February may be a short month that will burn off fast enough, but there could be some more cold-weather nights ahead too. That could lead to perfect times for popcorn, hot chocolate, and HBO. Let’s take a peek at some of the choices, shall we?
A few quick points:
- Sara Bareilles Has a Story to Tell
- We’re given another EYES ON THE PRIZE
- Beware the HERO AND BEAST
- Beware the AMERICAN ARYANS
- And the COMMON SIDE EFFECTS
- Plus, say hello to GOODRICH
HBO Original Series: And, speaking of ‘hello’, we say “Sawasdee ka” alongside the Thai actors & characters in the newest season of THE WHITE LOTUS. The eight-episode third season of HBO’s Emmy-winning original series from Mike White, debuts SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 16 (9:00-10:00 pm ET/PT) on HBO and will be available to stream on Max. The first installment, which premiered in July 2021, was set in Hawaii and received 20 Emmy nominations across 13 categories and ten wins, the most wins of any program that year including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series. The second installment, which premiered in December 2022, was set in Sicily and garnered 23 Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series, and five wins. HBO must feel the third season is going to be right up there as well because a fourth season is already guaranteed. With a sampling of the players and the locale here is the latest trailer.
And what a cast! Just look at this list: Leslie Bibb, Carrie Coon, Walton Goggins, Sarah Catherine Hook, Jason Isaacs, Lalisa Manobal, Michelle Monaghan, Sam Nivola, Lek Patravadi, Parker Posey, Natasha Rothwell, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Tayme Thapthimthong, Aimee Lou Wood. Additional cast includes Nicholas Duvernay, Arnas Fedaravičius, Christian Friedel, Scott Glenn, Dom Hetrakul, Julian Kostov, Charlotte Le Bon, Morgana O’Reilly, and Shalini Peiris.
The usual basic premise still stands. We follow the exploits of various guests and employees over the span of a week in a lush White Lotus resort locale. This time around, for example, we find three long-time friends on a girl’s trip; played by Bibb, Coon, and Monaghan, and a wealthy businessman (Issacs) and his wife (Posey) and their three kids (Nivola, Hook & Schwarzenegger). I’m sure we’ll enjoy their vacations but will they?
Also playing with new episodes in February is C. B. STRIKE: THE INK BLACK HEART. It is smack dab at the mid-point of its run on THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 06 (9:00-10:02 pm ET/PT). Here is a look at how that show plays out.
– S4:Ep03 – “Part 3”
Debut Date: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 06 (9:00-10:02 pm ET/PT)
Strike and Robin eliminate several suspects after making a major breakthrough. Meanwhile, Robin celebrates the high of moving into her new flat – and the low of her cover being blown. Later, Anomie strikes again.
– S4:Ep04 – “Part 4”
Debut Date: THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13 (9:00-10:00 pm ET/PT)
As Strike and Robin inch closer to uncovering Anomie’s identity, the agency is targeted in a devastating attack. Then, Robin puts herself at risk to prevent Anomie from claiming more lives.
John Oliver is back with his gig in February. It is the satirical, insightful, and meticulously researched look at current events in the U.S. and around the globe called LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER. The 30-time Emmy-winning series features Oliver’s hilarious, expertly honed perspective on today’s pressing political, social, and cultural issues, as well as lesser-reported topics that both inform and entertain. Shot in New York, this 12th season will continue the deep dive into what’s happening. Find its season debut on SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 16 (11:00 – 11:40 pm ET/PT). New installments of REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER have already aired and continue as of FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 07 (10:00-11:00 pm ET/PT). His claim for the 23rd season was not to prejudge or prehate President Trump and his actions and that held up for all of one installment. It is going to be a tough year for Oliver & Maher but, if you know anything about their shows, they will find the humor.
Original Series Exclusive to Max: By the time THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 06 rolls around there will have been only five episodes of THE PITT available. That means only ten more installments to go before Noah Wyle and company are done for the season. Remember, each episode is just one hour from the doctor’s 15-hour shift in a high-volume Pittsburgh hospital. All I know is there have been deaths, overdoses, and a stolen ambulance in the first five hours alone. It is trending as the Top Watch for Max right now.
HARLEY QUINN is also cranking out new episodes with the voice talents of Kaley Cuoco, Lake Bell, James Adomian, Diedrich Bader, Ron Funches, Stephen Fry, Natalie Morales, JB Smoove, Alan Tudyk, and Aisha Tyler. The fifth season of the show takes Harley (Cuoco) and Ivy (Bell) to Metropolis! Episodes continue on THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 06 on Max. I know, no big Max debut this month. They hope we are all engrossed in THE PITT but, something could always arrive late on the schedule or find something in the next category. I always do.
HBO International Titles: Our first title is a docuseries from Spain arriving on Max on FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 07. It is HOW I LEFT THE OPUS DEI (El Minuto Heroico: Yo También Dejé El Opus Dei). It is 
in this four-part work we witness, through personal testimonies, the lives of 13 women from diverse backgrounds who experienced Opus Dei firsthand, supplemented by insights from psychologists, journalists, and experts. Opus Dei is an institution fully endorsed by the Catholic Church founded in Spain. It is a support organization for the Church made up of laypeople leading secular lives but one shrouded in controversy since its founding in 1928. It has been accused of deceptive and aggressive recruitment measures and cult-like secretive practices. Evidently, once you are a part of Opus Dei it is hard to get out as the Spanish women of the series no doubt attest as fact. The other title offered is completely different.
I guess, it is a crime drama with a fantasy twist. From Mexico comes COYOTL: HERO AND BEAST (Cóyotl: Héroe y Bestia). Located in northern Mexico, it shows the region’s fight against organized crime and 
the problems between Mexico and the United States. Coyotl stems from an ancient Mexican dialect and means ‘coyote’. So, is a Mexican-style werewolf fighting at the border crossings? I guess we’ll know more when the series lands on THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27. Both international series from last month still have new episodes to go this month. They are SCARS OF BEAUTY and THE EASTERN GATE. I just might put that latter one on my watchlist alongside the Mexican drama. The gods only know when I’ll get to actually watch them.
HBO & Max Theatrical Movies: Four new movies are coming this month. We hope you find interest in one or more. Of course, They all arrive on Max, but only three of them make it to HBO. The titles are GOODRICH with Michael Keaton, WE LIVE IN TIME with Andrew Garfield, WAITRESS: THE MUSICAL with Sara Bareilles, and ELEVATION with Anthony Mackie.
Andy Goodrich is a 60-year-old Los Angeles art dealer who hardly sees his family and his boutique gallery is starting to fail. One night, he’s awakened by a phone call from his younger wife Naomi who informs him that she has entered a 90-day rehab program for prescription pill addiction. Furious that Andy hadn’t even noticed she was having issues with substance abuse, she informs him that she is leaving him and asks that he not contact her. He drives to the rehab facility anyway, where he’s turned away. Without Naomi around, Andy is shown to be out of his depth with his nine-year-old twins Billie and Mose. Just how is he going to deal? Find out when GOODRICH, with Michael Keaton, Mila Kunis, Carmen Ejogo, Michael Urie, Kevin Pollak, Vivien Lyra Blair, Jacob Kopera, Nico Hiraga, Danny Deferrari with Laura Benanti and Andie MacDowell debuts on SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 01 (8:00-9:55 pm ET/PT) on HBO and on Max the day prior.
The next week, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY, 08 (8:00-9:50 pm ET/PT) offers a movie by director John Crowley. He directed a lot of theater works but also episodes of TRUE DETECTIVE Season 2. He now gives us the movie WE LIVE IN TIME. In it, Almut (Florence Pugh) and Tobias (Andrew Garfield) are brought together in a surprise encounter that changes their lives. As they embark on a path challenged by the limits of time, they learn to cherish each moment of the unconventional route their love story has taken, in filmmaker John Crowley’s decade-spanning, deeply moving romance. A bit of a cryptic description perhaps, but a unique romance tale if you are into that. Arrives on Max the day prior.
Another romantic comedy makes the schedule but this one is a musical that is exclusive to Max. It is WAITRESS: THE MUSICAL the 2023 film consisting of a live stage recording of Sara Bareilles and Jessie Nelson’s 2015 musical of the same name, based on the 2007 film of the same name that starred Keri 
Russell. It gets served to us on Valentine’s Day, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14. The work was filmed during its limited run at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in New York City, as part of the efforts to slowly reopen Broadway in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, with this being the first musical to begin performances near the end of the shutdown. After a brief theatrical run in 2023, it finally makes its debut on Max. Our other title for the month is ELEVATION. The world has changed. The only habitable place left for humanity is in the high mountains, above 8000 feet. Below 8000 feet dwell the creatures that killed 95% of the human population less than three years ago. To save the life of his young son, a father (Anthony Mackie) is forced to venture below “The Line” with a scientist (Morena Baccarin) he despises, but who just might hold the key to defeating the monsters, and a young woman (Maddie Hasson) determined to keep them both alive long enough to save the human race. Directed by George Nolfi. Seek it out on SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, and on Max the day prior.
HBO Documentary Films: There is only one HBO documentary this time around but like EXTERMINATE ALL THE BRUTES it is a big 6-part work. It is the third in a long-standing series related to the Civil Rights Movement and how Blacks and their supportive society must keep their eye on the prize for true equality across the land. HBO presents all six installments back-to-back on TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 25 in EYES ON THE PRIZE III: WE WHO BELIEVE IN FREEDOM CANNOT REST. It illuminates the bold stories of people and communities who continue to work for equity and racial justice in the years since the birth of the movement.
MAX Documentary Films: On the flip side of that, Max offers the work THE TAKEDOWN: AMERICAN ARYANS. It is a 4-part series and all four installments launch on THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 06. It takes viewers inside the cult-like world of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas from the late 2000s to the present day. Told principally by charismatic federal agent Richard Boehning, the series examines an organized crime group built on Nazi ideology and extreme violence operating under the radar in the suburbs of Texas. The shocking murder of a young woman catapults Boehning and his Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) task force on an odyssey to protect American values against an enemy growing in confidence and power. Directed and produced by Neil Rawles; executive produced by Matt Robins and Mike Warner for October Films.
Max Kids & Family: I said it last month and I’ll say it again – for a company said to be phasing out children’s programming Max sure is releasing a lot of content. Just burning it off rapidly, perhaps? Not only are there new episodes of existing series but still new shows being generated. New episodes arrive this month for WE BABY BEARS on SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 02 and BEA’S BLOCK on THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20. The live-action show HOME SWEET ROME also has new content starting on THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13. Also, without much fanfare, is the continuation of SESAME STREET Season 55, uploading THURSDAYS beginning FEBRUARY 06 on Max. Just recently the gang made a Peace Tree to show how they will carry on Dr. Martin Luther King’s wish to treat people fairly and kindly every day! Coming in February is a Sesame Street Jazz Festival.
The new shows, at least for the streamer, are LU & THE BALLY BUNCH. In it, Lu is a little ladybird who has just started preschool with her new friends. Together they explore their brand new social lives through play, music, big feelings, and even bigger fun. It comes from the U.K.’s Brown Bag Films and begins on FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 07. A week later on FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 14 the series SILLY SUNDAYS arrives. In this feel-good animated comedy series, Sonia, Hugo, and Mel create full-of-heart memories with Mom, Dad, and Granny on those playful days spent with family and friends. I remember those kinds of days, don’t you? Then on FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28 comes the work TOAD & FRIENDS. It is a CGI-animated rendering of Kenneth Graham’s classic “The Wind in the Willows” characters.
HBO Sports: Debuting on TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 18 is the sports documentary WE BEAT THE DREAM TEAM. The series reveals the little-known story of a group of college basketball players who were tasked with preparing Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, and the rest of the legendary “Dream Team” for their Olympic debut in 1992. In an unexpected twist, the college team, which featured Grant Hill, Chris Webber, Penny Hardaway, Bobby Hurley, Jamal Mashburn, Allan Houston, Rodney Rogers, and Eric Montross, shocked the NBA superstars by defeating them in a scrimmage – an outcome that ultimately helped propel the Dream Team to gold. Exactly how many installments this work is has not been revealed. It is a joint HBO Sports & TNT Sports presentation.
Other Shows On HBO or Max: An intriguing Adult Swim import takes the top spot here. It is called COMMON SIDE EFFECTS. It is an adult animated series that follows two high school friends, Marshall and Frances, who reconnect and discover a new kind of drug that can allegedly cure all illnesses. In the process, they also uncover a conspiracy involving Reutical Pharmaceutical, Inc., one of the largest 
pharmaceutical companies, and the government to suppress all knowledge of said drug. After its Adult Swim airing the title will be able to be found in the Adult Swim Hub on Max beginning MONDAY, FEBRUARY 03. Voice talents include Dave King, Emily Pendergast, Joseph Lee Anderson, and Mike Judge, (yes, the one from King of The Hill) and the show is created by Joe Bennett (SCAVENGERS REIGN) and Steve Hely (VEEP). There is no indication of how many episodes will air but each one is approximately a half-hour long. Take a look.
Max is setting up a Valentine’s Day Collection this month. There are curated movies & shows for that crowd happily in love; those in a ‘bad romance’ and those with no luck at all. The first category offers titles like A Star Is Born, Call Me by Your Name, Crazy Rich Asians, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, and Mama Mia! The ‘Bad Romance’ batch has Joker: Folie à Deux, Love Lies Bleeding, POSESSIONS (Max 
Original Series), THE GIRL BEFORE (Max Original Series) and THE IDOL (HBO Original Series). For everyone else, we mention Am I OK?, Barbie, Eat Pray Love, INSECURE (HBO Original Series), and Waitress. Lastly, I’d guess I’d be remiss if I didn’t announce that PUPPYBOWL XXI will be on Max and across other WBD platforms on SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 09.
Next Month’s Tease: What HBO show features The Redeemer and the Smut Buster?
Last Month’s Tease: We asked you if you knew the personalities described and where to find their work on HBO in February. One guy was the creator of HBO’s ENLIGHTENED and survived a Survivor stint and the other guy rigged a Best Bird of New Zealand contest and offered Judge Clarence Thomas a tricked-out RV this year. They are, respectively, Mike White, who is the creator of THE WHITE LOTUS and John Oliver from LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER. Both of their shows are in the line-up.
Final Clip: Sing along if you must!
Enjoy HBO & HBOWatch!
