For a long time now, different studios have been launching their own streaming services, hoping to knock Netflix off its place at the top of the pile. Several years into the so-called streaming wars, it’s pretty clear that won’t happen; Netflix remains the dominant player in the space, with everyone else fighting for second place.
But just because Netflix is the biggest streaming service out there doesn’t mean it’s the best. In fact, there’s one service I find myself using more than any other.
Content is king
HBO Max has the deepest bench of movies and TV shows
As a TV obsessive, I have access to pretty much all the major streaming services, from Netflix to Prime Video to Paramount+ to Disney+ and beyond. And the one I find myself using the most is HBO Max, and the reason is simple: they have the best content.
Notably, that is not the same as them having the most content; Netflix has them beat there. But I truly believe that HBO Max offers a higher concentration of good content than any other streaming service, and it plays to a variety of tastes. If you’re like me, and you love prestige TV, there’s no better place to be. Not only can you enjoy classic series like The Sopranos, Sex and the City, The Wire, and Game of Thrones, but you also get to watch all of the network’s buzzy new hits, which it’s still producing regularly even after all these years. As we speak, the second season of the medical drama The Pitt is airing after taking home a Best Drama Emmy for its first. The fourth season of the financial drama Industry is continuing to prove why that show is a classic in the making, the sports romance Heated Rivalry was one of the most talked-about shows of the past couple months, IT: Welcome to Derry was a fun horror period piece, and the new show A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms looks like the best thing to come out of the Game of Thrones universe in years. And if you enjoy Tim Robinson’s bizarre sketch show, I Think You Should Leave, over on Netflix, I promise you’ll get something out of his HBO Max sitcom, The Chair Company. I don’t know exactly what, but it’ll be something.
HBO Max is also one of the premier spots for original movies. Warner Bros. Discovery had one of the best movie slates of 2025, and HBO Max is the only place you can stream hits like Superman, Sinners, Weapons, One Battle After Another, and Mickey 17 (which was definitely the most underrated sci-fi film of the year, FYI). HBO Max is also home to comfort food legacy sitcoms like Friends and The Big Bang Theory, not to mention tons of reality shows from the Property Brothers and 90 Day Fiance cinematic universes, among others.
There’s not just something for everyone; there’s something good for everyone.
HBO Max is the best despite everything bad about it
I’ll even ignore the stupid name changes
At the end of the day, you pay for a streaming service because you want to stream the stuff on it, and the stuff on HBO Max is high-quality enough to make it worth jumping over a few hurdles. For instance, HBO Max costs a bit more; the low-end ad tier will run you $10.99/month, a shade higher than competitors like Netflix ($7.99) and Prime Video ($8.99). Although the ad-free plans for both Netflix and HBO Max will run you around $18/month, the price matters more or less depending on what tier you’re interested in.
Even if I think it’s worth it, the pricing is probably the biggest knock against HBO Max, unless you want to include the series of embarrassing branding gaffs. Before HBO Max, HBO operated its own streaming service called HBO Go. That got rolled into the new HBO Max in 2020. Wanting to highlight the non-HBO content on the app, management renamed it just “Max” in 2023, but then realized what a stupid decision that was and re-dubbed it “HBO Max” in 2025.
So there’s long been a vague sense that the corporate overlords at the very top don’t quite know what to do with this service, but HBO Max itself has always run silky smooth and been full to bursting with great stuff to watch. I think the name changes can be waved away with an eye roll, but with another corporate change-over on the horizon, it’s hard to know what will happen next.
Enjoy HBO Max while you can
Because it probably isn’t here for the long haul
In December of 2025, Netflix bought Warner Bros. We don’t know exactly what Netflix plans to do with HBO Max, but I can see them rolling HBO Max’s catalog of content into Netflix sooner or later.
And that by itself wouldn’t be so bad; heaven knows there are too many streaming services out there, and consolidation could save people money. But in the long run, I think Netflix will lean on HBO to produce content more in line with Netflix’s house style, which is to say more middle-brow and less challenging. Netflix makes plenty of solid content, but it will be sad to lose the signature daring and coat of polish that so often makes HBO’s shows and movies feel special.
That said, it’s possible the Netflix deal won’t go through. Paramount also wants to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, but if that happens, HBO Max content could eventually be rolled into Paramount+, which is maybe the most user-unfriendly, broken streaming service of them all. Whatever happens, HBO Max may not be long for this world.
These HBO Max movies are better than what Netflix recommends
These five movies on HBO Max are so good, you’ll forget you have a Netflix account.
Gather ye streaming services while ye may
So the future of HBO Max is uncertain, but the present is full of joy. With new seasons of shows like Euphoria, House of the Dragon, The Comeback, Dune: Prophecy, The Gilded Age, and Hacks all coming this year, plus lots of original stuff we won’t know is unmissable until it drops, you might as well go ahead and get in now.
- founded
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May 27, 2020
- number of users
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125 million+ users
- notable shows
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The Pitt, Peacemaker, Pretty Little Liars, Hacks
HBO Max is a subscription-based streaming service offering content from HBO, Warner Bros., DC, and more. In 2025, the service re-branded itself as HBO Max after having previously cut “HBO” from its name.
