The Sopranos. Sex and the City. The Wire. Veep. Game of Thrones. For decades, HBO was the place people went to see what was on the cutting edge of TV. The shows were deeper, denser, and bolder than anything else around.
HBO still has a reputation for quality, but a new challenger is on the verge of stealing its prestige TV crown: Apple TV+. As HBO has embraced trends and therefore become a little more ordinary, Apple has reached into its cavernous war chest and spent money on challenging, original programming. We’re watching it turn into the creative powerhouse that HBO used to be.
What happened to HBO?
It’s not just that Apple TV+ is winning this race. HBO is losing.
I don’t want to make out like HBO isn’t worth watching anymore; it is. There are lots of good shows on the air or in the pipeline, including The Last of Us, House of the Dragon, and Peacemaker, which wrapped up its second season in October (to mixed results). But there’s something worth noting about that list: every show on it is part of a bigger franchise, something that was unheard of on HBO just 10 years ago. The network long had a strict policy about not making spinoffs of its hit series; the network wanted their TV shows to stand on their own. Now, a series like Peacemaker is part of the wider DC Cinematic Universe, House of the Dragon is one of multiple Game of Thrones prequels, and The Last of Us show is a subsidiary of the video game franchise.
Before, HBO was in its own league doing its own thing; other networks followed its lead. But now HBO is taking cues from Disney and trying to create massive franchises with devoted fanbases.
This probably started with Game of Thrones, which was such a massive, generational hit that HBO felt it had no choice but to make a spinoff series. When HBO owner Warner Bros. merged with Discovery in 2022, newly minted CEO David Zaslav pushed the studio to further embrace big IP. Before, HBO was in its own league doing its own thing; other networks followed its lead. But now HBO is taking cues from Disney and trying to create massive franchises with devoted fanbases. The ultimate example of that is probably HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter TV show, due out in 2027.
And to be clear, there’s no rule that says a TV show based on big IP can’t be good; in fact, many are. But big IP shows run the risk of feeling a little rote, a little paint-by-numbers. HBO is experiencing that right now with the new show IT: Welcome to Derry, which serves as a prequel to the IT horror movies. The show isn’t bad, but it’s not good enough to overcome the sensation that it was made mostly to draw in people who might recognize the name, rather than because the producers burned with the desire to tell this story. It feels a little pointless.
HBO still makes quality original shows. Task was a really solid crime drama, and Tim Robinson’s The Chair Company is baffling people across the world in the best way. But those kinds of shows are becoming the exception at HBO, not the norm.
How Apple become the new HBO
Apple had no choice but to blaze new trails
Meanwhile, Apple TV+ came on the scene in 2019 and had to invent itself pretty much from scratch. Unlike Netflix, Disney+, or HBO Max, Apple didn’t have a library of older content to fall back on; all it could do was create original shows and hope people showed up to watch them. More and more, they are.
Apple does have the advantage of having basically bottomless pockets. With the money Apple rakes in from sales of iPhones and other devices, paying for TV production is easy. But it could have taken that money and used it to fill the Apple TV+ library with trend-chasing shows people forget three minutes after finishing them. Instead, it’s invested long-term in quality series, giving shows the time they need to tell complete stories even if they’re not hugely popular. You don’t hear a ton of chatter about For All Mankind, Apple’s sci-fi show about an alternate reality where the U.S. and the Soviet Union never stopped running the space race. But it’s been going strong for four seasons now, and anybody who watches it is in for a treat. The same goes for Foundation, Apple’s adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s classic book series.
In fact, Apple has been around long enough now to amass a number of critical and commercial hits, from Ted Lasso to The Morning Show to Slow Horses to Severance.
Apple’s willingness to give shows money and space is why Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan decided to make his new series Pluribus, probably one of the buzziest shows of the moment, on the service. In fact, Apple has been around long enough now to amass a number of critical and commercial hits, from Ted Lasso to The Morning Show to Slow Horses to Severance. And every one of these hits is completely original, which gives Apple TV+ an exciting energy that HBO can’t quite match. It’s got the thrill of novelty on its side.
In short, Apple’s strategy is paying off, and I only expect the momentum to pick up. Top-tier creatives are noticing that Apple is the company that’s going to let them fully explore their own original ideas without attaching strings, something HBO used to be known for. That’s going to pay off big.
Battle lines are being drawn
Who will win: the tech companies or the legacy media operations?
Among the major streaming services, Apple TV+ has one of the smaller subscriber bases, but that might just add to its underground cred. It feels like the upstart underdog that gets by on grit and ingenuity.
Of course, it’s insane to call a service operated by one of the biggest companies on the planet an upstart underdog, but perception is reality and perception is on Apple’s side right now. Apple TV+ has the best of both worlds: the reputation of an edgy newcomer and the backing of a multinational tech empire. As a legacy media operation that can’t fall back on technology revenue to prop itself up, Warner Bros. Discovery needs its shows to succeed, so it makes sense that HBO — the crown jewel in WBD’s catalog — would embrace big IP, which has a built-in audience.
Prestige crown throw-down
It’s possible that the tech industry will one day completely absorb the legacy media industry, at which point this kind of competition won’t matter. Until then, I’d personally like to see HBO put up a fight. I want to see these two studios go head to head trying to claim the prestige TV crown. I want them to push each other to the edge and give us TV shows we’ll remember on our deathbeds.
But that’ll be then. Right now, I’m just waiting impatiently for the next episode of Pluribus.
Release Date
November 6, 2025
Network
Apple TV
Directors
Adam Bernstein, Zetna Fuentes, Melissa Bernstein
Rhea Seehorn
Carol Sturka
Carlos Manuel Vesga
Manousos
