What's news: HBO Max launches with Friends, Harry Potter and Elmo. CBS and Disney face a Criminal Minds lawsuit, the Film Academy adjusts how it votes for governors, the first movie theater chain announces its reopening plans, Amazon is said to be circling The Lincoln Lawyer, reopening Broadway is a ways away, the NHL becomes the first sports league to detail return plans. Plus: Doug Liman will join Tom Cruise in space, and the Safdie brothers ink a deal with HBO. --Alex Weprin

 HBO Max Day

We are officially on our third new streaming service launch of the novel coronavirus pandemic. And today's launch is the biggest one yet. After Quibi arrived with a bit of a thud in April, and NBCUniversal's Peacock launched in a limited beta for Comcast subscribers, WarnerMedia today rolled out its major foray into streaming: HBO Max.

+The basics: HBO Max will cost $14.99 per month (that's the same price as regular old HBO), and will be available on HBOMax.com, and through streaming video and cable providers like Hulu, YouTube TV, DirecTV and Optimum. It will launch with 10,000 hours of content (more on that below), significantly more than any other recent streaming launch. HBO Max  launched today.

HBO Max effectively has three types of content: HBO programming, Max Originals programming, and library titles. Max originals are meant to complement the HBO programming by taking swings outside of HBO's usual comfort zone, while letting the HBO brand signify the quality programming the cable channel is known for.

+The Max Originals: Originals include kids far like Looney Tunes, comic book adaptations like Doom Patrol, scripted shows like Love Life, and realty shows like The Big Shot with Bethany. The company is also creating a new film studio, Warner Max, which will creative 10 mid-budget films for the service each year.

+The HBO shows and library content: HBO programming like Veep and Game of Thrones is included, of course, and WarnerMedia is folding in library content from its cable channels including TNT and TruTV. Warner Bros. movies will be on the service, including all eight Harry Potter films. WarnerMedia also struck notable library deals with the BBC (including every episode of Doctor Who) and Studio Ghibli, the first time the Japanese animation studio films are available to stream in the U.S. HBO Max will also be the first streaming service to host the complete series of The Big Bang Theory.

--Oh yeah, there's also every episode of a little show called Friends, though it may not be HBO Max's big draw, despite its success on Netflix.

--And speaking of Harry Potter: Warner Bros. had licensed those films to NBCUniversal. However, just as Disney secured the rights to all its Star Wars films for the launch of Disney+, WarnerMedia struck a deal to bring the Potter films to HBO Max.

Here's THR's complete guide to HBO Max and its programming.

+There's an ad-supported version coming. AT&T says it is planned for 2021, and will be available at a lower price to consumers, offset with advertising, of course. The big question: HBO has been ad-free since it launched in 1972, will the ads appear on HBO programming? Or just on Max Originals and library content?

+The tech: HBO Max's launch is all the more impressive considering the people building it are all working from home amid the pandemic. “At this point, we’re literally doing daily buildings of the product, meaning there’s a new version of it essentially every night,” WarnerMedia CTO Jeremy Legg told THR's Natalie Jarvey during a mid-March call from his home in Atlanta. More.

+Reviews: The first (non-HBO) scripted original is Love Life, starring Anna Kendrick. Daniel Fienberg writes that it is "a toothless, dull proof-of-concept that any network or service could have produced"...  Inkoo Kang reviews HBO Max's first original reality series, the vogueing competition Legendary, writing that "despite its queer-friendliness, Legendary hews much closer to America's Best Dance Crew than RuPaul's Drag Race".... On a positive note, Fienberg praises kids shows The Not Too Late Show With Elmo and Looney Tunes Cartoons, writing "at least the new streaming service is showing that it can successfully leverage some of its venerable properties for all ages."

+What everyone else is saying: Bloomberg's Felix Gillette writes "The HBO name, TV’s classiest brand, tries to prove it can be everything to everyone"... CNN's Frank Pallotta interviews Bob Greenblatt about the launch... The New York Times' Edmund Lee writes "HBO Max wants to 'crush' Netflix. Is it too late?"

 Film Academy changes voting method to determine governors for Its board. The board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has decided to eliminate — at least for this year — the 'Final Four' stage of its annual board elections, and to begin using a preferential ballot — just like the one used to determine the best picture Oscar — to pick board members, THR's Scott Feinberg has learned. The story.

►IPIC Theaters reveals reopening plan, including thermal temperature monitoring. The luxury chain's Texas cinemas will resume operation in early June; there's no word yet regarding the IPIC in Los Angeles. IPIC says it will rely on high-end technology to keep its customers safe, including temperature thermal scanners. “This will allow for us to quickly identify and address temperature abnormalities for individuals walking into IPIC Theaters,” IPIC CEO and legal counsel Paul Safran said in a statement. More.

+Many moviegoers would return to theaters within one month of reopening. The new poll from Atom Tickets also found that spaced seating is the single most important concern for consumers, while just 6 percent care about temperature checks. More.

+Good news for AMC Theatres: MKM Partners analyst Eric Handler on Wednesday upgraded the stock of exhibition giant from "sell" to "neutral," arguing that "near-term bankruptcy risk appears to have subsided." Handler said that risk has lessened "considerably" as a result of the "increasing likelihood movie theaters in the U.S. and Europe will be able to re-open with new Hollywood content in the July/August time frame and the company's improved liquidity position." The story.

►The National Hockey League is the first major U.S. sports league to announce its return to play plans. The league says that its regular season is done, and when it comes back in July it will be a 24 team playoff. Players, coaches and staff would be isolated in two hub cities, and would receive regular virus testing. That being said, specific health and safety measures need to be worked out before play can resume.

 CBS and Disney Face a Significant Lawsuit

 California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing wants to make a stand against sexual harassment in Hollywood. This past week, the agency took the bold step of filing suit against the various studios behind CBS' Criminal Minds as well as the executive producers of the series, which had its final episode in February.

--The complaint filed in Los Angeles Superior Court discusses alleged sexual touching by Gregory St. Johns, who acted as a director of photography on the show. He's been the subject of court action already, but what makes this particular legal action so extraordinary is that California authorities have decided to go after The Walt Disney Company, ABC Signature Studios, CBS Studios and various individuals for what happened. The story.

+CBS, NBC, ABC affiliates: No ownership opportunities for women unless Supreme Court intervenes. An amicus brief predicts broadcasting won't be able to compete with Netflix, YouTube, and Facebook without deregulation, Eriq Gardner reports.

Quote: "Unless the Commission is allowed to make predictive judgments and critically needed updates to its local media ownership rules without judicial second-guessing of the agency's expert judgments, it is only a matter of time before many local television stations go the way of local newspapers," write attorneys from Brooks, Pierce as well as Cooley LLP. "No opportunities for women, minorities, or anyone else will be available if local media outlets are non-existent." The story.

+Netflix looks to save itself from Viacom's poaching suit. A summary judgment argues that Viacom is unlawfully using post-employment term non-competes. More.

+Chubb says Holocaust group's coronavirus lawsuit fails. On Friday, the Chubb Group demanded an end to a lawsuit filed by the Simon Wiesenthal Center over insurance coverage. The Holocaust organization, which is readying a documentary on Netflix and whose plans for a celebration of the Clooneys was interrupted by the pandemic, filed its claims in California federal court in late April. The Simon Wiesenthal Center seeks a declaration that Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti's emergency "Safer at Home" order constituted sufficient action by a civil authority and triggered coverage meant to insure physical damage to a premises. More.

►America's Got Talent investigation reveals "culture of diversity." Following former host Gabrielle Union's accusations that she experienced racial insensitivity and a toxic culture on the NBC competition series, a joint investigation by the network, producers Fremantle and Simon Cowell's Syco has found that the show "demonstrated an overall culture of diversity," though it did discover "some areas in which reporting processes could be improved." More.

►"Much work" needed before Broadway theater can resume, Actors' Equity epidemiologist says. The underlying message from the union and its medical adviser: Don’t expect to go to the theater soon. “We want to do this as soon as we can,” said Equity president Kate Shindle. “But we want to do it right.” The story.

►Studios have "weighed in" on pandemic risk insurance bill, author says. The proposal, which would create insurance to cover pandemics and other public health crises, would be funded both by the federal government and major providers, Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) says. More.

►Digital demand will spur U.S. advertising gains in 2021, predicts analyst. MoffettNathanson's Michael Nathanson sees Alphabet and Facebook and advertising VOD platforms like Pluto TV helping fuel a recovery next year for the U.S. advertising industry. The story.

►Girl With the Dragon Tattoo TV series in the works at Amazon. The streamer is developing a project centered on Lisbeth Salander, the hacker character at the center of Stieg Larsson's best-selling Millennium trilogy of Swedish crime novels. More.

 Tom Cruise and Doug Liman In Space

In movie news...

+Doug Liman to direct Tom Cruise movie that will shoot in space. The director, who worked with Cruise on Edge of Tomorrow and American Made, will be the helmer of the top-secret feature Cruise is developing that will be shot, at least in part, in space. Elon Musk's SpaceX and NASA are on board as well. The story.

--This morning NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine told CBS This Morning "If they want to go to the International Space Station and make a movie and inspire a generation of explorers, that is exactly what we are looking for."

+Universal, Mandeville Films team for YA fantasy Scholomance. Todd Lieberman and David Hoberman of Mandeville will produce the adaptation of the upcoming book series from Naomi Novik, the award-winning author of the dragon-centric Temeraire books. More.

+Marianne filmmaker to direct Lionsgate horror thriller Cobweb. Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and James Weaver are producing via Point Grey along with Vertigo Entertainment’s Roy Lee and Jon Berg. More.

►Amazon is apparently circling a high-profile CBS reject. CBS may not be proceeding with The Lincoln Lawyer, its high-profile legal drama from David E. Kelley, but Michael Connelly – whose bestselling novels the project is based on – says the show has other potential suitors in the works, including Amazon. The author says a deal with Amazon would give the streamer the author's complete "universe" to add to police procedural drama Bosch. More.

►The Safdie brothers set first-look deal with HBO. Filmmakers Josh and Benny Safdie have entered into a two-year first-look deal with the WarnerMedia cable and streaming channel. They'll create new projects for the platform under their production company Elara Pictures, which they formed with longtime collaborators Sebastian Bear-McClard and Ronald Bronstein. Former Paramount and Chernin exec Dani Bernfeld is joining the outfit as partner to produce film and TV projects. The story.

►How I'm Living Now: Leslie Odom, Jr., actor, singer, songwriter. The Tony Award-winning performer, actor and singer-songwriter talks to THR about pivoting to virtual performances (not his favorite), turning the kitchen into his stage and how he feels about the surprise move to debut Hamilton on Disney+. The interview.

The pandemic continues to delay film and TV productions...

+American Horror Story season 10 is delayed at FX until 2021. The Disney-owned cable network also confirmed the anthology spinoff Ryan Murphy announced two weeks ago as it solidified its slate for next year. The story.

+Edgar Wright's Last Night in Soho pushed to spring 2021. The filmmaker has been unable to finish postproduction work on the psychological thriller because of the novel coronavirus pandemic. More.

►Amazon Studios acquires the Blumhouse thriller Run Sweetheart Run. Shana Feste is behind the movie, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was a 2020 SXSW selection. Also produced by Brian Kavanaugh-Jones' Automatik, Run Sweetheart Run was set for a limited theatrical release on May 8 via Blumhouse Tilt. More.

►Mobile game spending hits new world record of 1.2 billion weekly downloads. According to the latest report from data and analytics provider App Annie, simulation and board games are in highest demand amid coronavirus-related lockdowns. More.

►Tribeca Enterprises, YouTube unveil We Are One festival lineup. Twenty-one international film festivals, including Berlin, Toyko, Sundance, Venice and Toronto, helped curate the more than 100 titles that will stream on YouTube from May 29 until June 7. Here's the lineup.



^TV review: Daniel Fienberg reviews the Apple TV+ animated series Central Park. "[A]s an animated family comedy, Central Park is pleasant, amiable and sometimes funny, but probably not hugely impactful," Fienberg writes. "As a musical, Central Park is something wonderful, a joyful and elating experience almost guaranteed to put a smile on your face at a moment when pure pleasure is a welcome salve." The review.

Obituary: Richard Herd, the venerable character actor who played Mr. Wilhelm on Seinfeld and appeared in such notable films as All the President's Men and The China Syndrome, died Tuesday. He was 87...

►Broadcast TV ratings: The second season of The Titan Games opened to lower ratings on NBC, though it still led the broadcast networks in the adults 18-49 demographic on a fairly light Memorial Day. The numbers.

Revolving door: Scott Derrickson is stepping into the world of Labyrinth. The filmmaker is in talks to direct a sequel to the 1986 Jim Henson fantasy film...The Good Doctor producer Brightlight Pictures has hired Emily Alden as its new vp of development...

In other news...

--Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday apologized for doing blackface 20 years ago during a sketch on NBC's Saturday Night Live.

--Mrs. America creator Dahvi Waller discusses her FX on Hulu series' polarizing response, why aligning with the patriarchy was never going to work out for Phyllis Schlafly, and why Ronald Reagan's election in 1980 was similar to Donald Trump's in 2016.

--AG Rojas' Godchild, a short film about Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis and John Coltrane, is set for a digital release via Park Pictures after The Smithsonian Institute's Men of Change exhibition was disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.

--Japanese police on Wednesday arrested the lead suspect in last year's deadly arson attack on Kyoto Animation, the family-run studio behind a string of internationally beloved anime films and television series.

--J.K. Rowling is making her return to children's literature for a good cause. In a blog post published on her website Tuesday, the author announced that she will release a new story called The Ickabog, releasing new chapters weekly to help distract children currently in lockdown amid the novel coronavirus. 

--For the first time, ESPN's ESPYs will feature three hosts in remote settings and a changed focus. Instead of honoring the past year's top athletes and moments in sports, the show is celebrating heroism and humanitarian aid.

--Los Angeles police and the city attorney's office on Tuesday said house parties in the Hollywood Hills have become a big problem with clubs closed amid the novel coronavirus pandemic.

--A public campaign has been started in an effort to nominate both Back to the Future: Part II and Part III to the National Film Registry.

What else we're reading...

--"Advertisers seek to revise deal terms with streamer Quibi" [WSJ]

--"YouTube is deleting comments with two phrases that insult China’s Communist Party" [The Verge]

--"Dance your cares away, a Fraggle Rock reboot is coming to Apple TV+" [Vulture]

Today's birthdays: Joseph Fiennes, 50, Siouxsie Sioux, 63, Richard Schiff, 65, Henry Kissinger, 97, Andre 3000, 45.