HBO Max Originals Chief Seeking Next Big Cop, Medical Or Legal Drama Internationally In Bid To “Replicate Success” Of ‘The Pitt’

HBO Max is building on the breakout success of five-time Emmy winning procedural The Pitt by seeking cop, medical and legal dramas from around the world.

Sarah Aubrey, who runs originals for the streamer, said procedurals could be the way to go in some of the newer territories in Europe that HBO Max is slowly moving into. She said she wants shows with numerous episodes and joked to the British audience at Content London: “You guys order six episodes of things, that’s so crazy to me.”

“I think we could go back to traditional TV formats in the medical, legal and cop world,” she added. “Audiences eat those up. If we apply the lessons learned from streaming over the past several years of quality character writing and apply that to those genres then we will have great success.”

She was speaking about The Pitt, which won five Emmys, beating far more expensive fare to some top prizes. A second season launches in a few weeks’ time. “I hope internationally we can replicate some of that [success] with shows with longer orders,” said Aubrey.

Aubrey also detailed the local shows performing well around the world for HBO Max, some of which are even beating big HBO tentpoles.

She flagged Furia in Spain, which has just been recommissioned, along with The Prince in Turkey and The Eastern Gate in Poland.

One area HBO won’t be pushing into is microdrama, which may be all the rage at the moment but comes with “our plates so full with our main jobs.”

Aubrey is in London for the week and will attend a splashy HBO showcase tonight before hitting the Harry Potter set tomorrow.

“I think it’s such a delightful adaptation of the books,” she said of that franchise. “I think when people watch it they will think, ‘These are the books’. It is created by a British writer, directed by a British filmmaker and the craftspeople are the best this country has to offer.”

HBO Max unveiled launch dates for Germany and Italy this morning, with chief Casey Bloys set to address a press showcase tonight. The streamer will enter the territories on January 13. No word, however, as to when HBO Max goes live in the UK.

Aubrey said the team has been “chomping at the bit to grow the footprint of HBO Max.”