The Television Critics Association press tour is underway and HBO held a Q&A with Chief Content Officer Casey Bloys yesterday that resulted in updates on a lot of shows at the network or in the works for the HBO Max service.
One is “And Just Like That,” the revival of “Sex and the City” which won’t see the return of Kim Cattrall but has the other three leads coming back. Bloys says the change is authentic: “It’s like real life, the people you were friends with in your 30s not always are the same when you are in your 50s. It reflects the different stages of life.”
The “Game of Thrones” prequel spin-off series “House of the Dragon,” which was ordered straight-to-series, will start production in April. Bloys adds the network is open to more spin-offs: “We’ve been talking about areas to develop, which is where this prequel came from. We are talking about other areas that make sense as well… There are a lot of opportunities and stories to tell.”
While a second season order has not yet been handed out for fantasy drama “Lovecraft Country,” showrunner Misha Green and a small team of writers are at work on the next chapter for characters like Leti, Montrose, Hippolyta and Ji-ah. Bloys says: “I’m very hopeful, as is Mischa, so we’re giving them the time to work.”
The rumored “Harry Potter” series remains so early in development it’s “not even embryonic at this point”. All that’s happened so far are “exploratory conversations” with no-one attached and nothing in development.
Both “Succession” and “Barry” recently began filming their third seasons ahead of likely early 2022 airings. A fourth season renewal of either hasn’t been announced, but the writers of “Barry” have already penned the scripts for one should it be. Bloys adds: “Typically, we don’t pick up things until they air but if I was betting on whether we would do more, I think that is a very safe bet.”
The “True Blood” revival from Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa and Jami O’Brien is still in very early stages and there are no current plans for original cast members to return.
The network has dropped two Mike Judge comedy shows that they’d previously ordered in 2019 – “Qualityland” and “A5”. Judge has recently been overseeing the reimagining of “Beavis and Butt-Head” at Comedy Central.
Smaller updates include the new season of “In Treatment” is set for a May, the Dan Lindsey and T.J. Martin-directed Tina Turner documentary “Tina” will premiere March 27th, and “I May Destroy You” creator/star Michaela Coel is “noodling ideas” for another series which they hope to work with her on.
Finally, HBO Max will launch across 39 Latin American and Caribbean territories in June, while the existing HBO-branded streaming services in Europe will be upgraded to HBO Max later this year.
Source: Deadline