How HBO Is Keeping Us Watching TV Together

How HBO Is Keeping Us Watching TV Together

Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re taking a look at how HBO, the king of television, has kept (and still keeps) us glued to our screens.

Appointment TV & the Weekly Model

Asking the question of how HBO is keeping all of us watching TV together leads us to one major answer: appointment TV. Appointment TV refers to the kind of textbook programming you’re familiar with, whereby episodes of a show are released on a specific day, at a specific time. For HBO, Sunday nights pretty much belonged to the network. Series like “The Sopranos”, “Oz”, “Six Feet Under”, “Sex and the City”, and more often dropped on Sunday nights, which helped make that point in the week something to look forward to. This is a model HBO has continued to stick with today, which is in contrast with the binge-watching model adopted by other streaming services, where all or a number of episodes are released at once. No matter how impatient we get, let’s face it: we all enjoy the build-up of a weekly schedule. What often happens if an entire season gets released at once is that the buzz fades within a few days. Seeing episodes weekly, on the other hand, draws things out and gives audiences more time to theorize, analyze, and discuss a show. In a way, it helps keep programs alive, and that relevance in turn keeps people talking.

Breaking the Mold

It wouldn’t be HBO if they didn’t take some big swings in order to establish themselves. While traditional networks often shied away from explicit language and imagery, HBO didn’t. In fact, they embraced it, making shows that went where others wouldn’t. Characters swore, did outrageous things, got violent, racy, and pretty much left no stone unturned. Simply put, this ain’t your grandma’s TV. Ok well, technically HBO’s been around since the ‘70s so maybe it is actually… but you know what we mean. It was radical, different, and edgy: all of the right ingredients to create something worthy of our attention. Still, shock value alone can only take you so far. Style is nothing without substance after all. They needed the right creative minds onboard.

Though they couldn’t offer deals as lucrative as their traditional network competitors, they promised something even more rare in the entertainment industry: creative freedom. Writers were able to go full-force on their crazy ideas without fear of their work being blue-penciled. Comedians like Garry Shandling and George Carlin were given a platform to riff on whatever they wanted and to do it completely uncensored. The rules were out the window, and it was go big or go home.

Pioneering the Prestige Format & Ushering in the Golden Age

It was only a matter of time until HBO soon had multiple flagship shows under its belt. In a little bit, we’ll talk more about the impact these shows had on us. But for now, let’s talk about what they did for TV. For a long time, television wasn’t actually seen as that big of a deal; it was considered small and even inferior to film and theater. If that was a viewpoint, though, then HBO practically made it their mission to do away with the idea. The tremendous levels of quality in their shows was proof of what tv could really be, and it’d change everything.

HBO’s programming tends to be considered part of a prestige format. It’s essentially TV dialed up to the highest level. Everything from the production to the writing to the acting is carefully crafted. Prestige TV tends to put much more emphasis on drama and exploring serious themes with depth and nuance. Typically with this format, these shows focus on a serialized method of storytelling. Every episode is integral to the other and builds out one large narrative. The emphasis on mature stories also means characters who are as complex as they are entertaining, an advantage that is sure to draw in high caliber actors. As a result, we’ve seen more movie stars crossing over into prestige tv now than ever before.

It’s obviously inaccurate to act like HBO outright created the prestige format. But they absolutely put it on the map. It became so renowned, in fact, that it kicked off an era of television where so much of it was considered must-watch content. With that said, there are some drawbacks to prestige TV. By making shows as cinematic as possible, common complaints are that these shows feel more like ten-to-thirteen-hour-long movies rather than episodes. Meanwhile, production costs and wait-times between seasons have risen majorly. This problem isn’t exclusive to HBO, though. If you ever binge “Stranger Things”, you’ll see the kids go from looking ten to twenty-five very quickly. Despite these fair criticisms, however, the overwhelming majority of viewers tend to agree that the impressive quality of these kinds of shows far outweigh the minor disadvantages.

Shaping Culture

Speaking of quality, let’s talk now about how these shows impact us. They’re more than just entertainment; they move us and leave their lasting marks with the things they have to say. On paper, it feels like a lot could go wrong when constructing a story about a bigoted, manipulative mobster who kills people. But the entire crew was so masterful at their craft that, as it stands, Tony Soprano is one of TV’s most beloved characters. What can we say, we all love a tortured soul.

It’s not just one really good show, though. Much of HBO’s programming has played a role in shaping pop culture around us. While “The Sopranos” has been homaged, revered, and lovingly memed endlessly, “The Wire” is taught in universities across the US, including Harvard. “Game of Thrones” had us all in a collective chokehold for years, even during its disastrous final season! “Succession” did the impossible and made us care for a bunch of rich pieces of work. And “The Last of Us” is already one of the best video game adaptations out there. We could also rave about “Watchmen” or “Barry” or “Sex and the City”, but the point is, HBO has us hooked.

Sustaining a Legacy

We’ve spent this entire video essay explaining how HBO has kept us watching in numerous ways. However, another important issue we haven’t addressed yet is why they need to keep us watching probably now more than ever before. Despite being the king of prestige television for so long, there’s been others gunning for that crown. Ever since the rise of streaming, other competitors have begun to seriously pick up their slack. We’re not just talking about HBO having beef with Netflix anymore. Now there’s competitors like Prime Video, Peacock, Disney+, Paramount+, AppleTV+ … and probably a few other pluses we’re missing. We also can’t ignore how channels like FX have catapulted themselves to the top with Emmy win after Emmy win.

All this to say: HBO has had to adapt. When HBO Max launched as their line of defense in the streaming wars, it was a little bit rocky in the beginning. Attaching massive quantities of previously unrelated IPs with the HBO banner had prompted fears of brand dilution. It might sound like unnecessary doom and gloom but you’ve got to admit that “HBO’s 90 Day Fiancé” sounds odd to say the least. So, Warner Brothers officially changed the streaming service to just “Max”. It was just one step in their strategic moves to adapt and keep up their staying power.

All obstacles aside, it’s pretty hard to think that HBO’s legacy could just be done away with. Putting it plainly, it’s going to take a lot more to keep them down. They dedicated decades to making amazing TV that captivated audiences and cultivated important conversations. HBO may have more real competition now than ever before, but in a way, the rivals owe some of their success to them. All of these competitors are walking down a road that this network first paved. It’s incredible that, all these years later, even with the overwhelming rise of streaming and binge-watching, HBO has managed to keep that Sunday night feeling alive.

What’s your favorite HBO TV show? Share the one that’s keeping you watching TV in the comments below!