HBO Has Begun Licensing Its Original Series To Netflix
Of course Zaslav would be greedy enough to undercut Max's own insistence as "The One to Watch For HBO"
The shocker has been pulled off. Despite reported “great pushback” by HBO veterans, Warner Bros. Discovery has begun licensing select titles from HBO’s original series library to Netflix. It starts with Insecure, which landed Monday, July 3.
The move comes just over 3 years after HBO shows that had been licensed to Amazon Prime Video since 2014 returned behind the walls for the launch of what was then HBO Max. It was that deal that allowed me to see Mr. Show with Bob and David for the first time. It was the only previous deal of this kind HBO veterans pushed back against the plan but “corporate financial consideration” (which sounds like “the need to make money”), won out. Netflix has also confirmed that Band of Brothers, The Pacific, Six Feet Under and Ballers will also arrive to the service in the deal.
While these series remain co-exclusive with Max, Westworld, The Nevers, and The Time Traveler’s Wife were removed from Max when it still had the HBO name to it and licensed to Roku and Tubi. Domestically, True Blood has been shared with Hulu (again) seemingly since December, according to Reddit. Too recent a deal to break, that’s not changing, however it will be part of the deal everywhere else internationally. Like Insecure, it got a recent run on basic cable, on OWN for the former and TNT for the latter. It was the first time HBO had done such since Curb Your Enthusiasm landed on TV Guide Network, The Sopranos on A&E, and Sex and the City on TBS. Of those, Sex and the City still gets cable reruns, but on E!.
In the time since Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav expressed interest in foregoing WB-platform exclusivity to monetize the library, classic The Powerpuff Girls, classic Ben 10, Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated, The Batman, Justice League, Justice League Unlimited and Tom and Jerry Tales have also been added to Netflix, while Teen Titans, Justice League Action, Dexter’s Laboratory, and Ed, Edd n Eddy were added to Prime Video.
Insecure ran for five seasons from September 2016 to 2021. It explores the Black female experience through best friends Issa, played by Issa Rae and Molly (Yvonne Orji), as they deal with their own flaws as they attempt to navigate different worlds and cope with an endless series of uncomfortable everyday experiences. The series also stars Jay Ellis, Natasha Rothwell, and Amanda Seales, and earned 14 Emmy nominations, winning one.
It’s becoming very clear that by licensing even part of the library to the biggest of streaming competitors, it takes a very big undercut to the slogan Max took on when it rebranded “The One to Watch for HBO”. Guess it’s more now “The One to Watch for Modern HBO”. Arrival dates for the other named shows have not been disclosed. Whether the selection will grow beyond these initial six is unknown as well.
