Max is delivering an oddly thematically cohesive trio this week: an A24 rom-com with festival buzz, a holiday hoarding reality swing from the HGTV pipeline and a box office bruiser from a long-standing sci-fi franchise.
It’s a reception-crafted recipe for date-night viewing, comfort television and home-streamed spectacle — squarely targeted to incentivize engagement and retention.
The Headliners That You Can Stream First
Materialists, Celine Song’s next act after Past Lives, finally lands on streaming. Chris Evans joins star power as, yes, a magnetic interloper, while Pedro Pascal plays off the matchmaker and this collision course of exes. It’s a modern-relationship comedy with sharp elbows — A24 sheen and all.
‘Hoarding for the Holidays.’ When to watch: Dec. 11 at 8 p.m. ET. Where to watch: HGTV. This relatively new documentary subgenre tends toward macabre fascination, but “Hoarding for the Holidays” taps into the season’s irresistible chaos, following a pair of HGTV pros who attempt to excavate homes that have been overwhelmed by tinsel and inflatables as well as generations of sentimental décor. It is TV-PG and the perfect example of a “watch-while-decorating” title that earns completion rates as holiday pageantry revs.
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes crashes into Max, bringing the franchise to a bold new realm where primates have inherited the Earth and human survivors prowl on its fringes. Directed by Wes Ball, it relies on Weta FX’s creature work and a grounded performance by Owen Teague, starring — in crucial roles — Freya Allan and Kevin Durand.
Materialists Extends Celine Song’s Hot Streak
Song’s Past Lives received several Oscar nods and established her as a sophisticated storyteller of those in-between spaces — love, time, identity. Materialists changes registers to romantic comedy without abandoning that observational precision, prodding at New York’s high-end matchmaking economy and our transactional way of describing attraction.
Light on cast but not scenario, so to speak: A24’s rom-com films have covertly overindexed when it comes to their modest budgets in streaming windows, with legacy titles boasting long-tail viewing curves, per internal studio conversation and analyst monitoring. Parrot Analytics has also pointed out that star-forward contemporary romances trend above average in demand for them from the 25–34 demo, which bodes well when it comes to long-tail interest here.
Early critical buzz noted Johnson’s understated comic timing, as well as the chemistry whiplash put on display by Pascal and Evans. For Max, it’s an on-brand “prestige but playful” addition that feels snackable on a weeknight yet buzzy enough to headline a weekend.
Apes Finds Its Home-Viewing Moment on Max
After theaters, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes makes an impact. Global grosses reached $390 million and counting, a robust showing for a fourth installment in the cycle of reboots. That staying power makes a difference: movies that prove themselves as long-haul theatrical draws are more likely to make high first-week starts on streaming and hold better in their second week.
These are the selling points, beyond the set pieces — the implied thematic expanse, as issues of leadership and myth-making inform these fractured ape clans. The performance capture (by Weta FX) is what’s on offer, obviously; HDR home setups are given a workout in the nocturnal scenes and close-quarters tussles. If you are looking for a showpiece title to go with your brand-new TV, begin right here.
Holiday Hoarding Plays the Comfort Card for Viewers
Hoarding for the Holidays is appointment background TV in the most beneficial sense, low-friction, high-satisfaction arcs where visible progress equals viewer dopamine. HGTV specials traditionally spike in Q4 when families nest, and Nielsen’s The Gauge continues to report that unscripted and acquired programming consume the vast majority of streaming minutes — precisely the lane this show plays in.
It’s also smart portfolio strategy. Warner Bros. Discovery is still mixing Discovery perennial classics with HBO’s premium storytelling, offering Max around-the-clock utility that pure prestige services fight to provide. A shiny scripted premiere makes headlines; a cozy reality run quietly logs hours watched.
Also New on Max: Returning Series and Fresh Premieres
Outside of the marquee trio, food and renovation stalwarts come back with:
- Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives season 52
- Beat Bobby Flay season 41
- Maine Cabin Masters season 11
- Homestead Rescue season 13
- Gold Rush season 16
True crime and doc fans can queue up:
- Body Cam season 10
- The Vallecas Files
- Angela Diniz: Murdered and Convicted season 1
Gearheads and competitive or seasonal swings include:
- Build for Off-Road season 2
- Sweet Empire’s Winter Wars season 1
- Let’s Go Bananas! season 1
- Bad Sports: When Fans Turn Violent on The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper
Why This Diverse Slate Matters to Max Right Now
This slate hits every quadrant without feeling like a grab bag: a critically minded rom-com, a proven feature film franchise and low-lift unscripted that drives daily usage. That mix tends toward low churn, as the tentpole provides sampling, people stick around for comfort staples and then return for the buzzy indie.
If you’re making a hierarchy out of it, pop on Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes to satiate that played-out blockbuster itch, follow through with Materialists for a mode sharper and more intimate, and hang onto Hoarding for the Holidays in your cozy queue. It’s a neat portrait of Max’s growing identity — and one very watchable week.
