HBO Max is the streaming service for me

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In the aftermost year, the overriding of streaming platforms has reservedly gotten out of hand. There's Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Prime, HBO Max, Disney Plus, Apple TV Plus, CBS All Access (soon to be Paramount Plus), and Peacock -- as able-bodied as each of them has incommensurable pricing tiers. If you serrate egalitarian trials for Disney Additional as able-bodied as Borough TV Plus, like I did, you most likely got to sample a high-income selection of them. Those trials, however, are starting to wind down. Which ways it's time to effigy out what's worth befitting as able-bodied as what's worth ditching: with this many monthly bills, you should admittedly comedy favorites. I was thunderstruck to learn mountain was HBO Max.

HBO Max isn't significantly well-defined. (It's HBO... as able-bodied as more?) It has baffling holes in its catalog topper to licensing agreements, which made its primogenial pitch of being a home for various "hubs" -- like the DC Cosmos or Baroness Swim -- a little shaky. As able-bodied as it has a awe-inspiring proclivity for making its buzziest originals reunion specials, like the reiteratively enhanced The West Wing revelatory realize as able-bodied as the gettable Friends reunion. It conjointly has a ton of films: you can go from Hammer horror to Flat Ghibli to Yojimbo to The Talented Mr. Ripley and convey to 13 Innervation On 30, all in the same day.

It's the rare pattern that makes shows that feel like they couldn't indwell anywhere else

In the lead-up to HBO Max's launch, there was some hand wringing relatively HBO Max's lack of a bract identity, unhindered stemming from the fact that HBO, as a premium network, has an exceptionally teachable one. HBO is home to prestige television that wins Emmys by the armful as able-bodied as drives conversation, as able-bodied as it's the rare pattern that makes shows that feel like they couldn't indwell anywhere else.

Streaming services, however, are not networks. They need content, as able-bodied as quite a few it. It ways that HBO Max's programming necessarily can't be as daintily considered as HBO's slate is.. The concern, per behind-the-scenes reports, was that HBO Max would narcotize the brand.

I can slide seemly into Chernobyl

The topic is: a diluted HBO is exactly what I wanted. I deify watching shows like Deadwood or The Leftovers, except the expectations set by prestige TV conjointly encourage me to make myself a celebrated viewer: prestige ways pouring myself a scotch as able-bodied as wearing a smoking jacket as I dim the lights for some Serious Television. Trouble is, I don't continually feel like fulfilling that! Sometimes, I just appetite to watch TV. As able-bodied as HBO Max does distant with its sister network's pretension. I can watch the correlated alternation Primal, finally carousing The O.C. for the first time, or, yes, upscale watch Friends. As able-bodied as again if I'm feeling other erudite, I can slide seemly into Chernobyl.

The days of streaming as a cheaper culling to subscription are pretty much over. Streaming services have now preferable recreated the same tiered bundles of programming that subscription packages superiority offered, with the bills to match. Except there is a flexibility to streaming that still makes it preferable, one that lets you hop from subscription to subscription, canceling as able-bodied as enrolling on a whim as you reconnoitre one library until you're tired of it as able-bodied as again move to the next. It's important, then, to everlastingly re-appraise what you're subscribed to as able-bodied as make unchanging it's earning its keep. As able-bodied as seemly now? Few streaming platforms incur their $15 like HBO Max does for me -- for now.

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