First HBO Harry Potter series official teaser released as Canal+'s MultiChoice and M-Net have still not secured it for DStv

by Thinus Ferreira

On Wednesday evening HBO released the first official teaser for its upcoming new Harry Potter series, entitled Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone that will debut over Christmas this year on its HBO Max video streaming service.

Canal+'s MultiChoice and M-Net (DStv 101) have so far failed to secure this series, set to run for a decade, for DStv subscribers in South Africa.

It means that currently, no DStv subscribers anywhere in Africa would be able to see the Harry Potter TV series when it starts in December 2026. 

Canal+ and M-Net have failed to extend the output deal that expired at the end of December 2025 with Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) that existed for decades for Warner Bros TV and film studios content like TV series and films, as well as HBO content for M-Net.

It means that no HBO series or Warner films are currently available on the M-Net channel or the M-Net Movies channels on DStv for subscribers, with Canal+ that is busy with aggressive cost-cutting at MultiChoice.

Sky in the United Kingdom as well as other pay-TV operators worldwide, secured the upcoming Harry Potter series over a year ago, but in March 2026 MultiChoice and M-Net have nothing.

J.B. Perrette, the CEO and president of global streaming and games at WBD, has repeatedly referred to the upcoming Harry Potter TV series as "the streaming event of the decade".

During a 2026 press event in London, Perrette further amplified this, saying that when the first season of the Harry Potter series starts in December, it would be "the biggest streaming event in history and arguably in streaming, period".

So far, Canal+'s MultiChoice and M-Net will not make South African pay-TV subscribers part of this global viewing event who will be excluded. 

Ironically, Canal+'s MultiChoice and M-Net will very likely be directly pushing many people who are not going to wait to see it, to pirate episodes of Harry Potter in order to watch it immediately in the way M-Net used to promote HBO's "Express from the US" content.

The official teaser of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone series was released on Wednesday evening, as part of a press event that HBO held in London for media.

Starting with the first of seven books of JK Rowling, it introduces the three central characters of Harry (Dominic McLaughlin), Hermione Granger (Arabella Stanton) and Ron Weasley (Alastair Stout) as 11-year-olds on the train to their first year at the Hogwarts wizarding school.

Scenes also include Harry meeting the half-giant Hagrid (Nick Frost), the introduction of Hogwarts' Sorting Hat and Harry's his first Quidditch game as Gryffindor seeker.

John Lithgow was cast as Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, with Janet McTeer as Professor Minerva McGonagall and Paapa Essiedu as Professor Severus Snape. 

Filming takes place at Warner Bros.'s Leavesden Studios in Hertfordshire, England, since July 2025 on the sets that were used for the Harry Potter movies.

ALSO READ: HBO Harry Potter series cast Dominic McLaughlin, Arabella Stanton and Alastair Stout as Harry, Hermione and Ron

WarnerBros. Discovery relaunches HBO Max as just Max as the streamer announces new Harry Potter and Game of Thrones prequel series with a glimmer of hope for a South African launch date.

by Thinus Ferreira

On Wednesday night WarnerBros. Discovery made the expected announcement that it's renaming its HBO Max video streaming service to just Max, together with new TV show announcements like another Game of Thrones prequel series and a Harry Potter TV drama series which will last a decade, with Max that might finally be launching in South Africa sometime in 2024 as part of "new markets".

At a glitzy "Streaming Product Press Event" WarnerBros. Discovery held on Wednesday night inside Stage 14 on its Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, Los Angeles for journalists and investors and streamed globally for media, WBD CEO David Zaslav announced that HBO Max is being shortened to just Max from 23 May.

HBO Max - now just Max - as well as the company's discovery+ streamer from the merged WBD are not yet available in South Africa.

Max will however likely - like Paramount+ which is also not yet available in South Africa - eventually join the flurry of existing streamers like MultiChoice and NBCUniversal's Showmax, Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Disney+, BritBox, eMedia's eVOD, VIU, TruthTV, WOW Presents Plus and MarqueeTV.

JB Perrette, president and CEO of global streaming and games for WarnerBros. Discovery, said that HBO Max will be changing to Max in the United States first, followed by Latin America later this year and Europe next year.

South Africa might get Max sometime in 2024, with Perrette who said that WBD will look to expand and launch Max into "new markets" around the world next year. 

"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 unrivalled range of choice,” said JB Perrette.

"This new brand signals an important change from two narrower products, HBO Max and discovery+, to our broader content offering and consumer proposition. While each product offered something for some people, Max will have a broad array of quality choices for everybody."

Perrette said that in the global streaming war where services chased subscribers and have a "subscriber growth at all cost mentality", consumers are overwhelmed by content and content choices.

"We suddenly find ourselves in the fog of what many people have dubbed, the era of peak confusion," Perrette said. "The result is that consumers are overloaded. So, in this era of peak confusion, we're trying to simplify and improve the experience for consumers focusing on quality not just quantity."

David Zaslav said that "Max is the one to watch because we have the largest TV library in the world, thousands of shows Including shows that are loved everywhere like Friends, ER and The Big Bang Theory. And we have a number of the biggest quality makers of content that will feed and grow Max in the years ahead. They're ours."

Similar to how Disney+ has various content verticals known as tiles, Max will house HBO originals, Warner Bros. films, Max Originals, the DC universe, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, kids content, and Discovery content across food, home, reality, lifestyle and documentaries from HGTV, Food Network, Discovery Channel, TLC and ID. The relaunched Max will roll out roughly 40 new titles monthly. 

During the press event, WBD made announcements about new TV shows which will be made for Max. 

It's not yet clear whether these might remain exclusive to Max, or might become available through international distribution like some HBO content have been for MultiChoice's linear M-Net (DStv 101) channel and Showmax, until such time as Max launches in South Africa.

The new Max series are:

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight  

This second HBO prequel series of Game of Thrones is based on George R.R. Martin's Dun and Egg books and will be based on the series of fantasy novellas which follows the story of Ser Duncan the Tall known as Dunk and the young Aegon V Targaryen known as Egg. It is set 90 years before the events transpiring in the book A Song of Ice and Fire.

HBO released an official logline for the series, saying "A century before the events of Game of Thrones, two unlikely heroes wandered Westeros… a young, naïve but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his diminutive squire, Egg. Set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne and the memory of the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory, great destinies, powerful foes, and dangerous exploits all await these improbable and incomparable friends."

George R.R. Martin will be the writer and executive producer along with Ira Parker who was a co-executive producer on the first season of House of the Dragon which just started filming its second season in the United Kingdom. Ryan Condal and Vince Gerardis will also be co-executive producers.

Harry Potter TV drama series

WBD announced it is turning J.K. Rowling's entire 7-book Harry Potter series, already made into a film franchise, into a TV drama series, which will be rolled out over the course of a decade, with a new cast and with each book being a season.

J.K. Rowling will be an executive producer, with David Heyman who produced all eight films, in negotiations to become co-executive producer, with the production looking for a writer and a showrunner. 

The series will be produced by Warner Bros. Television in association with Brontë Film and TV, with Neil Blair and Ruth Kenley-Letts as co-executive producers. 

In the press release, WBD says "The stories from each of Rowling's Harry Potter books will become a decade-long series produced with the same epic craft, love and care this global franchise is known for".

"The series will feature a new cast to lead a new generation of fandom, full of the fantastic detail, much loved characters and dramatic locations that Harry Potter fans have loved for over 25 years."

"Each season will be authentic to the original books and bring Harry Potter and these incredible adventures to new audiences around the world, while the original, classic and beloved films will remain at the core of the franchise and available to watch globally."

Casey Bloys, chairman and CEO, HBO & Max content, says "We are delighted to give audiences the opportunity to discover Hogwarts in a whole new way".

According to Bloys the budget for the Harry Potter series will be "on the scale or higher" than Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon and "whatever it takes to make a quality show". 

"Harry Potter is a cultural phenomenon and it is clear there is such an enduring love and thirst for the Wizarding World. In partnership with Warner Bros. Television and J.K. Rowling, this new Max Original series will dive deep into each of the iconic books that fans have continued to enjoy for all of these years."

J.K. Rowling says "Max's commitment to preserving the integrity of my books is important to me, and I'm looking forward to being part of this new adaptation which will allow for a degree of depth and detail only afforded by a long-form television series".

WBD says the "Max Original series will be available on Max in the United States and globally once produced".

Another Big Bang Theory spinoff series

Casey Bloys announced that a new Big Bang Theory spinoff series is being developed by Chuck Lorre who created The Big Bang Theory and the first spinoff Young Sheldon.

A The Conjuring TV series

Also announced at the event is that New Line Cinema's The Conjuring film franchise is being turned into a TV drama series.

According to Warner Bros. Discovery, The Conjuring TV series will continue the story and world established within the six existing films with a 7th - The Nun 2 - which will be released in September. 

The TV series is produced by Atomic Monsters Productions, Warner Bros. Television and Safran Company, with Peter Safran as executive producer. James Wan who served as producer and director on several of the films is in negotiations to be co-executive producer.

Warner Bros. Discovery to keep discovery+ as a separately available streaming service as well as a folded-in tile on rebranded HBO Max.

by Thinus Ferreira

Warner Bros. Discovery has decided to keep its discovery+ video streaming service (which isn't available in South Africa or across Africa) as a separately available streaming service, although it will also be available as a folded-in tile destination on the larger HBO Max streaming service which is yet to be rebranded under a new name.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Warner Bros. Discovery execs have decided not to do away with discovery+ - as has been the plan - but to keep it available as a separate streaming service. 

The thought process behind the scenes is that Warner Bros. Discovery doesn't want to lose the subscribers who are and might be interested in paying for and subscribing to discovery+, which is cheaper and will cost less, but who might abandon or not be willing to pay for the much more expensive HBO Max just to get Discovery content.

Warner Bros. Discovery is realising that some subscribers just want the core content of a streaming service's offering and are willing to pay for just that - case in point discovery+ - but will cancel if they have to pay more to get access to that content when it's folded into a bigger service.

According to The Wall Street Journal report, "the decision to keep discovery+ is part of an effort to avoid risking losing a significant chunk of the app's 20 million subscribers who might not to want to pay the higher price to access that content".

Like discovery+, HBO Max has also been late out of the gate in reaching South African customers, and is also not available in South Africa or across Africa. 

It hasn't yet launched as either a stand-alone streaming service or in a partnership agreement with MultiChoice and hosted on devices like the DStv Explora, with no indication of a date as to when it might launch in South Africa.

Warner Bros. Discovery has also not given any launch date yet of the combined HBO Max and discovery+ streaming service, although it will be in 2023 and the name will very likely just be Max, dropping the HBO.

7 cancellations and a renewal.

by Thinus Ferreira

While American TV is producing more scripted series than ever before, the cancellation bear keeps stalking 2023's television woods with shows that keep getting axed as companies are consolidating their linear and streaming businesses into one. 

Here's the latest batch of your American shows which will be no more - and one deserving renewal.

NCIS: Los Angeles

One of the longest-running American procedural shows, NCIS: Los Angeles with LL Cool J, Chris O'Donnell and Linda Hunt is ending after 322 episodes at the end of its current 14th season which will be its last.

NCIS: LA, seen on M-Net (DStv 101) and Universal TV (DStv 117) was produced by CBS Studios and seen in more than 200 countries.

"Our crew has grown to be a true family and their hard work and dedication has been fundamental to our success year after year," says Scott R Gemmill, NCIS: Los Angeles showrunner in a statement.

"My deepest gratitude to the cast members, who have brought our characters to life with their impassioned performances – thank you for your talent, professionalism and continuous enthusiasm. And to our loyal viewers who loved our characters and followed their journeys, thank you. We look forward to delivering an end to the series that is both satisfying and does justice to these beloved characters."

Gossip Girl

HBO Max's reboot of Gossip Girl got the axe after two seasons.

Seen on M-Net (DStv 101) and Showmax, the series is the victim of Warner Bros. Discovery's content cost-cutting for its streaming service.

"We are very grateful to showrunner and executive producer Joshua Safran, and executive producers Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz for bringing us back to the Upper East Side and all the scandals at Constance Billard," says HBO Max in a statement. 

"Although we are not moving forward with a third season of Gossip Girl, we thank them for the enticing love triangles, calculated backstabbing and impeccable fashion this series brought to a new audience."

Doom Patrol and Titans

HBO also pulled the plug on the offbeat superheroes series Doom Patrol seen on M-Net (DStv 101) after four seasons, as well as Titans after four seasons, for the same reason as Gossip Girl - cutting back on streamer content.

"While these will be the final seasons of Titans and Doom Patrol, we are very proud of these series and excited for fans to see their climactic endings," HBO Max says in a statement.

American Gigolo

The Showtime series set in Los Angeles' modern-day sex industry with Jon Bernthal as Julian Kaye and seen on M-Net (DStv 101) and Showmax has just been cancelled after one season.

The reason? Paramount Global is consolidating the content across its Paramount+ and Showtime streaming services.

"We can confirm that American Gigolo will not move forward with a second season on Showtime. We are grateful to our partners at Paramount Television Studios, the producing team, cast and crew for their tremendous efforts to bring this series to life," Showtime says in a statement.

Let the Right One In

The vampire series Let The Right One In which will be on Showmax from 27 Ferbuary and is inspired by John Ajvide Lindqvist's novel that has been previously adapted into two acclaimed films, also got the axe after just one season.

Showtime can confirm that Let the Right One In will not move forward with a second season. We are extremely proud of this series and of the outstanding work by Demián Bichir, Madison Taylor Baez, Anika Noni Rose, our showrunner Andrew Hinderaker and his fellow executive producers, and the entire cast and crew," Showtime says in a statement. 

"We would like to thank all of them and our partners at Tomorrow Studios, and we wish everyone the best going forward."

Reboot

Steve Levitan's first TV project after the hugely successful Modern Family was this comedy series available on Disney+ which has been cancelled after one season.

Acapulco

And lastly, a renewal: The hilarious comedy series set during the 1980s and available on AppleTV+ has been renewed for a 10-episode third season.

"We have always believed that the stories we tell about our communities and cultures can resonate with global audiences, so crank up the AC, it’s about to get a lot hotter at Las Colinas Resort," says executive producer Eugenio Derbez who also stars in the show, in a statement.

Revived Gossip Girl cancelled, Outlander ending with prequel series spinoff.

by Thinus Ferreira

The revived Gossip Girl series has been cancelled after two seasons, while Outlander will be ending after eight seasons although the story will continue in a spinoff series.

Josh Safran, showrunner of the revived Gossip Girl series, has revealed that the show has been cancelled after two seasons. 

The 2021 Gossip Girl, from Warner Bros. Discovery's HBO Max seen on MultiChoice's streamer Showmax and the Me (DStv 115) channel, was a reboot of the 2007 series which chronicled the "scandalous lives of Manhattan's elite" teenagers.

"So here's the goss: it is with the heaviest of hearts that I have to announce Gossip Girl will not be continuing on HBO Max," he wrote on Instagram.

"The EPs and I will forever be grateful to the network and studio for their faith and support; the writers for their devious brains and dexterous talent; the superstar cast for being the greatest of collaborators and friends; and the crew for their hard work, dedication and love for the project."

"This was honestly the greatest set I ever worked on, top to bottom. We are currently looking for another home, but in this climate, that might prove an uphill bottle, and so if this is the end, at least we went out on the highest of highs. Thank you for watching, and I hope you’ll tune into the finale next Thursday to see how it all comes together. xoxo."

"A big thank you to all the GG fans around the world. You’re the reason we came back in the first place, and who knows, maybe the reason we will meet again. Much love."

HBO Max in a statement says "We are very grateful to showrunner/executive producer Joshua Safran, and executive producers Stephanie Savage and Josh Schwartz for bringing us back to the Upper East Side and all the scandals at Constance Billard".

"Although we are not moving forward with a third season of Gossip Girl we thank them for the enticing love triangles, calculated backstabbing and impeccable fashion this series brought to a new audience."

Outlander ending - with a spinoff

Meanwhile, Outlander, seen on M-Net (DStv 101) will be ending although the story will continue with a new spinoff, prequel series.

The 16-episode 7th season of Outlander will be broadcast this year, with the 8th season likely sometime in 2024 which will have 10 episodes.

"For nearly a decade Outlander has won the hearts of audiences worldwide and we're pleased to bring Claire and Jamie's epic love story to a proper conclusion," says Kathryn Busby, president of original programming at Starz, in a press statement announcing Outlander's ending.

"But before we close this chapter, there is plenty of their passionate story to tell over the course of 26 new episodes and even more to explore of this dynamic world and its origin story. We're thrilled to continue to partner with Matthew, Maril and Ronald and can't wait to see where their alluring storytelling takes us next."

Outlander will be followed by a prequel series, Outlander: Blood of My Blood, which will chronicle the love story and romance of Jamie Fraser's parents, Brian Fraser and Ellen MacKenzie.

"Outlander: Blood of My Blood is, at heart, a love story. It will explore what lengths a person will go to find love in a time when love is considered a luxury, and when marriages are made strategically, often for political or financial gain," says Matthew B. Roberts, Outlander showrunner who will continue as showrunner on the prequel series.

"The title is a nod to Jamie Fraser's marriage vow to Claire and there will be several names and faces that Outlander fans will know and recognise."

"Jamie and Claire's TV story may be coming to an end with season eight, but Diana is continuing on with their literary journey in her wonderful book series and is working diligently on book ten. With Jamie and Claire, and now Brian and Ellen, there is still so much more to come in the Outlander universe, and we cannot wait to continue sharing these stories with our dedicated fans."

Warner Bros. Discovery to combine HBO Max and discovery+ video streamers under new name, earliest South Africa launch in late-2024 or later.

by Thinus Ferreira

South Africans will never get access to the global video streaming services HBO Max or discovery+, with these streamers now getting combined into one - with a new name - which will only be rolled out in South Africa in late-2024 or even later.

Warner Bros. Discovery is also going to keep more TV shows and content back it used to sell to channels like M-Net (DStv 101) to bolster its own streaming service, as it also scales back its content investment on linear TV channels available on DStv like Cartoon Network, to try and save billions of dollars.

The newly combined Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) released its second quarter earning report late on Thursday night and confirmed that HBO Max and discovery+, already available in the United States and other countries, will never see the light of day in South Africa as they're getting combined under a new name and "relaunched" next year.

South African consumers already have access to MultiChoice's Showmax, The Walt Disney Company's Disney+ since a few months ago, Netflix SA, Amazon Prime Video, VIU, TelkomONE, e.tv's eVOD and with the South African public broadcaster planning to launch its SABC+ in late-2022, and with Paramount also supposed to launch its Paramount+ in 2023.

On WBD's Q2 earnings call on Thursday night, JB Perrette, WBD CEO and president of global streaming and games, said HBO Max and discovery+ are getting combined and will relaunch first in America in 2023 under an as-yet-unannounced name.

"At the end of the day, putting all the content together was the only way we saw to make this a viable business," he said.

The newly combined streaming service will initially be focused on subscription-driven sign-ups, although it also plans to launch a cheaper ad-filled tier, similar to what Netflix and Disney+ plan to launch.

After the American launch in 2023, WBD will launch its new combined streaming service in Europe in ealy-2024, in Asia-Pacific countries in the middle of 2024, and then in other markets in late-2024. Africa and South Africa haven't been mentioned, meaning it would only get the service in either late-2024 at the earliest, or sometime from 2025.

Kids content cut

Warner Bros. Discovery also confirmed on Thursday night it's cutting back on kids content, with the company running children's channels like Cartoon Network, Boomerang, Toonami which are available as linear TV channels across sub-Saharan Africa on traditional satellite pay-TV services like MultiChoice's DStv and StarTimes' StarSat.

On the earnings call, Gunnar Wiedenfels, WBD chief financial officer, said animation and kids content across both the streaming services and linear TV channels are getting cut back. 

He also mentioned that WBD is ending local content investment in international markets, putting a question mark behind some of the local investments the company has been making in content like CN to the Rescue on Cartoon Network Africa and My Cartoon Friend nominated for an upcoming SAFTA award in the Best children's programme category.

Gunnar Wiedenfels also mentioned that WBD is going to hit the pause button on new content licensing deals and that there will be a significant reduction in external content sales. 

M-Net in Africa and MultiChoice's Showmax have for instance benefitted for years from HBO output and content licensing and distribution deals to grab series ranging from Game of Thrones and the upcoming prequel House of the Dragon.

HBO Max releases a second trailer for House of the Dragon prequel series coming to M-Net in August.

by Thinus Ferreira

HBO Max has released a second official trailer of House of the Dragon, the dragon-filled prequel drama series set 200 years before Game of Thrones, which will be broadcast in August on M-Net (DStv 101) as an Express from the US release.

The new trailer follows after the first teaser trailer for House of the Dragon which was released in October 2021, with the new prequel series which is based on author George R.R. Martin's book, Fire & Blood.

The new series, filmed in the United Kingdom, stars Matt Smith as Prince Daemon Targaryen, the younger brother of Princess Rhanyra; alongside Paddy Considine as King Viserys Targaryen; Rhys Ifans as Ser Otto Hightower, the Hand of the King; Olivia Cooke as Lady Alicent Hightower, and Emma D’Arcy as Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, the king's first child and heir.

Also in the show are Fabien Frankel as knight Ser Criston Cole; Steve Toussaint as Lord Corlys Velaryon also known as "The Sea Snake"; Eve Best as Princess Rhaenys Velaryon, and Sonoya Mizuno as Mysaria.

The August launch date means that the big-budget fantasy series will be competing for attention with the first season of Amazon Prime Video's new fantasy drama series  The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power which will be releasing weekly episodes from 2 September. 

Although M-Net hasn't yet confirmed a specific starting date it will be taking House of the Dragon as an Express from the US title for MultiChoice DStv subscribers, similar to what Britain's Sky satellite pay-TV service will be doing for its pay-TV subscribers in the UK.

South Africa will get discovery+. Here's how.

by Thinus Ferreira

South Africa will definitely also get discovery+, the video streaming service of Discovery Inc. which is not yet available in the country, and it will happen through Warner Bros. Discovery combining its existing separate HBO Max and discovery+ streaming services into one streamer.

WarnerMedia that is fast expanding its streaming service HBO Max across Europe is already on record that it wants to expand HBO Max all over the globe, similar to Netflix and The Walt Disney Company's Disney+ that will arrive in South Africa anytime from June this year.

Since Discovery Inc. has not said anything about a planned rollout for its discovery+ for South Africa or Africa specifically, it has meant that viewers have been kept in the dark until now about whether they would ever get access to it and the additional content on the streamer like the expanded 90 Day Fiancé franchise, even more shows from Animal Planet, Food Network, HGTV, TLC, the Discovery Channel and other discovery+ Originals.  

Now, with Warner Bros. Discovery announcing that it will combine HBO Max and discovery+ in international markets - possibly in the way that Disney+ has different branded tiles incorporating National Geographic, Marvel, Disney, Star, Star Wars and Pixar - and with HBO Max that will definitely launch in South Africa, it means that South Africans will get access to discovery+.

Gunnar Wiedenfels, Discovery CFO, who will also serve as CFO of the combined Warner Bros. Discovery, revealed at the Deutsche Bank 30th Annual Media, Internet & Telecom Conference during a webcast that Warner Bros. Discovery is planning and already busy with preparations to combine HBO Max and discovery+.

Following the merger within a month of WarnerMedia and Discovery Inc. into Warner Bros. Discovery, HBO Max and discovery+ will initially be bundled together, but the two services will eventually be merged into one streaming service.

"We believe that the breadth and depth of this content offering is going to be a phenomenal consumer value proposition," Gunnar Wiedenfels said.

"The question is, in order to get to that point and do it in a way that's actually a great user experience for our subscribers - that's going to take some time."

"Again, that's nothing that's going to happen in weeks - hopefully not in years, but in several months, and we will start working on an interim solution in the meantime."

"So right out of the gate, we're working on getting the bundling approach ready, maybe a single sign-on, maybe ingesting content into the other product, so that we can start to get some benefits early on."

"But the main thrust is going to be harmonising the technology platform - building one very, very strong combined direct-to-consumer (DTC) product and platform - that's going to take a while."

One of the 'most complete' streamers

Gunnar Wiedenfels said that "One of the most important items here is that we believe in a combined product as opposed to a bundle".

"The combination could not make more sense than what we're doing here. We have HBO Max, with a more premium, male-skewing positioning, and then you've got the female-positioning on the Discovery side."

"You've got the daily engagement that people enjoy with Discovery content versus sort of the event-driven nature of the HBO Max content."

"Take that together, I have no doubt that we will be creating one of the most complete, sort of four-quadrant, old-young, male-female products out there."

"I'm really excited about it. I can't wait to see the first combined direct-to-consumer metrics because, in theory, the acquisition power of HBO Max, combined with the retention power of the Discovery content, I think is going to make for a blowout DTC product - and that should certainly drive very healthy revenue growth for years to come."

Once HBO Max and dicovery+ launch as a combined video streamer in South Africa as a standalone service, it could possibly also be carried by MultiChoice on its DStv Explora Ultra that has Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.

Sky in the United Kingdom and Europe already made multiple partnership deals to carry streamers ranging from Disney+ to SkyShowtime, Paramount+, discovery+ and several others.

Paramount's Paramount+ streamer is set to launch in South Africa early in 2023. 

The South African public broadcaster that was supposed to launch its own video streaming service before the end of this month, modelled after the BBC's iPlayer, has moved its launch out to the third quarter of this year, meaning to somewhere around July to September.

HBO releases the trailer for Julian Fellowes' new American period drama series, The Gilded Age.

by Thinus Ferreira

"For a New Yorker, anything is possible." HBO has released the official trailer for The Gilded Age, the new American period drama, created by Julian Fellowes.

HBO and Julian Fellowes hope to replicate the success of his British period drama Downton Abbey that is busy on production of a second film, and Shonda Rhimes' Bridgerton on Netflix that will have its second season in 2022.

The Gilded Age will debut on HBO in the United States on 24 January 2022 and will also be available on its HBO Max video streaming service that isn't available in South Africa yet. 

M-Net (DStv 101) was asked on Monday night whether it has acquired The Gilded Age or is negotiating for the series rights but haven't responded yet.

The Gilded Age begins in 1882 when a young Marian Brook (Louisa Jacobson) moves from rural Pennsylvania to New York City after the death of her father, to live with her thoroughly old money aunts Agnes van Rhijn (Christine Baranski) and Ada Brook (Cynthia Nixon).

"Accompanied by Peggy Scott (Denée Benton), an aspiring writer seeking a fresh start, Marian inadvertently becomes enmeshed in a social war between one of her aunts, a scion of the old-money set, and her stupendously rich neighbours, a ruthless railroad tycoon and his ambitious wife," HBO says in the official logline description for the series.

"Exposed to a world on the brink of the modern age, will Marian follow the established rules of society, or forge her own path?"

After Sky in Britain acquires HBO's House of the Dragon there is still silence from Africa's M-Net.

by Thinus Ferreira

After the Sky pay-TV service in the United Kingdom secured the Game of Thrones spinoff, House of the Dragon, that will start on HBO's video streaming service in America in 2022, Africa's M-Net is remaining silent about its acquisition plans for the fantasy drama series.

HBO Max released the first teaser trailer for House of the Dragon last week. 

That was followed by Sky announcing that it has secured House of the Dragon for its pay-TV viewers in the United Kingdom, where the series will debut on the Sky Atlantic channel in 2022.

Last week TVwithThinus asked M-Net whether it has done the same and also managed to secure the series for MultiChoice's DStv subscribers in South Africa and across sub-Saharan Africa, in the way that Sky did.

M-Net acknowledged the media query but by a week later didn't provide an answer about House of the Dragon by the time of publication of this report, with the pay-TV broadcaster saying that it would respond "as soon as we have a response".

The prequel series will chronicle the fall of the House of Targaryen when dragons still roamed Westeros in bigger numbers before their virtual extinction during the time of Game of Thrones and the family politics and drama - basically a family civil war - that became known as the legendary "Dance of the Dragons".

It's not yet clear whether MultiChoice's M-Net or Showmax in South Africa might be able to acquire House of the Dragon like it did Game of Thrones.

House of the Dragon is specifically made for HBO Max, that WarnerMedia plans to still roll out globally, similar to Disney+ (coming to South Africa around June 2022 to South Africa), ViacomCBS' Paramount+, and Discovery Inc.'s Discovery+.

Neither Christina Sulebakk, general manager for HBO Max for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, nor Priya Dogra, president of WarnerMedia International, has so far announced any specific launch date yet for HBO Max in sub-Saharan Africa.

That means that similar to Disney+ series like The Mandalorian, South African viewers won't be able to watch House of the Dragon legally even if they want to pay, unless WarnerMedia or HBO does a licensing agreement with M-Net or Showmax.

Johannes Larcher, WarnerMedia's head of HBO Max International, said that HBO Max plans to be available in 190 countries by 2026.

ALSO READ: WarnerMedia shows the first teaser footage of its Game of Thrones prequel series House of the Dragon coming to HBO Max in 2022.

WarnerMedia shows the first teaser footage of its Game of Thrones prequel series House of the the Dragon coming to HBO Max in 2022.

by Thinus Ferreira

HBO has unveiled the first teaser footage of its Game of Thrones prequel spin-off series, House of the Dragon that will be coming to its HBO Max video streaming service in 2022.

"Gods, kings, fire and blood. Dreams didn't make us king. Dragons did," viewers hear in the first teaser for the 10-episode House of the Dragon. 

The prequel series will chronicle the fall of the House of Targaryen when dragons still roamed Westeros in bigger numbers before their virtual extinction during the time of Game of Thrones and the family politics and drama - basically a family civil war - that became known as the legendary "Dance of the Dragons".

Matt Smith appears as dragonrider Prince Daemon Targaryen in the first teaser for the series that takes place 200 years before Game of Thrones. 

HBO Max also announced further cast additions for the series, with Wil Johnson as Ser Vaemond Velaryon, John Macmillan as Ser Laenor Velaryon, Savannah Steyn as Lady Laena Velayron, and Theo Nate as Ser Laenor Velaryon.

House of the Dragon will be released at an unspecified date in 2022 and the teaser was released today as part of a promotional effort by WarnerMedia that plans to roll out HBO Max in Europe and that held a virtual Europe launch event in Tuesday.

It's not yet clear whether MultiChoice's M-Net or Showmax in South Africa might be able to acquire House of the Dragon like it did Game of Thrones.

House of the Dragon is specifically made for HBO Max, that WarnerMedia plans to still roll out globally, similar to Disney+ (coming to South Africa around June 2022 to South Africa), ViacomCBS' Paramount+, and Discovery Inc.'s Discovery+.

Neither Christina Sulebakk, general manager for HBO Max for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, nor Priya Dogra, president of WarnerMedia International, have so far announced any specific launch date yet for HBO Max in sub-Saharan Africa.

That means that similar to Disney+ series like The Mandalorian, South African viewers won't be able to watch House of the Dragon legally even if they want to pay, unless WarnerMedia or HBO does a licensing agreement with M-Net or Showmax.

Johannes Larcher, WarnerMedia's head of HBO Max International, said that HBO Max plans to be available in 190 countries by 2026.

CORONAVIRUS. Covid-19 cases shutter production on Netflix's Bridgerton and HBO's House of the Dragon in Britain.

by Thinus Ferreira

Two TV series filmed in the United Kingdom have shuttered production after Covid-19 positive cases with filming of the second season of Bridgerton on Netflix that is indefinitely on hold, and with production that has also been paused for a few days on HBO's Game of Thrones prequel series, House of the Dragon.

Bridgerton, produced by Shondaland through Household Pictures, shut down on Thursday due to a Covid-19 positive case, restarted on Friday, but then shuttered production indefinitely after a second Covid-19 positive case, according to The New York Times.

Netflix didn't want to say whether it is crew or cast who had positive Covid-19 results, as cases of the more contagious Delta-variant of the coronavirus is fuelling thousands of new cases in the global pandemic.

House of the Dragon, a prequel fantasy series from HBO revolving around the House of Targaryen while dragons were still numerous in Westeros, halted production that will resume again on Wednesday, according to Deadline.

Sky News reported that filming of Netflix's film version of Matilda The Musical, also produced in the United Kingdom, has also been partially halted, with Netfix that confirmed that someone in one of the production units tested positive for Covid-19.

Friends: See the official teaser of Friends: The Reunion - or as the call it, 'The One Where They Get Back Together'.

by Thinus Ferreira

HBO has released an instantly-emotional, first official teaser for the TV special event, Friends: The Reunion - or as the show calls it "the one where the one where they get back together".

HBO also announced that Friends: The Reunion will become available on Thursday 27 May on its HBO Max video streaming service. 

Although WarnerMedia has not launched HBO Max in South Africa or anywhere else in the sub-Saharan Africa market, chances are that the TV special will end up on M-Net (DStv 101) that had the pay-TV rights for the comedy series throughout its run and with M-Net and MultiChoice that has an existing output deal for HBO content with Warner.

In the Friends: The Reunion official teaser, the older cast of David Schwimmer, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, Courteney Cox and Matt LeBlanc can be seen filmed from the back, walking, at dusk, away from the camera while the Friends theme song plays.

According to the HBO press release, they return to "the iconic comedy's original soundstage, Stage 24, on the Warner Bros. Studio lot in Burbank for a real-life unscripted celebration of the beloved show".

The Friends: The Reunion video trailer is a clever play on one of the iconic Friends publicity images that was released while the show was in production showing the 6 friends, from the front, walking on the studio lot in formal wear.

The TV special will include several guest appearances, including BTS, Cara Delevingne, Cindy Crawford, David Beckham, Elliot Gould, James Corden, Justin Bieber, Kit Harrington, Lady Gaga, Larry Hankin, Mindy Kaling, Thomas Lennon, Christina Pickles, Tom Selleck, James Michael Tyler who played Gunther on the show, Maggie Wheeler, Reese Witherspoon and Malala Yousafzai.

The special is directed by Ben Winston and executive produced by the original Friends creators Kevin Bright, Marta Kauffman and David Crane.

All the elven fantasy TV news fit to whisper: From Netflix's The Witcher spin-off and possible Harry Potter series to Game of Thrones and Amazon Studios' Númenor-set Lord of the Rings prequel series.

by Thinus Ferreira

The Witcher prequel series on Netflix is casting, Game of Thrones will chronicle a new Westeros war, there will be familiar and new characters like Sauron in Amazon Prime Video's The Lord of the Rings series, and the sorting hat might be dusted off to sort a new class in a Harry Potter TV series on HBO Max. 

In an announcement, Netflix said that Jodie Turner-Smith has been cast in the role of Éile in the upcoming series The Witcher: Blood Origin spin-off.

This limited, 6-episode, live-action series is set "in an elven world" 1 200 years before the events depicted in The Witcher, which is busy filming its second season in the United Kingdom with Henry Cavill in the lead role as Geralt of Rivia.

According to Netflix, The Witcher: Blood Origin will "tell a story lost to time – the creation of the first prototype Witcher, and the events that lead to the pivotal 'conjunction of the spheres', when the worlds of monsters, men, and elves merged to become one".

Netflix's character description states that Jodie Turner-Smith will "play Éile, an elite warrior blessed with the voice of a goddess, who has left her clan and position as Queen’s guardian to follow her heart as a nomadic musician. A grand reckoning on the continent forces her to return to the way of the blade in her quest for vengeance and redemption".

Declan de Barra serves as executive producer and showrunner of The Witcher: Blood Origin with Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, creator of The Witcher series, as executive producer, together with Tomek Baginski and Jarek Sawko from Platige Films.

Besides this limited spin-off, Netflix is also working on an animated film titled The Witcher: Nightmare Of The Wolf, that will tell the origin story of Geralt’s Witcher mentor Vesemir.

More Hogwarts and Westeros

As the video streaming wars continue to ramp up and studios are scouring their intellectual property catalogues that they could potentially build out into new content to set them apart and lure viewers, the Hollywood trades are reporting that WarnerMedia executives, in early discussions, are thinking about developing a live-action Harry Potter TV series for its HBO Max video streaming service.

In an official statement, Warner Bros. and HBO Max say that "there is no Harry Potter series in development at the studio or on the streaming platform".

Obviously, this statement is technically true - a series isn't in actual "development" - but it is only true insofar as everything that Professor Albus Dumbledore ever said to Harry Potter was technically true, although it wasn't at times all of the truth that was available.

According to the Hollywood reports, HBO Max and WarnerMedia execs have been and are talking about the possibility of developing a Harry Potter TV series and they see "expanding the world of Harry Potter as a top priority", similar to the way in which HBO's Game of Thrones fantasy series is being expanded with several prequel spin-off series.

Besides the already-announced House of the Dragon series that will debut in 2022 and that will chronicle the start of Westeros' Targaryen civil war, HBO is now also developing a George R.R. Martin Game of Thrones spinoff book series as a new Tales of Dunk and Egg TV series.

This spinoff drama series, with hour-long episodes and set 90 years before the existing TV series, will revolve around the adventures of Ser Duncan the Tall (known as Dunk) and a very young Aegon V Targaryen (known as Egg).

HBO Max is not available in South Africa or sub-Saharan Africa and WarnerMedia doesn't want to talk about a possible launch date for the country or the continent.

However, last week Christina Sulebakk, the boss of WarnerMedia's HBO Max for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region, announced her senior executive team specifically for this region - a strong indication that HBO Max will eventually make its way to South Africa similar to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV+.

A Sauron origin story

Amazon Prime Video has released an official description for the New Zealand-filmed Lord of the Rings prequel TV series, confirming that it will be set during the Second Age of Middle-earth, will include the island of Númenor and the elf-capital Lindon as locations, and that viewers will see "characters, both familiar and new" which means a young Sauron.

The as-yet-untitled Lord of the Rings series, the world's new most expensive TV series ever, is only expected to be released on Amazon Prime Video in late-2021, or during 2022 with Amazon that hasn't given a definite release date yet. 

While the prequel series takes place thousands of years before the events depicted in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit films and books, several of the inhabitants of this world have long lifespans like the dwarfs who live for several centuries and elves who are immortal. 

According to Amazon Prime Video's new official synopsis for the series, "Amazon Studios' forthcoming series brings to screens for the very first time the heroic legends of the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth's history".

"This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and will take viewers back to an era in which great powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested, hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness."

"Beginning in a time of relative peace, the series follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth."

"From the darkest depths of the Misty Mountains, to the majestic forests of the elf-capital of Lindon, to the breathtaking island kingdom of Númenor, to the furthest reaches of the map, these kingdoms and characters will carve out legacies that live on long after they are gone."

The Second Age is of course when Sauron rose to power and corrupted the human leaders living on Númenor, leading to the fall of the Nine Kings. 

The series cast includes Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Nazanin Boniadi, Tom Budge and Morfydd Clark as a young Galadriel.

ALSO READ: Amazon Studios' Lord of the Rings fantasy drama series will be set during the Second Age and include the island of Númenor.

ALSO READ: Netflix commissions The Witcher fantasy spin-off with a 6-episode prequel series The Witcher: Blood Origin set 1 200 years earlier during the Elven civilisation.