Tuesday of this week was kind of a head-spinning day for a fan of and subscriber to HBO’s Max streaming service, such as yours truly.
On the one hand, HBO and Max chief Casey Bloys hosted a press event during which he previewed a ton of exciting HBO programming — everything from updates on Euphoria and the state of the Game of Thrones franchise to the upcoming Harry Potter TV series. It was enough to make you plenty excited about what the network has in store for 2025 and beyond. HBO and Max also released a sizzle reel that teased new seasons of masterpieces like The White Lotus and The Last of Us.
On the other hand, Tuesday also saw Max release something unwanted and unexpected: The trailer for a new series that looks like it might just be the dumbest reality series maybe of all time.
The series, Human vs. Hamster, premieres on Nov. 21 and features an eight-episode competition that offers exactly what the title promises — teams of humans going head-to-head against pet hamsters in scaled challenges that test participants’ speed, strength, and agility. The team that wins the most challenges against the hamsters moves on to an obstacle course that they must escape before the hamsters do in order to win (a prize which presumably includes getting back the dignity they gave up to participate in a show like this).
Obviously, this kind of show is emblematic of the increase in, shall we say, more populist content at Max — content which stands in stark contrast to HBO’s legacy of acclaimed and thought-provoking series like The Sopranos and Succession. It’s the way these things always go, I suppose, when you have a bean-counter in charge of artists; one group wants the freedom to create, while the suit will do whatever it takes to churn out more, more, more.
Under the leadership of CEO David Zaslav, the home of Game of Thrones is also now attached to a streamer where crap like Human vs. Hamster sits side-by-side with The Big Bang Theory as well as originals like Industry and The Righteous Gemstones. In other words, Zaslav has decided to risk cheapening the once-iconic brand of HBO in a never-ending race to achieve scale — never mind that doing so means the network once synonymous with boundary-pushing television is now the home of a competition series where humans compete against f*****g hamsters.
It’s as if HBO’s big boss has decided to open a McDonald’s inside a 3-star Michelin restaurant. All I know is that, while Zaz is zhuzh-ing up HBO and Max, he better not touch my beloved Gomorrah, or I’ll unsubscribe faster than a cute hamster can zip through an obstacle course.
