New Max, New Max Shows

You’ve been hearing it for months now: HBO Max will become just Max on May 23, combining all things HBO and Discovery+, blue is the new purple, yadda yadda yadda. What hasn’t received much attention are the new shows that will be premiering to coincide with Max’s launch, as well as a big(ish) movie streaming premiere. Here’s what to watch for on “The One to Watch.”

New Max TV show and movie premieres

Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai

Series premiere, Tuesday, May 23: In the works since 2019, the animated Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai is a prequel to the 1984 hit movie Gremlins and its best-forgotten 1990 follow-up, Gremlins 2: The New Batch. The series has a Shanghai circa 1920 setting, focusing on when young Sam Wing first meets Gizmo and features the voices of Ming-Na Wen, BD Wong, Matthew Rhys, Sandra Oh, Bowen Yang, and original Gremlins star Zach Galligan.

Clone High

Series premiere, Tuesday, May 23: Or is it the season 2 premiere? The animated Clone High ran for a single season back in 2002 on MTV and, like every quality show on MTV in the early 2000s, was quickly canceled. Creators Phil Lord and Chris Miller (The Lego Movie) and Bill Lawrence (Ted Lasso) went on to bigger things while Clone High—about the teen clones of JFK, Abe Lincoln, Joan of Arc, and other historical figures—amassed a cult following. Original voice actors Will Forte and Nicole Sullivan are back, joined by newcomers Mitra Jouhari, Danny Pudi, and . . . Michael Bolton?

SmartLess: On the Road

Series premiere, Tuesday, May 23: If you’re a mid-level podcaster who resents celebrities horning in on the game (me, it’s me), SmartLess: On the Road probably isn’t for you. SmartLess is a weekly podcast hosted by Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Sean Hayes; the six-episode SmartLess: On the Road follows the trio on their live tour of the US. Onstage celeb guests include Matt Damon, Kevin Hart, Jimmy Kimmel, David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

What Am I Eating? With Zooey Deschanel

Series premiere, Tuesday, May 23: While spending 30 minutes watching the New Girl star nibble on her lunch sounds like a delightful show, What Am I Eating? With Zooey Deschanel isn’t like that. In the reality docuseries, Deschanel “is on a mission to solve everyday food dilemmas by asking the tough questions about what we eat,” says Max. Those questions include “Is organic worth it?”, “Is bread bad?”, “When does fruit really spoil?”, and other volleys against the Food Industrial Complex.

Bama Rush

Documentary premiere, Tuesday, May 23: University of Alabama sorority rush week went viral on TikTok in 2021, so Max and Vice rushed to Tuscaloosa in 2022 to film a documentary about the process. Bama Rush follows four young women out of 2,500 vying to be accepted by one of the University of Alabama’s 20 sororities. Director Rachel Fleit says the doc explores “the emotional complexities and stakes of belonging in this crucial window into womanhood.” Guaranteed the only part of that Warner Bros. Discovery accountants heard was “viral on TikTok.”

Shazam! Fury of the Gods

Movie premiere, Tuesday, May 23: It’s not as terrible as the DC Universe movie that preceded it, 2022’s Black Adam, but Shazam! Fury of the Gods didn’t fare any better at the box office a few months ago. The sequel adventures of Billy Batson (Asher Angel), his superhero alter ego Shazam (Zachary Levi), and their extended “Shazamily” are louder and more battle-heavy than they were in 2019’s charming Shazam!, but Fury of the Gods still has its fun and touching moments within the noise. Plus, there’s a cameo by Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot), which is always welcome.

Kendra Sells Hollywood

Season 2 premiere, Thursday, May 25: Not new, but relocated from Discovery+. Back in 2021, the long, strange trip of Kendra Wilkinson from Playboy Playmate to reality TV star (The Girls Next Door, Kendra on Top) took another turn with Kendra Sells Hollywood, wherein she became a Los Angeles real estate agent. The twist: Kendra knows nothing about selling real estate. It’s no match for the best real estate comedy ever, the late, great Bajillion Dollar Propertie$, but Kendra Sells Hollywood is still good for a few laughs.