Every time a fan-favorite HBO series bids farewell, the entertainment industry and the public alike wonder how the prestige TV network will outdo itself next.
This isn’t just any transitional moment for the network, though. Less than a month after the Writers Guild of America strike began, “Succession” and “Barry” aired their highly-anticipated series finales. Also, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav, HBO’s new corporate boss, promised Wall Street that its direct-to-consumer business would turn a profit this year. This as linear TV networks across the industry are struggling to maintain viewership as cord-cutting accelerates. Meanwhile, the rebrand of HBO Max to Max has raised worries about the network’s position within the company’s streaming strategy.