Newly minted "Max" announces a new Harry Potter series, a new Westeros series, and a whole lot more stuff

After teasing for many months that it would change monikers, Warner Bros.’ streaming service finally bit the bullet. Not only did it officially change names to Max (dropping the “HBO” is cleaner, we guess?), the streamer also dropped a slew of project announcements. Some of these have been in the works for a while; some are brand new. The overall theme, though, is milking that established IP for all its worth, something we know David Zaslav has been eager to do. (That must be why he makes the big bucks!)

Perhaps most notably, Max officially announced its long-threatened Harry Potter television series, with controversial author J.K. Rowling on board as an executive producer. This is already being billed as a “decade-long series” which will cover one book per season. “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,” said Rowling in a statement.

Today’s announcements also included another one of those long-gestating Game Of Thrones spin-offs, A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight. Taking place a century prior to the flagship series, this show will follow “two unlikely heroes” in their adventures through Westeros: “a young, naïve but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his diminutive squire, Egg,” per the series’ synopsis. “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 write and executive produce alongside Ira Parker (House Of The Dragon).

Westeros and the Wizarding World are not the only cinematic universes expanding under Max’s watch. The streamer is also developing a new spin-off of The Big Bang Theory. No other details are available for this one, except that Chuck Lorre, who is currently in production for How To Be A Bookie, starring Sebastian Maniscalco, is developing it under his overall deal with Warner Bros. Television. (Old Sheldon, perhaps?) There’s also a mysterious new drama series being produced in The Conjuring universe, with Peter Safran already on board and James Wan in talks to executive produce.

Other established IP getting a shot in the arm from Wednesday’s Max Blast include True Detective, which finally got a teaser for the Jodie Foster-led season Night Country; the Gremlins, who return in a new animated prequel series Gremlins: Secrets Of The Mogwai; and Colin Farrell’s highly anticipated Penguin show, a crime series spin-off of Matt Reeves’ The Batman.

A handful of other trailers were also released, including for Smartless: On The Road, which follows Will Arnett, Jason Bateman, and Sean Hayes on tour with their podcast. Then there’s The Regime, a new drama about an unraveling European regime starring Kate Winslet, Matthias Schoenaerts, Guillaume Gallienne, Andrea Riseborough, Martha Plimpton, and Hugh Grant. And finally, there’s The Sympathizer, “an espionage thriller and cross-culture satire about the struggles of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy during the final days of the Vietnam War and his resulting exile in the United States.” Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar are the co-showrunners for that series, which stars Hoa Xuande, Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Ky Duyen, Sandra Oh, and Robert Downey Jr., who also serves as executive producer.

This onslaught of content sends a clear message that the streamer still has Big, Prestige, and Crowd-Pleasing material, no matter what you think of the new name. You might find “Max” to be ridiculous and befuddling un-Googleable, but you can’t stop the company from re-releasing the same Harry Potter stories every 15 years until you die. Long live Max!