WBD’s Casey Bloys ‘prepared’ for Max launch in UK

Warner Bros Discovery’s Max has not begun making plans for local programming as it looks ahead to launching the streamer in the UK in 2026, according to content chief Casey Bloys. 

Talking up the international expansion of the streamer at a showcase for upcoming international originals, the chairman and chief exec of HBO and Max content said he was comfortable that “we’re covered in the UK for launch in 2026”. 

Responding to a question from Broadcast about plans for a local development slate, Bloys said he had not started taking meetings with creatives about devising local Max originals in the country. 

“The good news is the HBO shows that we do domestically [in the US] tend to do well in the UK, and we also have a history of doing pretty successful co-productions - lots of our shows end up being shot here,” he said.  

“It’s obviously something we are prepared for but we also have to see what it looks like when we launch in 2026, so we’re prepared for any version of it. I believe between what we’re doing in the US and internationally, we will be covered in the UK.” 

Harry Potter production plans

Bloys was speaking at a special appearance in London to promote the 2025 Max global programming slate, which includes titles such as Mark Ruffalo FBI event Task, debut Polish Max original espionage series The Eastern Gate and Spanish crime original When No One Sees Us (Cuando Nadie Nos Ve). 

Sneak peeks of IT prequel horror series Welcome To Derry, and returning HBO tentpoles The Last of Us S2 and The White Lotus S3, were also featured. 

There was also a sit-down with the creative leads behind the much-anticipated Harry Potter series, Francesca Gardiner and Mark Mylod, during which Bloys revealed that the tentpole would begin filming at Leavesden Studio over the summer. 

Though he would not be drawn over the high-profile lawsuit brought by long-term WBD partner Sky over the pay-TV giant’s sidelining from the Harry Potter series, Bloys said he was optimistic that the negotiations regarding the upcoming expiry of the two companies’ HBO output deal would come to a satisfactory conclusion. 

“Hopefully it gets resolved. There is a lot of history between the companies and hopefully it all gets worked out, but it’s not something I’m involved in,” Bloys added. 

Elsewhere, Bloys emphasised WBD’s commitment to international commissioning, despite a very public pulling back from certain territories in 2022. 

“If you went back two-and-a-half years, it was the great Netflix correction when all companies had to reassess spending and profitability and we were not alone in that, reassessing where we were deploying spending on programming.  

“But part of the reason for doing this today is so you can see [international programming] is very much a part of what we are doing going forward in many territories,” he said. 

Despite the 2025 slate showcasing its forthcoming scripted titles, Bloys said the programming push spanned all genres, including factual and documentary, and noted the strong performance of Discovery+ programming from brands such as Investigation Discovery on Max.