HBO and Max are moving forward with plenty of titles coming monthly. Can you get excited for any? We hope so. The fall of the year has been traditionally a big time for the format. Wow, September came fast. Stick with us as we stay loyal to our brand of choice. We are dropping some big names and big titles. We think you’ll love something on the slate this month. Let’s look at what is on for September 2024.
A few quick points:
- We drop names this month like Oz Cobb
- Elena & Lila are here too
- There is also David Chase
- Some gal named Margarita
- Plus, the talented Miyazaki
- Oh, and one Doppelgänger
HBO Original Series: There has been quite of bit of buildup for the HBO Original Limited Series THE PENGUIN and it has finally arrived. The premiere weekend for the HBO Original limited series THE PENGUIN, from Warner Bros. Television and DC Studios, begins with the series premiere on THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and will be available to stream on Max. HBO will re-air the series premiere multiple times over the weekend, including Sunday, September 22 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT. Sunday nights at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT will be the debut day and time of all subsequent new episodes of the eight-episode series on HBO and Max, continuing with episode two on Sunday, September 29.
Starring Colin Farrell as Oz Cobb (aka “The Penguin”), the DC Studios series continues filmmaker Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” epic crime saga that began with Warner Bros. Pictures’ global blockbuster “The Batman.” Developed by showrunner Lauren LeFranc, the series centers on the character played by Farrell in the film. The cast includes Cristin Milioti (Sofia Falcone), Rhenzy Feliz (Victor Aguilar), Michael Kelly (Johnny Viti), Shohreh Aghdashloo (Nadia Maroni), Deirdre O’Connell (Francis Cobb), Clancy Brown (Salvatore Maroni), James Madio (Milos Grapa), Scott Cohen (Luca Falcone), Michael Zegen (Alberto Falcone), Carmen Ejogo (Eve Karlo) and Theo Rossi (Dr. Julian Rush).
MY BRILLIANT FRIEND is the other big title of the month. Based on the bestselling novels by Elena Ferrante, this intriguing story follows Elena Greco and the most important friend in her life, Raffaella “Lila” Cerullo. After meeting as children in 1950s Naples, their story goes on to cover over 60 years, exploring the mystery of Lila – Elena’s brilliant best friend and, in a way, her worst enemy. In this, the fourth and final season of the saga titled “Story of the Lost Child,” we delve into the adult lives of Elena and Lila. They find themselves entangled in the turmoil of Italy in the late 1980s, nearing the end of decades of political violence and social unrest. Amid motherhood and career demands, amid betrayals, threats, disappearances, and natural disasters, Elena and Lila once again reside in the same neighborhood and, though changed over the years, the friends bond once again.
The international work, based out of Italy, touches on those emotions common to us all with a cast, though not familiar to us in the States, that is talented in their roles nevertheless. This season of the 10-episode HBO Original drama series debuts MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 09 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT) on HBO and will be available to stream on Max, with new episodes debuting weekly.
–Season 4 Premiere: “The Separation”
Debut Date: MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 09 (9:00-10:00 p.m. ET/PT)
Continuing its dramatic run in September is the BBC/HBO series INDUSTRY, now in its third season. In season three, as Pierpoint looks to the future and takes a big bet on ethical investing, Yasmin (Marisa Abela), Robert (Harry Lawtey), and Eric (Ken Leung) find themselves front and center in the splashy IPO of Lumi, a green tech energy company led by Sir Henry Muck (Kit Harington), in a story that runs all the way to the very top of finance, media, and government. Since leaving Pierpoint, Harper (Myha’la) is eager to get back into the addictive thrill of finance and finds an unlikely partner in FutureDawn portfolio manager Petra Koenig (Sarah Goldberg). It continues beginning SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 01 (9:00-10:00 pm ET/PT) on HBO and will be available to stream on Max.
–Season 3, Ep.04 – “White Mischief”
Debut Date: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 01 (9:00-10:01 pm ET/PT)
Deeply in debt with a new home and baby, Rishi takes a massive gamble after a surprise visit from an old friend. Later, with his luck running out both at home and work, Rishi engages in another high-risk, high-reward opportunity that could threaten his job at Pierpoint.
–Season 3, Ep.05 – “Company Man”
Debut Date: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 08 (9:00-10:02 pm ET/PT)
After being summoned by a government select committee, Robert worries he’s become a pawn in a much larger battle between very powerful entities. Meanwhile, during the company’s annual charity day, Sweetpea shares a theory with Eric that could mark the beginning of the end for Pierpoint, and Yasmin wonders if being vulnerable in a relationship is worth it.
LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER continues its eleventh season this month but doesn’t roll out a new installment until SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 08 at 11:02 pm ET/PT. Note – The show usually gets pushed by a few minutes depending on how long the dramatic series is before it runs over its hour. In August he did his deep dive into Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Hawaii, and Hospice Care. REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER came back from a summer hiatus just in time to give us his thoughts on the DNC. The show will continue its Friday night slot in September on FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 06 at 10:00 pm ET/PT. Fans will look forward to his thoughts on the Presidential Debate this coming month.
Original Series Exclusive to Max: There are far too many unscripted series imported from the Discovery side of the company to begin with and then Max does another of its own. This one is called COMING FROM AMERICA debuting on THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 05. In this one, four African American families pack up all their belongings, risking everything to move to the new land of opportunity: Africa. Enticed by cheap housing and picturesque landscapes, these families travel 5000 miles to find love, jobs, and a better life. First, they’ll have to survive the inevitable culture shock – but if they can endure the first 60 days, their lives could be changed forever. The series is executive produced by Eric Evangelista, Shannon Evangelista, Forrest Galante, Naimah Holmes for Hot Snakes Media. Discovery’s Keith Hoffman and Carter Figueroa also executive produce. I guess we’ll have to wait another month for SEX LIVES OF COLLEGE GIRLS to return.
HBO International Titles: Here is our next big name of the month which is also the show’s title: MARGARITA. This dramatic series hails from Argentina and arrives on Max on MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 02. Margarita immerses herself in the life of a young woman who, without knowing her true origin, finds a 
magical place where she can pursue her desires, without knowing that that house contains secrets about her birth. It stars Moria Bianchi as the title character and she is a charmer. But, for those who don’t understand Spanish, you’ll have to follow along with English subtitles and I know that method is not for everybody. So, I won’t drop the trailer here but I will give you that lovely face.
However, we are talking foreign cinema here so subtitles are unavoidable. I will drop the trailer for the next one, which is in Polish. It is DOPPELGÄNGER. THE DOUBLE. It arrives on Max on TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10. Hans and Jan Bitner live on opposite sides of the Iron Curtain. Hans lives in France, he leads a quiet life. Bitner is a Pole, involved in the fight for a free Poland. Their lives are different, but there is one detail that links them. That crucial link is not just filial bonds as this is billed as a Spy Thriller as the trailer will quickly show you. This 2023 2-hour movie is subtitled.
Our other title is an import from Adult Swim that was created in Japan. It is a cinematic rendering of a horror manga that fans have been waiting a while to see. It is entitled UZUMAKI, not to be confused with NINJA KAMUI (now on Max) and IYANU (forthcoming). Its synopsis is explained: “Let’s leave this town together,” asks Shuichi Saito, a former classmate of Kirie Goshima, a high school girl who was born and grew 
up in Kurouzu-cho. Everything from a strange whirlwind, billowing smoke from the crematorium, and the residents is turning into spirals. People’s eyes spin in whirls, a tongue spirals, and the bodies twist unnaturally. In an attempt to escape the curse of the spirals, Kirie decides to flee from Kuouzu-cho, but can she get away from this turmoil? Find it on Max beginning SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 and one day prior on Adult Swim.
CITY OF GOD: THE FIGHT RAGES ON. Find it on Max and on the HBO Latino channel. It continues on SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 01 (8:00 pm – 9:00 pm ET/PT) as the gruff life in the favela known as the Cidade de Deus continues.
–Season 1, Ep.02
Debut Date: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 01 (8:00 pm -9:00 pm ET/PT)
As tensions rise, Wilson meets Lígia, a reporter from Spain looking to investigate corruption in the City of God. Later, Leka questions whether her father’s photographs are exploitative, Barbantinho tries to set up a face-to-face with Curió and Bradock, and Berenice fights to keep her boyfriend Clayton, aka “PQD,” away from crime.
–Season 1, Ep. 03
Debut Date: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 08 (8:00 pm – 9:00 pm ET/PT)
Amid the territory war, Leka and her rap group court a record producer – but get stranded when violence erupts in the favela. Meanwhile, Lígia and Wilson investigate the actions of militias in the West Zone, PQD leverages his military background to support Curió, and Jerusa orchestrates an ambush.
–Season 1, Ep. 04
Debut Date: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 (8:00 pm – 9:00 pm ET/PT)
After seizing control, Bradock looks to build trust in the community despite his increasingly erratic behavior. Meanwhile, Wilson and Lígia uncover a possible connection between Secretary of Security Reginaldo Cavani, local militias, and a mole in Bradock’s inner circle.
–Season 1, Ep. 05
Debut Date: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 22 (8:00 pm – 9:00 pm ET/PT)
–Season 1, Ep. 06
Debut Date: SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 (8:00 pm – 9:00 pm ET/PT)
Both THE CONVICT and THE THAW are spooling out new weekly episodes on Max as well.
HBO & Max Theatrical Movies: A new Studio Ghibli pic and two from A24 get the spotlight in September. After losing his mother in a hospital fire, young Mahito moves to his family’s estate in the countryside. There, a series of mysterious events lead him to a secluded and ancient tower, home to a mischievous gray heron. When Mahito’s new stepmother disappears, he follows the gray heron into the tower and enters a fantastic world shared by the living and the dead. As he embarks on an epic journey with the heron as his guide, Mahito must uncover the secrets of this world and the truth about himself. Thus, another beautiful story is told when THE BOY AND THE HERON debuts on Max on FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 06.
It features the voices of Christian Bale, Dave Bautista, Gemma Chan, Willem Dafoe, Karen Fukuhara, Mark Hamill, Robert Pattinson, and Florence Pugh and is directed and written by Hayao Miyazaki.
Written and directed by Alex Garland (Ex Machina) comes our next title CIVIL WAR. With what has been brewin’ in our land these days I don’t know if what is depicted here is that far off. Ain’t that a scary thought! It tells the story of a dystopian future America, following a team of military-embedded journalists as they race against time to reach Washington D.C. before rebel factions descend upon the White House. It lands on HBO on SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, and one day earlier on Max. Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Sonoya Mizuno, and Nick Offerman star. It is called an adrenaline-fueled thrill ride through a fractured America balanced on the razor’s edge. The trailer gives us a strong sense of just what we mean and just how topical it really is.
Debuting on SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21 and the day before on Max is an odd little tile from A24 called I SAW THE TV GLOW. It follows Owen, a teenager who is just trying to make it through life in the suburbs when his classmate introduces him to a mysterious late-night TV show. The TV show, a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own, leads to cracks in Owen’s own view of reality. Justice Smith, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Ian Foreman, Helena Howard, with Fred Durst and Danielle Deadwyler star. And is Written and directed by Jane Schoenbrun, a SXSW Festival Favorite. Maybe, the trailer will help define that a little better.
Or maybe not.
HBO Documentary Films: Alex Gibney is back with another topic to scrutinize as only he can but it is not a subject you’d expect. I guess he must be a huge fan and aren’t most of us? His Jigsaw Productions presents a two-part documentary entitled WISE GUY: DAVID CHASE AND THE SOPRANOS. On a replica set of Dr. Melfi’s psychiatrist’s office, Gibney flips the script on David Chase, excavating and analyzing the origins of “The Sopranos,” his creative process, and the intimate connections between his own life and many of his characters. Joined by show writers, producers, executives, and actors, including Lorraine 
Bracco, Edie Falco, and Michael Imperioli, the documentary offers insight and inspiration along with a stunning array of clips from the show, early audition videos from many of the cast members, and behind-the-scenes footage to take the viewer into the vibrant “Sopranos” world. From his own upbringing in an Italian American family in north New Jersey, with a complicated mother and a fascination with cinema, Chase details his entrée into Hollywood, where he wrote for a multitude of television shows, and his relationship with HBO as he pitched and developed his anti-hero mobster Tony Soprano. With candor and self-reflection, Chase digs into the challenges of running a successful show, the inevitable “deaths” of some of the show’s favorite characters, and his creative working relationship with the late James Gandolfini. WISE GUY: David Chase and The Sopranos takes us into the writers’ room, from the inspirational pilot to the controversial final episode, demonstrating how a show about a multi-layered mob boss became a cultural milestone, a beloved fan-favorite, and a revolutionary television sensation. It debuts back-to-back on SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 07 beginning at 8:00 pm ET/PT. Part one is 1 hour, 15 minutes, and Part 2 is 1 hour, 25 minutes long.
–PART ONE
Debut date: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 (8:00 pm – 9:15 p.m. ET/PT)
David Chase recounts his early life in New Jersey, his fascination with filmmaking, and his break into television writing in Los Angeles. After a successful career as a network TV writer, Chase decides to write something personal about his mother. That becomes “The Sopranos,” a feature film about a mobster whose mother plots to kill him. Rejected by the major networks, Chase finds success at HBO for his pilot about a mobster suffering mental breakdowns and starts the casting process for “The Sopranos” as a series. Lorraine Bracco is the biggest name to join as Dr. Melfi and Chase casts the untested musician Steven Van Zandt in a pivotal role. With James Gandolfini and Edie Falco in place, the series films on location in New Jersey, and the unconventional show becomes a water-cooler sensation, despite having an anti-hero as the lead character.
–PART TWO
Debut date: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 (9:15 pm – 10:45 p.m. ET/PT)
Chase discusses the challenges of mapping out 13-episode arcs and balancing the darkness of the comedy with the drama of the subject matter. At the same time, he and other writers admit to drawing on personal experiences to inform the characters. The cast shares their memories of the late James Gandolfini, his generosity and genius, and how he struggled with being in the spotlight. Chase talks about the enduring love for Tony Soprano’s character and the show’s circularity from the first episode leading up to the controversial finale.
Max Kids & Family: Big changes at WBD regarding Kid’s fare can only be a plus for this category on Max. 
The apparent company has shuttered the Boomerang streaming service and the Cartoon Network website. As a result, families can see a more rotating base of animated shows from the company appear in the Kids & Family Hub on Max. A big launch date for new titles to the streamer is set for SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 14 when the following titles upload – Aloha! Scooby-Doo (2005), A Pup Named Scooby Doo, Baby Looney Tunes, Jonny Quest, Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase (2001), Scooby-Doo and the Witch’s Ghost (1999), Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island (1998), The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, The New Scooby-Doo Movies, The New Scooby-Doo Mysteries, The Tom & Jerry Show, Tom and Jerry: Robin Hood and His Merry Mouse (2012), Tom & Jerry Tales and Tom & Jerry: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (2017). It is a mix of classic series you can introduce the youngsters to and direct-to-video movies. Also appearing will be the latest Care Bears Special called CARE BEARS: UNLOCK THE MAGIC: THE BAD CROWD STRIKES BACK, debuting on SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 01 and BATWHEELS Season 2 on SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 21. Here is a blast from the past to excite the kids or the kid in us –
HBO Sports: HARD KNOCKS: TRAINING CAMP WITH THE CHICAGO BEARS wraps up on TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 03. The HARD KNOCKS franchise will return in December. If you need live-action sports check out the Bleacher Report Hub on Max.
Other Shows On HBO or Max: Because of THE PENGUIN’s presence Max is touting DC Universe titles 
pretty heavily through September. From the press release, I counted a total of 41 titles, comprised of movies shows, and animated works. If you love DC then check out Max for sure. Here is just a sampling of some of the titles being made available: Aquaman (2018), Batman Forever (1995), Batman Returns (1992), Batman & Robin (1997), Black Adam (2022), Blue Beetle (2023), Man of Steel (2013), Shazam! (2019), The Batman (2022), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), The Flash (2023), The Suicide Squad (2021), Batman Beyond, Batman The Animated Series, Doom Patrol, Green Lantern: The Animated Series, My Adventures with Superman, Peacemaker, Pennyworth, Suicide Squad Isekai and Teen Titans.
Next Month’s Tease: Which HBO show takes place in The Sunflower State?
Last Month’s Tease: We asked you if you knew which work Clancy Brown, Carmen Ejogo, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Michael Zegen, and Cristin Milioti were a part of in September. They all join Colin Ferrell in the big title of the month, THE PENGUIN.
Final Clip: We offer you the trailer for Alex Gibney’s latest.
Enjoy HBO & HBOWatch!
