HBO Max is coming to Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein on Jan. 13, the streamer revealed on Wednesday. This nearly completes HBO Max’s rollout in Europe, with just the U.K. and Ireland left to launch.
For the first time, viewers in these territories will be able to enjoy content from HBO, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Television, the DC Universe and Max Originals all in one place. Some of the streamer’s most popular shows include “The Pitt,” “It: Welcome to Derry,” “House of the Dragon,” “The Last of Us,” “The White Lotus” and “Euphoria,” while movie offerings include “Superman,” “The Batman,” “Dune” and the “Harry Potter” franchise. The news also comes in time for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, which will broadcast live on HBO Max from Feb. 6 to 22.
Alongside the date announcement, a slew of local HBO original series have been unveiled. In Germany, W&B Television has set “4 Blocks Zero” — a prequel to award-winning gangster drama “4 Blocks” – and “Banksters,” a real-life heist story. Also on the docket this year is a Beetz Brothers documentary about the theft of the “Big Maple Leaf” coin from Berlin’s Bode Museum and a “Struwwelpeter” thriller series from Jantje Friese and Baran Bo Odar of Dark Ways. Over in Italy, the drama show “Melania” will retrace the 2011 murder of Melania Rea, played by Maria Esposito, and Marco Bellocchio’s Venice-premiering series “Portobello” will debut on HBO Max Feb. 20. Upcoming Italian docuseries include “Gina Lollobrigida: Diva Contesa,” exposing the battle over the legacy of a cinema icon, and “Saman,” depicting the struggle of a young Pakistani woman who was murdered by her own family for refusing an arranged marriage.
Maria Esposito in “Melania.”
HBO Max Germany will also offer acclaimed films through output agreements with Leonine Studios, Constantin Film and German Warner Bros. Pictures productions like Wunderschöner, as well as a curated slate from DCM. Meanwhile, HBO Max Italy will debut “Nonostante,” the new film directed by and starring Valerio Mastandrea, and “Squali,” Daniele Barbiero’s feature directorial debut starring Lorenzo Zurzolo and James Franco.
“We are thrilled to bring HBO Max and the stories that stick with you to new countries across Europe this January,” JB Perrette, CEO and president of global streaming and games at Warner Bros. Discovery, said in a statement. “With our strongest line-up of U.S. and local HBO series yet, blockbuster local and international movies and the Olympic Winter Games, it is the perfect time to make HBO Max available directly to subscribers. It has never been easier to enjoy the most talked-about series, hit movies, unmissable live sports and extraordinary real-life stories.”