever since, including the full fringe and gentle waves that her character was known for.

Heléne Yorke, Drew Tarver, Case Walker and Ken Marino are revealing the secrets behind the success of the Max comedy series The Other Two, as part of Deadline’s FYC House + HBO Max event series. New episodes air on Thursday nights via Max.

The Weeknd’s controversy-generating HBO series “The Idol” will soon be making its debut, and ahead of its arrival he’s promoting a big collab on the series’ soundtrack.

HBO and HBO Max (which actually no longer exists) have been making a lot of decisions about their cancellations and renewals this year, and we’re bringing you the full recap of everything that has happened.

Love to Love You, Donna Summer is not just a documentary, it’s a hymn to the life and times of the indisputable queen of disco. The film conveys Donna Summer’s journey from the gospel churches of Boston to the dance floors that defined an era. Directed by first-time helmer and Summer’s daughter Brooklyn Sudano and Roger Ross Williams (The Apollo, Traveling While Black), Love to Love You weaves together interviews, footage and the singer’s infectious music to deliver a new perspective on the life of a vocal powerhouse. As part of the Deadline FYC House + HBO Max Event series, we spoke with Sudano, Williams and producer David Blackman on the red carpet at the New York premiere. 

Jennifer Lopez is looking very cozy while running errands on Saturday (May 27) in West Hollywood, Calif.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor This week, HBO Max faded to black — and was reborn as Max. But many people are still wondering: Why did Warner Bros. Discovery decide to change the name? HBO, after all, remains a solid-gold brand representing premium-quality original TV shows, going back decades, from “The Sopranos” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” to “Game of Thrones” and “Succession.” Meanwhile, Max, as observers have pointed out, is a pretty generic name from a branding standpoint. (Note that the Twitter handle @Max belongs to Instacart co-founder Max Mullen, while on Instagram it’s held by hockey star Max Domi, a forward for the Dallas Stars.) Here are the two basic reasons Warner Bros. Discovery chose to excise HBO from the HBO Max with the relaunch:

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Semafor, the digital new startup launched last fall, announced that it has raised $19 million in a new financing round, bringing its total raised to $34 million. The New York-based company was co-founded by Ben Smith, previously media columnist for the New York Times and editor in chief of BuzzFeed News, and Justin B. Smith, former CEO of Bloomberg Media Group. (The two are not related.) Semafor said the additional investments are an extension on the same terms of the company’s previous financing round. The new total also takes into account the repurchase of the approximately $10 million in funds from Sam Bankman-Fried, the former CEO of cryptocurrency company FTX whom federal prosecutors have charged with fraud, money laundering and campaign finance offenses. The funding from Bankman-Fried will be returned to FTX creditors as directed by officials, according to Semafor.

WBD CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels sees advertising on HBO content as a major untapped revenue stream as the compay relaunched its HBO Max streaming service yesterday as Max.

HBO Max and Discovery+ have merged into one streaming platform called, simply, Max. This comes following the announcement in April that the two services would combine.“From the biggest superheroes to real-life champions; from culture-shaping dramas to taste-shaping entertainment; from fantastical realms to the realest of worlds, Max will offer an unrivaled range of choice,” said JB Perrette the President & CEO of Global Streaming & Games at Warner Bros.