- HBO will make all nine episodes of the first season of Watchmen free on HBO.com and Free On Demand from June 19th through June 21st to celebrate Juneteenth.
- Watchmen is set in the same universe as the comic book of the same name, but tells a very different story, one which is explicitly about racism in the United States.
- HBO will also run a marathon of all nine episodes of Watchmen starting at 1 p.m. on Friday.
Watchmen
was one of the most surprising, fascinating, and engaging shows of 2019, but you might have missed it if you don’t pay for HBO (or borrow an account from your friend). It’s is also incredibly timely in light of the protests that began in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and have continued for over three weeks. If you did not catch the series while it was airing, you’re in luck, because HBO announced on Thursday that all nine episodes of the first (and likely only) season of Watchmen will be free for anyone to watch this weekend.
From Friday, June 19th through Sunday, June 21st, all of Watchmen will be free on HBO.com and Free On Demand “as an extension of the network’s content offering highlighting Black experiences, voices and storytellers.” There will also be a marathon of the show on HBO and HBO Latino starting at 1:00 p.m. ET/PT on Friday, June 19th, just in case you’re taking off work Friday and are looking for something to do.
While HBO’s Watchmen shares the name of the 1986 comic book series written by Alan Moore and drawn by Dave Gibbons, it does not tell the same story. The show kicks off with a reenactment of the Tulsa race massacre of 1921, where dozens of people were killed and the entire district known as “Black Wall Street” was destroyed. The show is rather explicitly about racism and how the blight of prejudice continues to shape our society today.
#Watchmen begins in Tulsa, 1921 and explores the legacy of systemic racism in America. We’re proud to announce @HBO will make all nine episodes available for free this weekend on https://t.co/dvMR4HmhIR and On Demand, and will air a marathon of the series tomorrow at 1PM ET. pic.twitter.com/UBDLR3OYIV
— Watchmen (@watchmen) June 18, 2020
It’s also wildly entertaining, extremely thoughtful, and, for those of you who care, it does justice to the original comic, building upon its legacy and advancing the story in shocking and meaningful ways. If you haven’t seen it yet, I can’t recommend it more highly, and it might just be the perfect watch for Juneteenth.
Once you’re done with Watchmen, HBO is also making the following content free on HBO.com from June 19th to July 2nd — Being Serena, Bessie, Whoopi Goldberg presents Moms Mabley, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, United Skates, Jerrod Carmicheal’s Home Videos, Lil’ Rel Live In Crenshaw, The Apollo, The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency S1/ E1, The Shop S2/E1 + S2/E6, Treme S1/E1, and True Detective S3/E1.
