In the wake of this morning’s Emmy nominations, HBO Max chief Casey Bloys sat down for an interview with Variety to discuss the premium cable network’s 142 Emmy nominations this year – a new best for the company.
Most of those circled around five series – “The Penguin” (24), “The White Lotus” (23), “The Last of Us” (16), “Hacks” (14) and “The Pitt” (13). More is expected from each of these shows, and so the trade asked about the status of their futures with the network.
Asked about a potential second season of “The Penguin,” Bloys says Matt Reeves is “dealing with getting the movie [The Batman Part II] going” which will inevitably delay things:
“I believe they’re making progress there. I know that he and [showrunner] Lauren [LeFranc] have talked about various ideas. So, could another chapter be in the future? Definitely possible. Right now, I think the priority for Matt is the movie. But I know that Lauren is thinking of various ideas that might work alongside the movie. I think it’s possible. I just don’t know at this point… No ETA or anything like that.”
Regarding “The White Lotus,” Mike White is currently in Fiji competing on “Survivor” so there’s no real progress on a fourth season as yet and despite reports of a Europe setting, he says “so much could change”. Bloys adds:
“I’m not worried about any sort of delay. Mike always has the show in his head worked out, so I’m excited to talk to him when he’s back about what he’s what he’s thinking. I have a sense of the ideas that he’s playing with, but the scouting process is really important for him. They’re going to be doing that soon. “
One of the big announcements in recent works from HBO is how “The Last of Us” game creator Neil Druckmann is stepping away from the show for the third season with Craig Mazin taking over full-time as showrunner.
Previously it was indicated by Mazin that the show would likely need a fourth season to wrap up their adaptation of “The Last of Us Part II” game, but Bloys indicates that may no longer be the case – Mazin now may be able to wrap it up in a longer third season as opposed to two shorter ones:
The series is definitely planned for 2027. Craig is still working it out whether it will be two more seasons or one more long season. It hasn’t been decided yet, and I’m following Craig’s lead on that.”
The second season of “The Pitt” is currently in production, and Bloys was asked about the potential for spin-offs, to which he responds that they have no plans for anything like that:
“No, no, no, no. Have not gotten there yet. I think getting the show right and getting it out will be the priority for now. We have not had any conversations about any other spin offs.”
Upcoming HBO series including “IT: Welcome to Derry,” “Task,” “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” “Lanterns,” “DTF St. Louis” and “Harry Potter”.
