After a relatively strong start to the year with critically acclaimed shows like Industry and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Warner Bros. Discovery’s HBO slate is exhibiting little sign of returning to the volume of the peak TV years. In previous years, reasons like the Hollywood Writers’ Strikes were cited as the primary reason for this decline. However, we have safely moved past that phase, and there is still no sign of recovery.
Under current management, austerity prevails and volumes have remained significantly lower than during the 2021-2023 seasons. Among the 17 titles scheduled for release in 2025/26, eight are new series, representing a slight increase compared to last season. However, it’s still a fraction of the number of premieres during the COVID years. Nevertheless, HBO’s future success may hang significantly on its marquee intellectual properties, including the launch of the new Harry Potter series and the return of some key shows.
While HBO’s overall slate may be flat, there have been signs of optimism for their US/UK co-commissioning activity. HBO has partnered with both BBC and Sky to produce three new series, which are expected to premiere before the end of 2027, a marked uptick on the last few years. The co-commissioning market as a whole has struggled over the last few years, and so it is positive to see new activity being driven by some of the big players again.
With numerous questions surrounding the existing debt at Warner Bros., as well as the highly leveraged potential deal for Paramount to acquire the entire company, it’s difficult to forecast how the HBO pipeline will develop over the coming 24 months. The highly competitive streamer market will put pressure on HBO Max to maintain a strong consumer proposition and with new markets launching (including here in the UK) this demand for content will not slow. Great library IP has been leant on heavily over the last few years, but there may be diminishing returns from this and the need for great new content is not going to go away.
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