HBO Is Making Tons of Shows and Movies Free Today
There's truly never been a better time to finally watch The Wire. HBO announced that today it will make a (strong!) list of movies and TV shows free to stream without a cable or HBO subscription, since everybody should be inside their home self-isolating due to coronavirus. It’s not full access to all of HBO’s library of series and films, but as of today, there are nine full series, 10 documentaries, and 20 movies available to stream for free—about 500 hours of content, total. Some of the shows are, it's worth noting, all-time classics.
There are some notable omissions from HBO’s free offering. Westworld is not included, nor are big hits like Game of Thrones or Watchmen. However, the first two seasons of Succession and Barry—both dramas with comedy elements that focus on a ruthless, multi-billion-dollar family business and a hitman-turned-actor, respectively—are free, and are very much worth watching. Also worth checking out in case you missed them during their heyday are two of the greatest shows of TV’s golden era, The Sopranos and The Wire. If that’s not your speed, stream Silicon Valley or Veep, both acclaimed comedies that ended their runs last year.
Perhaps the biggest draw in HBO’s offering of free documentaries is McMillion$, a breezy and refreshingly funny, low-stakes true crime story about the McDonald’s Monopoly fixing conspiracy. There are some more traditional, true crime documentaries too, like The Case Against Adnan Syed (of Serial fame) and I Love You, Now Die: The Commonwealth v. Michelle Carter. The documentary about Elizabeth Holmes, The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley, is somewhere in the middle of those two in terms of intensity.
All of the movies HBO is making free are, notably, Warner Bros. movies. WarnerMedia owns HBO, and it will be launching a new streaming service, HBO Max, in May. Chances are that this free offering is as much a tease for HBO Max as it is a coronavirus-balm. Still, there are some good flicks in there, including the ensemble rom-com Crazy, Stupid, Love, the majestic World War II epic Empire of the Sun, and Pokémon Detective Pikachu, which needs no explanation.
Check out the full list of available shows, documentaries, and movies below.
TV SHOWS
Ballers (5 Seasons)
Barry (2 Seasons)
Silicon Valley (6 Seasons)
Six Feet Under (5 Seasons)
The Sopranos (7 Seasons)
Succession (2 Seasons)
True Blood (7 Seasons
Veep (7 Seasons)
The Wire (5 Seasons)
Documentaries
The Apollo
The Case Against Adnan Syed
Elvis Presley: The Searcher
I Love You, Now Die: The Commonwealth v. Michelle Carter
The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley
Jane Fonda in Five Acts
McMillion$
True Justice: Bryan Stevenson’s Fight for Equality
United Skates
We Are the Dream: The Kids of the MLK Oakland Oratorical Fest
Movies
Arthur
Arthur 2: On the Rocks
Blinded By the Light
The Bridges of Madison County
Crazy, Stupid, Love
Empire of the Sun
Forget Paris
Happy Feet Two
Isn’t It Romantic?
The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part
Midnight Special
My Dog Skip
Nancy Drew And The Hidden Staircase
Pan
Pokémon Detective Pikachu
Red Riding Hood
Smallfoot
Storks
Sucker Punch
Unknown
Originally Appeared on GQ
