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Max Set for Rebrand: Streaming Service to Be Called… HBO Max (Again!)

Max Set for Rebrand: Streaming Service to Be Called… HBO Max (Again!)

Yahoo14-05-2025

Just two years after its rebrand as Max, Warner Bros. Discovery announced Wednesday that starting this summer, its streaming service will once again be called HBO Max.
As in its original name.
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'With the course we are on and strong momentum we are enjoying, we believe HBO Max far better represents our current consumer proposition,' HBO CEO Casey Bloys explained during WBD's Upfront presentation on Wednesday morning. 'And it clearly states our implicit promise to deliver content that is recognized as unique and, to steal a line we always said at HBO, worth paying for.'
David Zaslav, president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, said in a statement, 'The powerful growth we have seen in our global streaming service is built around the quality of our programming. Today, we are bringing back HBO, the brand that represents the highest quality in media, to further accelerate that growth in the years ahead.'
Streaming chief JB Perrette added that amid the rebrand, HBO Max 'will continue to focus on what makes us unique — not everything for everyone in a household, but something distinct and great for adults and families.'
Max plans currently start at $9.99/month, and there was no mention on whether the change will affect prices. The rebrand will take effect this summer.
What do you think of Max returning to its HBO Max roots? Hit the comments with your reactions to the not-so-surprising news!Best of TVLine
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The soul of The Last of Us is in Gustavo Santaolalla's music
The soul of The Last of Us is in Gustavo Santaolalla's music

The Verge

timean hour ago

  • The Verge

The soul of The Last of Us is in Gustavo Santaolalla's music

When fans nervously tuned in to watch HBO's adaptation of one of their favorite video games, there was one familiar presence that immediately calmed their nerves: the mournful guitar of Gustavo Santaolalla. As certain story beats changed and beloved polygonal faces were replaced with new actors, the beating heart of The Last of Us — its mesmerizing, tension-ridden score — survived the transition to TV intact. '[Series creator] Neil Druckmann has said that my music is part of the DNA of The Last of Us,' Santaolalla says. 'I think the fact that we kept the sonic fabric — that we didn't do an orchestral score for the series — has been instrumental in keeping those fans of the games fans of the series, too.' Born and raised in Buenos Aires, Santaolalla first started releasing music when he was 17. Loving both English rock bands and the traditional Argentine folk music that he was raised on, Santaolalla melded both into his own unique sound, part of a genre called rock nacional. Before he could fully make his mark, Santaolalla's family fled the Argentine junta dictatorship in 1978, moving to Los Angeles, where his unique sound soon caught the attention of filmmakers. Snapped up to score the 2000 film Amores Perros and 2003's 21 Grams, their success led to Santaolalla composing the soundtracks for Brokeback Mountain and Babe l, both of which won him Oscars. Santaolla's sonic secret? Embracing the eloquence of silence. 'I work so much with silence and space, because silences sometimes can be louder than a note that you're playing,' says Santaolalla. 'I remember on Brokeback Mountain when I first sent them the music, the producer said 'I thought you were pulling my leg at first, because you wait so long to play the next note!'' 'Silences sometimes can be louder than a note that you're playing.' After winning two Oscars back to back, Santaolalla carefully considered his next career move. Despite being a self-professed 'terrible gamer' Santaolalla tells me he always loved watching his son play, mesmerized by the on-screen kineticism. 'I always thought that if somebody connects this at an emotional level with a player, it's going to be a revolution.' It turns out, the universe had picked up on Santaolalla's newest interest. Post-Oscars, he was approached by several game companies to do music, but turned them down because 'I'm very picky about the work that I do.' That includes a lucrative gaming project that he is careful not to name. 'Everyone thought I was crazy!' he chuckles. Still, Santaolalla quietly hoped that a more emotionally-resonant project would materialize. 'So, I waited… and then Neil appeared,' Santaolalla says. 'When Neil told his colleagues that he wanted me to do this, [his colleagues ] said, No, Gustavo is not going to be interested — he won two Oscars! But when Neil [told me] the story, and that he wanted to do a game that connects with people on an emotional level… I was sold. What even Neil Druckmann wasn't prepared for, however, was that Gustavo's music would become just as crucial a presence as Ellie and Joel. In a post apocalyptic world where life is scarce and danger lurks around every corner, silence hangs in the air like a threat. Santaolalla's scuffed notes, discordant melodies and screeching fret slides reverberate across the dilapidated city streets, feeling as unpredictable as the world Ellie and Joel inhabit. 'I love the use of imperfections, even errors or mistakes.' 'I love the use of imperfections, even errors or mistakes,' Santaolalla explains. 'Any professional guitar player when they're recording tend to avoid all kinds of noises; when you run your hand on the fretboard or little glitches in your playing. But sometimes, I'll push those in my mix, and I think that humanizes it. That's why many people have said that my music becomes like a character — a presence. It's why I play things myself.' In the second game, Gustavo's music becomes a physical part of the fiction, with Ellie carrying a guitar throughout her quest for vengeance. She takes out the instrument during welcome moments of downtime, offering cathartic respite. And just like Gustavo's score, these beautiful vignettes break up the harrowing silence, which carries through in the second season of the show. 'I love the TV series too,' says Santaolalla. ' For the show, Neil associated himself with another incredible talent, Craig Mazin — the guy that did Chernobyl — who knows that media and that language. I think it was a big, big challenge, because when you go from one media to another one, people say no, I like the original better! So, I think, once again, that the way we have used the music has been instrumental to keep that fan base attached.' He adds that 'I think that when a story is really great, like a theatrical piece — like Shakespeare — it doesn't matter who plays the character. Obviously Pedro Pascal's Joel is different than the Joel from the game, but the substance of the character is so powerful that those things are just superficial. They could have done this as a series, as a feature film, as a puppet theatre piece, or an animation and it will still land regardless — because it's just great writing.' Now as Santaolalla finds himself releasing his very own instrument — the Guitarocko — it feels like the culmination of the musical journey he started as a teen. Melding the traditional Bolivian 10 stringed ronroco with the form factor of a Fender Stratocaster, Gustavo feels a father-like pride for his musical creation: the 73-year-old is invigorated by what The Last Of Us has given him at this stage in his career. 'I've been blessed with the fact that I have connected with an audience since I was very young,' he says. 'But the way I connect with the fans of The Last of Us and the way they connect with the music… here's a special devotion that is really beautiful. I have this new audience which is fantastic, and I love that they didn't know me as an artist or as a film composer! Now they look for my music, and they discover these things. It's been a gift for me, at this point — after everything that I've been through — to be involved with a project like this.'

Sophia Bush Says She Endured 'Every Kind of Abuse' on Show Due to Older Man
Sophia Bush Says She Endured 'Every Kind of Abuse' on Show Due to Older Man

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Sophia Bush Says She Endured 'Every Kind of Abuse' on Show Due to Older Man

Actress Sophia Bush alleged she was was on the receiving end of 'every kind of abusive' treatment while filming a television show. The One Tree Hill veteran made the claims during an episode of Monica Lewinsky's podcast Reclaiming that was released Tuesday. More from The Hollywood Reporter Kim Raver on Steering 'Grey's Anatomy's' First Open Marriage and Directing That Almost Sex Scene Sophia Bush's Role on 'Grey's Anatomy' Revealed Sophia Bush Joins 'Grey's Anatomy' Season 21 in Recurring Role While Bush did not name the show, she gave several context clues (such as the date she left the series) so that one might assume she was talking about her years on NBC's hit procedural Chicago P.D., where she played Detective Erin Lindsay. She left the show after 84 episodes and has previously described it as a grueling experience. 'I was in this great place [after One Tree Hill], and I was ready for what was next,' Bush said. 'And I did this comedy that I loved … for CBS. Then I went to work on this other show that was on my bucket list and then I had this whole other trauma. I had a workplace ongoing trauma revolving around an unending situation with someone old enough to be my father. And I was like, what is happening?' Lewinsky then asked if Bush was referring to an inappropriate relationship that was professional or romantic, and whether she meant emotional abuse or some other kind. 'Professional — and every kind of abusive,' Bush said. 'When I look back at it, I had the opportunity after two years to go. And I did the thing I learned to do and said, 'I will not have my integrity diminished by someone else's behavior. I will be unflappable. I will come to work and do my job and I couldn't.' Continued Bush: 'The next two years were like physical hell for me. And to go through spontaneous illness, wake up covered in hives, to have a really crazy weight fluctuations, to watching my hair fall out, to struggle with insomnia, to have crippling anxiety as an extrovert who loves people, to be hit with anxiety in a way that I could barely be out of the house. If people touched me in public, I would jump out of my skin. I couldn't talk to strangers anymore. I couldn't be looked at anymore … I had to go to work ready for war all the time. I had to learn how to block a scene in order not to be touched.' Bush said she left the series in April 2017, right before the rise of the #MeToo movement. That October, she says she received an apologetic phone call from 'an executive.' 'I got a call from an executive apologizing for what they had done and not done,' she said. 'And [the executive] said, 'We're very aware that we just made it out of that unscathed.' And I was like, 'Glad you did. I'm in so much therapy. I even diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. But I'm thrilled you guys didn't get dragged through the press, that's great.' Bush noted that she's told specific details of her experience to others and then 'watched the horror on their face,' which helped her realize, 'Oh, I'm not crazy. I was just in an environment where no one wanted to hear it because it was a threat to the machine.' Bush previously said on the Armchair Expert podcast, specifically of her years on Chicago P.D., 'Nearing my tenure there, I was probably difficult to be around because I was in so much pain and I felt so ignored. I feel like I was standing butt naked, bruised and bleeding in the middle of Times Square, screaming at the top of my lungs and not a single person stopped to ask if they could help me.' NBC had no immediate comment. Bush has been back on broadcast television this season with a recurring guest role on ABC's Grey's Anatomy. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 'The Studio': 30 Famous Faces Who Play (a Version of) Themselves in the Hollywood-Based Series 22 of the Most Shocking Character Deaths in Television History A 'Star Wars' Timeline: All the Movies and TV Shows in the Franchise

TVLine's Performers of the Week: Matthew Goode and Chloe Pirrie
TVLine's Performers of the Week: Matthew Goode and Chloe Pirrie

Yahoo

time2 hours ago

  • Yahoo

TVLine's Performers of the Week: Matthew Goode and Chloe Pirrie

THE PERFORMERS | Matthew Goode and Chloe Pirrie More from TVLine The Cleaning Lady, Alert: Missing Persons Unit Both Cancelled at Fox Is Doctor Who Reunion Inevitable? Did Cleaning Lady Kiss Leave You Cold? How Would SNL Have Handled Trump/ Musk Break-Up? More TV Qs! Emmys Twist: Dept. Q Enters Drama Series Race at 11th Hour, Potentially Upending 2025 Contest (Exclusive) THE SHOW | Netflix's Dept. Q THE EPISODE | 'Episode 9' (May 29, 2025) THE PERFORMANCES | Edinburgh Detective Carl Morck and cutthroat prosecutor Merritt Lingard are, for all intents and purposes, miserable human beings — a fact Dept. Q spends much of its gripping nine-episode run leaning into. It's a testament to the acting strength of Goode and Pirrie (i.e., their respective portrayers) that we still found ourselves rooting for the pair despite their aggressive unlikability. And while both actors delivered tremendous work throughout the Scottish thriller, it was their performances in the finale — which found Carl and Merritt at their most introspective and mellow — that packed the biggest punch. For Queen's Gambit alum Pirrie, two moments — both of which found the actress uttering nary a syllable — stand out. First there was her wordless reunion with younger brother William following her brutal four-year captivity, during which Pirrie — using just her eyes — infused Merritt's aura of emptiness and despair with hope and relief upon seeing her healthy, smiling sibling. Later, when the sight of the elaborate tracking board detectives used to find her literally took Merritt's breath away, Pirrie ensured that audiences felt the full weight of the discovery that, yes, the young solicitor's life mattered — if not to her than to Carl and his fellow scoobies. Goode, meanwhile, produced a series of similarly silent rapid-fire payoffs during the episode's closing moments as Carl's myriad demons fell by the wayside like dominos amid quietly heartfelt run-ins with his numerous frenemies/foils at home and at work. Watching Carl's fury and indignation vanish, even if temporarily, proved to be Goode's most satisfying magic trick. Scroll down to see who got Honorable Mention shout-outs this week… We were on the lookout for Millie Gibson's performance in the Doctor Who finale, and Russell T Davies was dead on. To start, Gibson was excellent when Ruby confronted ex-beau Conrad about the Wish World he'd created, one not full of whisky and guns but people who were safe, warm and had families. (How did that speak to Conrad's upbringing/never-mentioned dad?) Later, Gibson did very heavy lifting when one glitch of the Wish World's undoing left Ruby the only person to remember the Doctor and Belinda's impossible daughter. Gibson's pained face communicated all of the heartbreak that the disappeared child's parents should have, but couldn't, feel. 'The gods are full of tricks,' Ruby sniffed, referring to the tyke's absence and Conrad's new, benign fate. Gibson's work peaked as an emphatic Ruby finally convinced her Doctor 'there's another world,' and in it lives 'a little girl, and she's beautiful. Her name's Poppy.' —Matt Webb Mitovich Some actors simply have a gift when it comes time to shed tears — we previously ran a list of TV's best weepers, in fact — and Martha Millan certainly possesses that talent. During The Cleaning Lady's Season 4 finale (now a series finale), Millan put that skill on display in an emotional confrontation between Fiona and ADA Joel Herman, in which Fiona begged Joel to understand the sacrifices Thony had made for her family. 'She was willing to scrub toilets by my side to keep her son breathing,' Fiona recalled, Millan's face suddenly etched with pain. 'Would you move halfway across the world… to scrub toilets to save your daughter? Of course you would. But you're lucky. 'Cause you don't have to.' The tremor in Millan's voice, her quivering bottom lip, the way she repeatedly reined in Fiona's tears before they overtook her — it all made for a moving and memorable scene, even in a two-hour finale packed with standout moments. — Rebecca Luther His roommates might label him a 'friend slut,' but Adults' Anton simply sees himself as 'a delight' — and Owen Thiele was indeed delightful as Anton faced the consequences of being too fun to be around this week on FX's riotous new comedy. In Episode 3, the gang learned a stabber was loose in their neighborhood, and of course, Anton had the guy in his phone already, as we learned when he (in one of the year's funniest TV scenes) scrolled to reveal hundreds of texts from random people like 'Trevor Medieval Times Knight.' Thiele was flat-out hilarious as Anton shrugged off his ability to make friends with anyone instantly… and then proceeded to befriend the cops investigating the stabber. Thiele even got to mix in some terror and tears as Anton had to face his greatest fear: telling someone he doesn't want to be friends with them. Adults already has a great ensemble in its freshman season, but Thiele might just be our new bestie. — Dave Nemetz Which performance(s) knocked your socks off this week? Tell us in the comments! Best of TVLine Young Sheldon Easter Eggs: Every Nod to The Big Bang Theory (and Every Future Reveal) Across 7 Seasons Weirdest TV Crossovers: Always Sunny Meets Abbott, Family Guy vs. Simpsons, Nine-Nine Recruits New Girl and More ER Turns 30: See the Original County General Crew, Then and Now

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