HBO Max’s August 2026 slate is headlined by Lanterns, the DC Studios drama starring Aaron Pierre and Kyle Chandler as two Green Lantern cops, debuting August 16
The month spans eight major premieres across originals, films, and documentaries, including A24’s Mother Mary with Anne Hathaway and the Seahawks edition of Hard Knocks
Additional highlights include season three of Conan O’Brien Must Go, Ben Wheatley’s neo-Western Normal with Bob Odenkirk, and the reptile-smuggling docuseries Monsters of God
HBO Max‘s August 2026 programming slate leads with Lanterns, the DC Studios drama series arriving August 16, and fills out the month with eight major premieres spanning originals, films, and documentary series. The lineup runs from Hard Knocks: Training Camp With the Seattle Seahawks on August 4 through to A24‘s Mother Mary and the third season of Conan O’Brien Must Go on August 21.
Lanterns anchors the month when it debuts August 16, with its eight episodes rolling out weekly. The DC Studios drama follows new recruit John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) and Lantern legend Hal Jordan (Kyle Chandler), two intergalactic cops pulled into a dark, earth-based mystery with cosmic ties as they investigate a murder in the American heartland. The ensemble includes Kelly Macdonald, Garret Dillahunt, Poorna Jagannathan, Laura Linney, Jason Ritter, Ulrich Thomsen, Nathan Fillion, J. Alphonse Nicholson, and Jasmine Cephas Jones. Chris Mundy, Damon Lindelof, and Tom King co-created the series and co-wrote the pilot, with Mundy serving as showrunner and James Hawes directing the first two episodes. James Gunn and Peter Safran executive produce alongside the co-creators, Ron Schmidt, and Hawes, drawing the characters from DC’s Green Lantern comics.
Hard Knocks: Training Camp With the Seattle Seahawks opens the month’s premium slate on August 4, with five episodes premiering weekly/ The entry marks the franchise’s first Seahawks appearance on the 21-time Sports Emmy-winning series, capturing all-access coverage at the team’s Renton, Washington camp. Head coach Mike Macdonald, quarterback Sam Darnold, and 2025 AP NFL Offensive Player of the Year Jaxon Smith-Njigba feature alongside defensive standouts Devon Witherspoon and Byron Murphy II.
Two days later, Monsters of God arrives August 6 as a five-part HBO Original documentary series rolling out weekly. Filmmaker Eric Goode follows his first love, reptiles, into the gonzo underworld of exotic animal smuggling, uncovering a billion-dollar criminal enterprise of outlaw traffickers, obsessive collectors, and the law enforcement agents chasing them. HBO Documentary Films presents the series as a Goode Films and A24 production in association with Central Pictures.
On the film side, Lionsgate’s The Strangers: Chapter 2 lands August 7, continuing the horror franchise under director Renny Harlin. Madelaine Petsch, Gabriel Basso, and Ema Horvath star in the next chapter, written by Alan R. Cohen and Alan Freedland from characters created by Bryan Bertino.
August 14 brings a double feature of premieres. Magnolia Pictures’ Normal reunites Bob Odenkirk with the creative orbit of John Wick and Nobody, casting him as an unassuming substitute sheriff whose posting to a quiet Midwestern town unravels after a botched bank robbery. Directed by Ben Wheatley from a Derek Kolstad screenplay, the neo-Western co-stars Henry Winkler and Lena Headey. The same day, Whitmer Thomas: Terminal Crew of Dudes delivers the comedian’s second HBO stand-up special, blending original songs, home videos, and stories from his small-town Alabama upbringing.
The month closes with two August 21 premieres. A24’s Mother Mary, written and directed by David Lowery, stars Anne Hathaway as an iconic pop star reuniting with estranged former costume designer Sam Anselm (Michaela Coel) on the eve of a comeback performance, with a cast that also features Hunter Schafer, Kaia Gerber, and FKA twigs. Season three of Conan O’Brien Must Go rounds out the marquee titles, sending Conan O’Brien back across the globe over four weekly episodes to reconnect with fans he first met on his podcast.
Check out the full list of programming below.
Coming to HBO Max in August 2026
*This list may not be comprehensive and is subject to changeAugust 1
Amy
Barbarian
Bells Are Ringing
Billy Budd
Blockers
Epic
Flipper’s New Adventure
Great White Highway (Discovery)
Hall Pass
Hall Pass: Enlarged Edition
Happy Feet Two
It Comes At Night
Macao
Miss Sloane
Mojave
Murder on the Orient Express (2017)
Orphan
Practical Magic
Put A Ring On It: Cheat Hab (OWN)
Quo Vadis
Road House (1989)
Sicario
Smart Money
Stand by Me
Strike Up the Band
The Band Wagon
The Crimson Pirate
The Fighting 69th
The Kennel Murder Case
The Rain People
The Sea Chase
The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm
The Wrong Man
The Yearling
Thresher Shark: Stun to Kill (Discovery)
Tusk
Who’s That Knocking at My Door?
You Can’t Get Away with MurderAugust 3
Naked And Afraid: Shipwrecked, Season 1 (Discovery)August 4
Chopped: Volume 4, Season 64 (Food Network)
Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Seattle Seahawks (HBO Original)August 6
Monsters of God (HBO Original)August 7
Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage, Season 1
House Hunters International: Volume 9, Season 215 (HGTV)
House Hunters: Volume 11, Season 260 (HGTV)
The Invisible Guest
The Strangers: Chapter 2 (Lionsgate)August 8
Belle Collective, Season 8 (OWN)August 9
Heart & Hustle: Houston, Season 2 (OWN)August 10
Double Lives of Suburban Wives, Season 1 (TLC)August 11
The Salisbury Poisonings: A Spy Next Door (CNN Films)August 12
Signs of a Psychopath, Season 11 (ID)August 13
Building Giants, Season 5 (Science)
Faster With Newbern and Cotten, Season 3
Isadora Moon, Season 1D (Max Original)
Most Extreme Humans, Season 1 (TLC)August 14
Normal (Magnolia Pictures)
Whitmer Thomas: Terminal Crew of Dudes (HBO Original)August 16
Lanterns, Season 1 (DC Studios Drama Series)August 17
Thanksgiving (2023)August 20
ER: Caught On Camera, Season 1 (TLC)
Expedition X, Season 12 (Discovery)August 21
Conan O’Brien Must Go, Season 3 (HBO Original)
Mother Mary (A24)August 22
Abbott Elementary, Season 5August 24
Margarita: Make Your Story Count, Season 3 (Max Original)August 25
“Ben Sasse is Coming Home: Lessons in Life and Death” with Jake Tapper, The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper (CNN Originals)August 26
1000-lb Roomies, Season 2 (TLC)
Bobby’s Triple Threat, Season 5 (Food Network)
Homestead Rescue: Intervention, Season 1 (Discovery)August 27
Totally ’90s House, Season 1 (HGTV)August 28
House Hunters: Volume 11, Season 261 (HGTV)
The Producer, Season 1 (HBO Original)August 30
Enter Nowhere
Holla
Knock Knock
The Cabin in the Woods
The Strangers: Chapter 1
The Strangers: Prey at NightAugust 31
Big Burger Battle, Season 1 (Food Network)
The Robot Chicken Adult Swim Special (Adult Swim)
