In an interview with Deadline, Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO of HBO and HBO Max Content, crowed about some of the big shows for the outlet. As so he should, for these titles have churned out some awesome numbers. We will look at them all in turn as we highlight Bloy’s interview here.
THE PITT
The breakout medical drama is averaging 9.5 million U.S. viewers thus far, up 65% from Season 1 and ranking among the top 5 returning seasons in platform history, both in the U.S. and globally. The series from R. Scott Gemmill, John Wells, and Noah Wyle, also recently picked up more trophies at the Golden Globes and the Critics’ Choice Awards, including Best Drama Series at both. The series and its format are a solid hit for Bloys’ brand.
DEADLINE: Is the success of The Pitt a lesson that you don’t have to spend $20 million an episode to get a big, commercially successful, and acclaimed show?
BLOYS: I don’t know if it’s a lesson so much as it’s the history of television. There is a reason why shows were designed this way. What we were hoping for — and what The Pitt delivered — was more than six or eight weeks of episodes, 15 weeks of weekly engagement, but also, and probably most importantly in this environment, setting up a show that is creatively capable of coming back within a year, and with producers who are able to do that.
That obviously used to be the norm, and as an industry, we’ve gotten away from it as shows have gotten bigger and more complicated: special effects, shooting overseas, and all of the things that make shows bigger and more cinematic, but also more challenging to produce. The idea of getting back to the basics, back to what television was, the people who know how to do that, it’s a skill, and John, Scott, and Noah know how to do that; John has made some of the best shows with the highest episode counts there are. So if you want to achieve those things, you have to go to people who understand how to set it up and execute on that.
A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS
The newest Westeros saga is averaging over 8 million U.S. cross-platform viewers thus far, pacing as a top 3 series debut globally in platform history. The fans are not tiring of this franchise.
DEADLINE: Like The Pitt, A Knight of Seven Kingdoms is also delivering strong viewership on a modest budget and a smaller scale than House of Dragon, for example. Are you starting to rethink the model to possibly do more of these types of shows?
BLOYS: No, no, no. Firstly, and most importantly, the creative has to lead it and to use the two examples that you brought up, The Pitt and Seven Kingdoms. One of the reasons why medical shows have been a staple of television is that it is a unique setup where you spend the majority of your time in one location, and drama walks through your door three times an episode, somebody dying, somebody in distress.
That’s a unique setup that allows you to sustain the storytelling for 15 episodes. The production model is important, and I would say it serves the creative. The same thing with the Knight of Seven Kingdoms. If you think about the novellas, it’s a two-hander. It’s two unlikely friends and heroes wandering Westeros. From its inception, from the starting point, it is not warring families, it is not dragons, it is not giant battles. So the creative made sense first, and then the production follows.
I’m not looking to change the way that we make television at all. Our business has always been a portfolio business, which means you can have shows like The Last of Us or House Of the Dragon, and you can also have smaller-scale shows like Somebody Somewhere or The Chair Company, adding things that can come back on an annual basis, like The Pitt, or adding things where the creative lends itself, in Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, I don’t want to say an easier production, but something that allows you, on a smaller scale, to produce and come back on an annual basis.
DEADLINE: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms has been renewed for a second season. There are three novellas, but George R.R. Martin has indicated that he has put other ideas to paper. Is there a possibility for the show to go beyond three seasons?
BLOYS: That would be a conversation with Ira and George. Certainly possible. So we’ll see. They’re producing Season 2 right now, Season 3 beyond that.
HOUSE OF THE DRAGON
Supposedly, there is only one more season to go in this series, after the upcoming third season this summer. Bloys clarifies.
DEADLINE: Do you still have an overall deal with George R.R. Martin?
BLOYS: Yes. Listen, I consider it great to have George as the architect of this world. I mean, think about what he has created, the world, the families, the battles, all of the history, it’s pretty extraordinary. George is a great partner for us to have. The idea that he is going to agree with every creator or showrunner that is either developing or producing, two artists are not always going to agree. So, some of this comes with the territory.
DEADLINE: How involved was he in Season 3? Did he really pull back and then come back?
BLOYS: He definitely took a step back. And I would say he’s definitely been focusing on Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
BIG SERIES FINALES
We are talking the big wrap-ups for HACKS, THE LAST OF US, and EUPHORIA
DEADLINE: Since we’re talking about endings, I’m going to ask about Hacks and The Last of Us‘ upcoming seasons also being final. Is it something you can confirm?
BLOYS: It certainly seems that way, but on decisions like that, we will defer to the showrunners. So you can ask them.
DEADLINE: I deliberately did not include Euphoria in the last question. It has been widely expected that Season 3 would be the final chapter, but I hear that creator Sam Levinson has an idea for a potential fourth season. What’s happening with that?
BLOYS: What’s happening is Sam is finishing the third season, which I will say he’s come up with an incredible way to move all these characters ahead five years; it’s really exciting to see. But in terms of what he wants to do next, we will have a conversation about what he’s thinking. But right now, he’s focused on finishing three and getting it out.
BIG SERIES RENEWALS
There were still other successful titles to discuss, like IT: WELCOME TO DERRY.
DEADLINE: And a show that has found itself surprisingly in limbo with no renewal yet, IT: Welcome to Derry. What is the rationale? It did so well?
BLOYS: Let me say, not in limbo at all. Hardly. It was a huge success for us. And Andy [Muschietti] and Barbara [Muschietti] are hard at work trying to come up with an idea for a story they’d want to tell for another season. I would happily do it. One of the challenges is, there’s not a book that you’re basing it on, so it’s invention. They want to make sure that they have a story they’re excited to tell. So it’s not limbo other than they need to land on something they’re excited by creatively. We’ll be there.
DEADLINE: It’s probably going to be the same answer on The Rehearsal. You said in September that it’s all in Nathan Fielder’s hands. Has he come up with an idea for Season 3 yet?
BLOYS: Yes. He’s talking to [HBO head of comedy] Amy Gravitt about ideas. I think he has a kernel of an idea that he seems to be excited by, but he and Amy are talking. So again, when he’s ready, he will come to us.
DEADLINE: What is your assessment of It’s Florida, Man? It is an experiment; a different kind of budget, a different setup.
BLOYS: It’s Danny McBride and his company, and I think it’s a lot of fun. I’ll break news with you, we are going to do another season.
GAME OF THRONES SPINOFFS 
There are always swirling rumors. What does Bloys say?
DEADLINE: In terms of scope, is the slate of offshoots more diversified, given the success of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms? Are you looking for stories in the GoT world that can be told that way?
BLOYS: I do think that A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms was instructive in that it does show that the interest in the Game of Thrones universe is there, whether it is huge set pieces or more intimate character piece. So that was instructive. But the way we develop is from the stories. And like I said, from the beginning, George’s conception of the Dunk and Egg novellas was on a small scale. So I don’t think I would take what would otherwise be a giant show and try to produce it smaller. The creative has to lead.
HEATED RIVALRY PHENOM
Everyone has been talking about the Canadian content, including HBO’s Chief.
DEADLINE: The success of Heated Rivalry, did it catch you by surprise?
BLOYS: When I was sent the episodes, I was surprised it was available. It’s rare that you’ll see a finished show available three weeks from air. So it was a strange situation that was even available, but I was happy it was available. It was a very easy yes, like, of course, we’ll take it. I was able to see all the episodes, and I would say that we had some sense that it would make waves or be something that people talked about, but not the way that [it did], the stardom that these guys have experienced and the conversation around the show has been a really nice story and a fun story to witness and be a part of.
DEADLINE: What’s next? Would you do more acquisitions for HBO Max, or was this a lightning in a bottle?
BLOYS: It is lightning in a bottle, for sure. But, obviously, we have big acquisitions. We have a huge Warner Brothers library, we have Mad Men, for example, on the platform, we do acquisitions. It is rare for an acquired original to blow up like this.
INDUSTRY
We can’t forget INDUSTRY, the BBC/HBO show that gets bolder & bigger.
DEADLINE: Compared to the numbers we just mentioned, Industry‘s 1.5 million viewers delivery is modest, but it’s 40% up from Season 3. Talk about how HBO can afford to renew shows that it believes in that may not be broad hits.
BLOYS: Industry is a really great story. First of all, it has grown. It’s unusual in that it has grown every season. And typically, we see growth within the season, and then when we bring back Season 2, Season 3, and Season 4, we’ve seen catch-up viewing on each previous season. So it’s been a nice effect.
I have to give credit to Jane Tranter, who we developed the show with; she’s a producer at Bad Wolf. We started out saying, let’s try and produce a very modestly budgeted show. Bad Wolf has studios in Cardiff, Wales, and the idea was to find talent coming out of drama school, something we could shoot mostly in Cardiff. So it was very modestly budgeted, and continues to be, relative to other shows, very modestly budgeted and easy to say yes to, and that was all due to Bad Wolf and to Jane.
WBD’S FUTURE
And, finally, the elephant in the room.
DEADLINE: With all the activity at HBO, we need to acknowledge what is happening in the background. I know you can’t say much, but how would you imagine HBO adding prestige to Netflix’s slate?
BLOYS: Well, as you imagine, not a lot I can talk about. Obviously, I read what you write and what other people 
put out there, so I don’t have any inside knowledge about anything, and it’s not far enough along that we’ve had any discussions about what it would look like or anything like that. So it’s not something I can comment on because I don’t know a lot about it.
DEADLINE: Okay, but does it excite you, the idea that you may team up with your biggest rival, whom you’re fighting at every awards show?
BLOYS: Could be fun.
That is a front that we will have to let play out. I don’t think it will be fun, I’d rather that no one gets their paws on HBO, and that is why we are just focusing on the content. Enjoy what HBO and HBO Max offer, and look forward to continued and new content.
