Warner Bros. Discovery is sticking with safe bet franchises that will likely lure viewers, including a "Harry Potter" series and a "Game of Thrones" prequel for its rebranded Max streaming service.
Executives touted Max and made original Warner Bros. Discovery programming announcements on Wednesday during a presentation for journalists and investors. The $16-per-month service will be released May 23 in the U.S. and automatically replace the company's existing HBO Max.
The "Harry Potter" series is described as a "faithful retelling" of the books about the boy wizard by J. K Rowling, featuring a new cast.
Each season is intended to focus on one of the seven books, though Max anticipates stretching the series to a decade-long run.
Max also announced it is has also ordered a "Game of Thrones" prequel called "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight," set in Westeros 100 years prior to the events of "Game of Thrones." It's based on fantasy novellas by George R. R. Martin, which follow the adventures of a knight named Ser Duncan the Tall (known as Dunk) and Aegon V Targaryen (called Egg). Martin will serve as an executive producer and writer on the series alongside Ira Parker.
"House of the Dragon" also a "Game of Thrones" prequel, has begun production on its second season for HBO.
Other announcements included a series based on the Penguin character in "The Batman", which is now in production with Colin Farrell resuming his role and another comedy set in the "Big Bang Theory" universe from Chuck Lorrie, both for Max.
Harvey Weinstein hit with new sex crime charge in New York
Harvey Weinstein pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a new sex crime charge in New York, as he awaits retrial in his landmark #MeToo case.
Details of the new allegations were not immediately available. He was charged with committing a criminal sex act.
The jailed ex-movie mogul has long maintained that any sexual activity was consensual.
Prosecutors revealed last week that Weinstein had been indicted on additional sex crime charges that weren't part of the case that led to his now-overturned 2020 conviction. But the new indictment was sealed until his arraignment.
Prosecutors have said that the grand jury heard evidence of up to three alleged assaults — two in hotels in the Tribeca neighborhood and one at a lower Manhattan residential building. The purported incidents took place from the mid-2000s to 2016, prosecutors said.
But it's not clear whether any of those allegations underlie the new indictment.
While bracing for the new charges, Weinstein also is awaiting retrial after New York state's highest court this spring overturned his 2020 conviction on rape and sexual assault charges involving two women. The high court, called the Court of Appeals, ordered a new trial, which is tentatively scheduled to begin Nov. 12.
The Court of Appeals ruled that the then-trial judge unfairly allowed testimony against him based on allegations that were not part of the case. That judge's term expired in 2022, and he is no longer on the bench.
Prosecutors have said they'll seek to fold the new charges into the retrial, but Weinstein's lawyers say it should be a separate case.
Weinstein, who also was convicted in 2022 in a Los Angeles rape case, remains behind bars while awaiting his New York retrial.
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