Yahoo Movies When is HBO Max coming to the UK?
The streamer boasts an impressive slate of shows… but are you able to see them?
Warner Bros. Discovery has officially launched Max, a revamped streaming service that combines content from HBO Max and sibling streamer Discovery+.
The latter focused primarily on factual content while the former largely specialised in showcasing the award-winning dramas, comedy and fiction shows that made HBO such a respected name in television.
Together under the Max banner, this new service acts as a cheaper option for viewers and became available to download in the United States in May 2023. After a successful global rollout, it's been confirmed that Max will launch in the UK 'early 2026'.
Read more: All the HBO Max announcements
Launching with a shiny new logo and sleek and simple name, Max also came with a host of exciting new shows that are each due to launch on the platform in the coming months and years. From a small-screen serialised take on JK Rowling’s Harry Potter anthology to the return of Colin Farrell’s Gotham crime kingpin The Penguin, this new, amalgamated streaming service certainly looks like it’ll be top of this download list for any app-loving, pop-culture fanatic.
So far so good — but will it even be available to those of us in the UK and is HBO Max available to us in the meantime?
What shows are coming to Max?
Put simply, MAX has set the scene for a pretty stacked slate of upcoming shows and projects.
Perhaps the one that has grabbed the most attention is its planned television series reboot of JK Rowling’s Harry Potter franchise, complete with a whole new cast and an entire series dedicated to each academic year of Potter’s time at Hogwarts.
Other big announcements included a new Big Bang Theory spin-off and another Game of Thrones prequel series called A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight. Rounding out the roster are shows like the new animated prequel series Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, and The Batman spin-off The Penguin.
Can I get Max in the UK?
As it stands, Max is not currently available to viewers in the UK — despite being available in several countries in mainland Europe, such as France, Spain, Portugal, Poland and Croatia.
However, thanks to a recent Warner Bros. press release we know that Max is due to launch in the UK and Ireland 'early 2026'. When it launches in the UK Sky and NOW customers will have Max bundled in with their existing subscriptions at no extra cost.
Much of the content featured on Max can be viewed on other streaming services that are available to UK audiences such as Sky and the NOW streaming app, and that will continue even after Max launches here early 2026.
Commenting on the deal, Sky Group CEO Dana Strong said: "This new partnership provides an expanded range of content for our customers to enjoy Warner Bros. Discovery’s popular storytelling through Max. The combination of content from our partners, alongside our slate of Sky Originals, and Sky’s leading aggregation of the UK and Ireland’s best content apps gives us an unrivalled entertainment proposition and an exceptional line-up of the world’s best shows."
Andrew Georgiou, President & Managing Director for WBD UK & Ireland and WBD Sports Europe added: "Arriving in early 2026, the market-wide launch of Max in the UK & Ireland is a significant step in its global roll-out, and will be the place where audiences find incredible new shows, including the future Harry Potter series from HBO."
HBO Max will launch in the UK early 2026.
