HBO Max is returning to its roots, and it’s bringing the internet with it. After a brief identity crisis as simply “Max,” Warner Bros. Discovery confirmed at its 2025 upfront presentation that the streamer will revert to HBO Max this summer.
And it’s trolling itself harder than any Twitter stan account ever could! Points for self-awareness in the big 2025?
The chaos kicked off the moment the announcement dropped. HBO didn’t miss a beat before rolling out an unhinged campaign across X, Instagram, and TikTok. From Game of Thrones to Friends, no show in the HBO arsenal was safe!
A resurrection clip of Jon Snow came first with the caption, “What is dead may never die. HBO Max coming this summer. Same app, new-ish name.”
Then there were vids of Conan O’Brien saying, “That’s NOT a better name.” Jean Smart comically forgetting if it is Max or HBO Max while accepting her Emmy for Hacks!
The streamer even posted a timeline of all its name changes. HBO’s X and Instagram bio now reads, “These rebrands are trying to murder me”: a darkly hilarious nod to Jennifer Coolidge‘s iconic Tanya from The White Lotus.
Max goes from ‘pivot!’ to full circle with the memes
HBO’s return to its former name did make people go, “What????” But they turned everything on its head when they went full circle with memes, making it so it wasn’t as fun for the internet to make fun of them because they were already doing it themselves.
For example, HBO Max took on the papal election craze and “white smoke-d” their way into their new (old) name:
The official Max X account leaned into True Detective Season 1 nostalgia, with Matthew McConaughey musing in a gif, “Everything we’ve ever done or will do, we’re gonna do over and over and over again,” over the caption, “Explaining to my friends I work at HBO Max again.”
HBO’s social accounts also tapped into The Wire, Veep, and even And Just Like That to poke fun at its brand whiplash. Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Selina Meyer was trotted out to celebrate her own rebranding sarcastically.
As if that weren’t enough, the three Spider-Men pointing at each other meme made an appearance but with Superman because WB is DC. This was also shown at the WBD Upfront 2025 to a whole room of executives, press, and more, laughter breaking out at the announcement.
And yes, they tapped into the number of people who just grew accustomed to saying “Max.” They naturally had to put their spin on it and officially retweeted a viral yet reassuring post about still referring to X as Twitter.
The real reason behind HBO Max’s comeback name
Behind the scenes, this meme-fest has a serious business backbone.
“With the course we are on and strong momentum we are enjoying, we believe HBO Max far better represents our current consumer proposition,” said Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO of HBO and Max Content at the upfront at Madison Square Garden, which was later confirmed via their press release.
Per JB Perrette, President and CEO of Streaming, the company isn’t trying to be everything for everyone. “It’s really not subjective, not even controversial—our programming just hits different,” he added.
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav agreed, saying the move back to HBO Max represents “the highest quality in media” and aims to boost global growth. The rebrand will take effect this summer.
Until then, HBO Max is pumping out the meta chaos: Veep, Euphoria, The White Lotus, True Detective, and Game of Thrones all reborn in meme form. Even celebs like John Cena, Noah Wyle, and James Gunn joined the fun, while iconic Harry Potter throwbacks and Tim Meadows‘ reactions peppered our feeds.
