After the Season 1 of True Detective, Nic Pizzolatto was interviewed by French film critic Pierre’ Serisier. Pizzolatto referred to Home Box Office as the gold standard of the airwaves. He firmly states “everyone’ wants to make a show so good that it could be on HBO.” When HBOMAX was announced, the nostalgic and economic perks of having access to the platform was immediately apparent: The subscriber would get the renowned flagship and access to sister channels, TNT, TBS, Cartoon Network, Warner Bros, and many more. Where the hell is Cinemax you might ask? Well, that is for another discussion. Despite all of this content, the question still lingers: Will HBOMAX produce the gold standard content that is expected of a channel that bears the acronym ‘HBO’? Thus far the HBOMAX Originals have received a lukewarm reception. Critics and viewers alike deem the new entries to be not particularly memorable. Could this change with Raised by Wolves?
The below paragraph is taken directly from HBOMAX’s Raised by Wolves homepage. It is appreciated that the plot will not go down the ‘robot uprising’ or ‘malfunctioning AI’ rabbit hole.
Raised by Wolves centers on two androids tasked with raising human children on a mysterious virgin planet. As the burgeoning colony of humans threatens to be torn apart by religious differences, the androids learn that controlling the beliefs of humans is a treacherous and difficult task.
Raised by Wolves is an original series created by Ridley Scott (pictured) and Aaron Guzikowski. Scott’s film and television career span six decades, which spawned lauded works such as Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma and Louise, Kingdom of Heaven and Black Hawk Down. Guzikowski is best known for penning the script for the superb mystery thriller Prisoners. This is seemingly a good pairing, but little is known about the past works of the cast, and if other writers will be helping with the teleplays. Scott’s best films have a sense of 
wonder and extreme detail in every frame. He directed the first two episodes of this series. Although Scott has executive produced a plethora of television series, Raised by Wolves is his first time directing a project that will not be released theatrically, a profound statement on the effort placed into this new series. Guzikowski’s writing features everyday characters in extreme situations, so extreme that the means by which the problems are solved may not be justifiable.
The two trailers released both display set design and special effects just shy of the realms of Game of Thrones and Westworld. The androids are caught in the middle of feuding human tribes, with at least one tribe harboring intense hatred for the androids. These androids seemingly have abilities that far exceed the most powerful hosts of Westworld.
If the story and performances can match the aesthetics, HBOMAX may have a series that matches or exceeds the quality of its original counterpart. It is unknown if the episodes will have the traditional weekly release or 3-4 episodes weekly (ala HBO Max’s first series LoveLife). It is highly unlikely that HBOMAX will go full Netflix and release the entire season in one day.
Raised by Wolves debuts on September 3, 2020 in HBO Max. Don’t miss out on what could be the new ‘gold standard.’
