HBO Max is leaning into global storytelling and true crime this week with a trio of buzzy premieres: the Italian prestige drama Portobello, Germany’s slick caper series Banksters, and the chilling docuseries Lost Women of Alaska from Investigation Discovery. It’s a compact slate, but one that covers the sweet spot between auteur-driven drama, high-stakes thrills, and real-world investigation.
Portobello probes media, power, and justice in 1980s Italy
HBO’s first Italian-language original arrives with serious pedigree. Portobello comes from Marco Bellocchio, one of Italy’s most decorated filmmakers, known for incisive portraits of power and conscience. He takes on the real-life saga of beloved TV host Enzo Tortora, whose sudden entanglement with organized crime allegations turned a nation’s living room companion into a lightning rod for justice and media scrutiny.
Fabrizio Gifuni leads a cast that also includes Lino Musella and Romana Maggiora Vergano. Expect Bellocchio’s signature moral complexity: the series isn’t content to retell a scandal—it interrogates the machinery that made it possible, from tabloids to courtrooms. Early user sentiment has hovered in the 7 out of 10 range on crowdsourced databases, a solid signal that viewers are responding to its rigor and craft.
Portobello also fits a broader trend. Parrot Analytics and other measurement firms have tracked rising U.S. demand for non-English-language dramas, and Warner Bros. Discovery has increasingly positioned local originals as engines for subscriber engagement. When the story is this resonant—and the filmmaker this assured—language is hardly a barrier.
Banksters blends heist thrills with class tension and stakes
Banksters taps into the enduring allure of the heist, but grounds it in class friction and family urgency. Yusuf, a trainee at a major bank, falls in with fellow rookies to coordinate a string of audacious robberies meant to erase crushing debts—only to be sold out from within. With Eren Guvercin front and center and strong turns from Numan Acar and Maria Drăguș, the series blends propulsive plotting with a distinctly European sense of consequence.
Germany has quietly become a hotbed for stylized crime fare—think the meticulous period flair of Babylon Berlin or the pop verve of Kleo—and Banksters aims squarely at that audience while adding a modern, social bite. The setup isn’t just about the score; it’s about the systems that make desperate choices feel rational. If you liked the cat-and-mouse mechanics of Money Heist but wanted a colder, more grounded temperature, this should hit.
Streaming data routinely shows that tightly paced thrillers punch above their weight in completion rates—Nielsen’s The Gauge has repeatedly highlighted how series with clear, escalating stakes keep viewers locked in across episodes. Banksters is calibrated for exactly that kind of binge momentum.
Lost Women of Alaska examines disappearances near Anchorage
Investigation Discovery’s latest docuseries turns to a string of disappearances around Anchorage and the discovery of Kathleen Jo Henry off the Seward Highway, a case that galvanized local law enforcement and the FBI. Lost Women of Alaska avoids sensationalism and focuses instead on timelines, terrain, and the human footprint left behind when answers don’t come quickly.
True crime remains a juggernaut on streaming, with the genre consistently ranking among top unscripted performers across platforms. Viewers come for resolution but stay for rigor, and early audience scores in the mid-6s suggest a watchable, if harrowing, investigation anchored by access and community voices. The series also intersects with broader conversations about missing persons in remote regions, where geography, weather, and limited resources complicate every search.
For fans of procedural clarity—maps, timelines, cell data, dashcam cuts—this one delivers the granular detail that drives discussion. It’s best approached with care; the subject matter is tough, and the series doesn’t flinch.
Also new this week on HBO Max: true crime and home shows
Beyond the headline trio, there’s a steady flow of fresh unscripted and true-crime arrivals. Dead of Winter and Fit for a Killer expand the library of cold-case and forensics programming. Surviving the Jehovah’s Witnesses offers a survivor-led perspective that will spark conversation. Contraband: Seized at the Border returns with Season 8, tracking interdiction work at busy ports of entry. On the home-improvement front, Holmes on Homes: Building a Legacy kicks off with a back-to-basics focus on craftsmanship and accountability.
What to watch first on HBO Max from this week’s premieres
If you want prestige with historical weight, start with Portobello for Bellocchio’s direction and a tour-de-force from Gifuni. Craving velocity and reversals? Banksters is the week’s cleanest binge bet, engineered for cliffhangers. And if you’re in a true-crime mood, Lost Women of Alaska offers depth and context without sacrificing investigative spine.
The mix reflects HBO Max’s dual strategy: court cinephiles with auteur voices while feeding high-demand genres that keep session times high. With international drama and fact-based storytelling both trending upward, this week’s slate is a concise showcase of where the service is putting its chips.
Bottom line: three strong anchors, each with a distinct flavor. Pick the lane you love—or rotate through all three—and you’ll find plenty to talk about by the final credits.
