HBO boss says "there is nothing on the air that I wouldn’t have made five years ago"

Los Angeles Times

AT&T's ownership and increased investment isn't changing the very essence of HBO, says Casey Bloys, HBO's programming president. "There is nothing on the air that I wouldn’t have made five years ago," he tells The L.A. Times. "I wanted a slate. I wanted world-building shows, like Watchmen and Westworld, but I also wanted shows that did not rely on special effects and take two years to come back to air, beautiful shows with a small, dedicated audience and shows that reflect the world we live in.” An HBO show, he adds, will never “exist just to exist.” Bloys emphasizes that HBO won't get into the binge-buying business. There will be a small increase in programming hours, but not by much. Bloys also spoke about the challenge of winning over talent with so many streaming competitors. “I wanted Dear White People," he says. “I wanted GLOW and What We Do in the Shadows, but we were hamstrung during the change. Ninety percent of the time, if there’s something we want, if we are competitive, we’ll get it.”