HBO Max has a huge selection of shows and movies from all of its partner networks, including HBO, Discovery, Food Network, and more. New shows and movies are always being added, so here are my top choices for this weekend and the week ahead, plus everything new streaming below. It’s a light week this time around, but the new Ed Burns movie is worth watching, plus some holiday fun and a new documentary.
This Week on Max: PCMag’s Picks
The Family McMullen (Dec. 5)
Thirty years after his Sundance Grand Jury-winning The Brothers McMullen, Edward Burns returns to the family that made him famous with a sequel. It’s an enjoyable and emotionally rich movie that wrestles with the many ways the world has changed over the last three decades, and Burns’ knack for witty dialogue keeps things moving brisky. A solid holiday flick for grown-ups.
The Christmas Showdown (Dec. 7)
All of the streaming services are going wild with holiday movies this month, so if your family is gathering around the tube, you could do worse than new OWN entry The Christmas Showdown. Corbin Reid and Amber Stevens West play estranged friends who both return to their childhood home and end up facing off for the job of designing the town’s annual holiday celebration.
Wizkid: Long Live Lagos (Dec. 11)
HBO’s Music Box documentary series is one of the best things the network is doing right now: deep dives into history and culture with solid budgets. The latest entry, Wizkid: Long Live Lagos, accompanies the Nigerian musician (real name Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun) before his breakthrough concert at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2023. Wizkid’s story takes him from singing with church friends in Lagos at 11 to winning a Grammy and collaborating with Drake.
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Director: Karam Gill
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Genre: Documentary
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Rating: TV-MA
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IMDb Rating: 7.6/10
HBO Max New Releases This Week
December 5
Batwheels – Season 3A
House Hunters International: Volume 9 – Season 205
House Hunters: Volume 10 – Season 247
The Family McMullen (2025)
December 7
The Christmas Showdown
December 8
90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days – Season 8
Recommended by Our Editors
December 9
Bugs Bunny Builders – Season 2I
Fixer Upper: Colorado Mountain House
December 11
Wizkid: Long Live Lagos
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About Our Expert
K. Thor Jensen
Contributing Writer
Experience
K. Thor Jensen is a writer and cartoonist living in the Pacific Northwest. He has contributed to dozens of prestigious outlets, including PCMag, Tested, Clickhole, and Newsweek. His second graphic novel, Cloud Stories, was released in 2017.
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