What’s new in September
HBO Max isn’t easing into fall—it’s stomping on the gas. The service is rolling out 72 movies and 60 shows across September, a muscular slate designed to hit every taste: brand-new films, a prestige crime limited series, reality comfort food, and a handful of well-chosen classics. The HBO Max September 2025 lineup is built to keep you from scrolling anywhere else.
The headline gets brighter thanks to two A24 entries that arrive just one week apart. First up is Friendship on September 5, a 2024 comedy-drama that pairs Paul Rudd with Tim Robinson. Robinson plays Craig Waterman, a painfully awkward marketing guy trying to reboot his social life; Rudd is Austin, a charismatic TV weatherman who also fronts a punk band. Kate Mara plays Tami, Craig’s wife and his biggest booster. A24’s name on the box hints at a character-first story with offbeat humor and a gentle sting—think cringe comedy with heart, not broad gags.
Then comes Warfare on September 12, a new modern-war thriller from Alex Garland. If you’ve seen Ex Machina, Annihilation, or his 2024 flashpoint Civil War, you know what to expect: a sharp, unnerving look at power, fear, and the choices people make under pressure. Garland’s films tend to look pristine and feel claustrophobic at the same time. Warfare promises the same precision—lean dialogue, tense set pieces, and images that stick in your head long after the credits.
September starts heavy on day one. The September 1 drop includes The 33, the survival drama inspired by the Chilean mine rescue; A Life of Her Own, a vintage melodrama with old-Hollywood sheen; and Season 4 of Bobby’s Triple Threat, the Food Network match-up that keeps punching above its weight. The platform also adds Billionaire Boys Club and Beachfront Bargain Hunt, reinforcing a strategy that mixes scripted, unscripted, and comfort TV so there’s always something to put on while you cook, work out, or wind down.
On the series front, the most buzzed-about new title is Task, a limited crime drama starring Mark Ruffalo and Tom Pelphrey, written by Brad Ingelsby, the creator of Mare of Easttown. Ingelsby has a knack for working-class neighborhoods, tight-knit families, and the kind of secrets that crack a community’s foundation. Ruffalo brings a grounded intensity; Pelphrey—who broke big in Ozark and stood out in Love & Death—has an edge that plays well in morally gray roles. Expect a lean season, knotty relationships, and escalating stakes. The exact release cadence wasn’t specified, but this kind of prestige drama usually rolls out weekly to build word of mouth.
Documentaries and lifestyle round out the month. American Prince: JFK Jr. takes a new run at an all-too-familiar American story, focusing less on myth and more on the pressures of legacy, media, and the tightrope between public fascination and private life. My Happy Place adds to the lifestyle bench alongside Beachfront Bargain Hunt, part of a broader push to keep easy-viewing options in the mix for weeknights and background viewing. That’s a smart hedge against churn: prestige pulls you in; lifestyle keeps you around.
The library keeps getting smarter. The Cabin in the Woods—a meta-horror that starts like a cabin slasher and flips the genre inside-out—joins the collection, a timely fall watch that rewards both first-timers and fans catching the breadcrumbs they missed before. There’s also Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (1946), a Midwestern family drama directed by Roy Rowland and starring Edward G. Robinson and Margaret O’Brien. It’s a quiet film with real texture, told from a child’s-eye view of Norwegian-American farm life in Wisconsin. Adding a title like this signals curation, not just volume.
- September 1: The 33; A Life of Her Own; Bobby’s Triple Threat, Season 4; Billionaire Boys Club; Beachfront Bargain Hunt
- September 5: Friendship (A24)
- September 12: Warfare (Alex Garland)
- Throughout the month: American Prince: JFK Jr.; My Happy Place; Task (limited series)
- Library adds: The Cabin in the Woods; Our Vines Have Tender Grapes (1946)
The split—72 movies and 60 TV shows—is almost even, and that’s not a random ratio. Movies deliver quick hits for casual watchers and weekend planners. Series drive routine and habit, which is the whole ballgame in streaming. The mix also helps every household negotiate Friday night without a fight: the movie crowd gets new options, the binge crowd gets fresh seasons, and the background-TV crowd gets more lifestyle staples.
There’s also a timing play here. September is a reset month: back-to-school schedules, shorter evenings, and the first hints of fall viewing. It’s the right spot for a warm, awkward comedy like Friendship and a nervy, discussion-sparking thriller like Warfare. It’s also a sweet spot for a high-stakes crime limited series. Weekly rollouts create a Monday-morning conversation, and if Task hits, it could keep the app on your home screen for six to eight weeks without breaking a sweat.
Garland’s inclusion is a flex. His films tend to cut neatly into the culture and linger there—people pick sides about what he’s saying, argue about the final images, then pass the recommendation to friends with a warning: watch this with the lights low and your phone down. Warfare feels like the type of film that can carry a weekend in theaters or streaming. On a service, it can turn into a group watch and a week of Slack chatter.
Friendship, meanwhile, lands in that sweet spot where the cast sells the pitch. Paul Rudd, as a charming TV weatherman who moonlights in a punk band, is a perfect foil for Tim Robinson’s anxious striver. Robinson’s characters tend to spiral when the rules of polite society box them in; here, he’s trying to do the normal adult thing—make a friend—without the social toolkit to pull it off. Kate Mara’s role as the supportive partner keeps the story grounded. Expect cringe, sure, but also grace notes about marriage, masculinity, and the weird math of adult friendships.
Task has the makings of a classic Ingelsby setup: a tight geographic footprint, blue-collar texture, and choices that come back around with interest. Ruffalo has made a career out of decent men in deep water (Spotlight, Dark Waters), and Pelphrey brings volatility you can’t look away from. If Mare of Easttown taught us anything, it’s that a limited series can feel bigger than a movie when every episode hits with a reveal or a character turn. The casting suggests exactly that kind of rhythm.
On the non-scripted side, Bobby’s Triple Threat keeps adding reps. Competitors take on a rotating trio of culinary heavy-hitters in a format that’s sleek, simple, and quietly addictive. Beachfront Bargain Hunt remains a low-stakes, high-dreams watch—sunny real estate, aspirational budgets, and the soothing math of square footage and HOA fees. My Happy Place looks like a fit for viewers who want feel-good TV that doesn’t require pausing to catch up on plot.
The classics aren’t padding; they’re placement. The Cabin in the Woods, with its puzzle-box design and controlled chaos, gives horror fans something smart to queue up as spooky season creeps in. Our Vines Have Tender Grapes adds a black-and-white counterweight, the kind of archival gem that deepens a library and signals respect for film history. When streamers talk about “curation,” this is what they mean: not just another content dump, but a shelf that tells a story.
There’s a business read here, too. A month with this much volume—and a couple of easy-to-market anchors—reduces the chance you’ll cancel after finishing a single buzzy show. It spreads attention across multiple lanes: the A24 crowd, the crime-drama faithful, the reality watchers, and the classic-film diehards. Several of these titles are conversation-starters, which is the cheapest form of marketing any streamer can buy. If you can’t scroll Twitter without seeing a take on Warfare or a clip from Task, that’s momentum you don’t need to pay for twice.
What should you watch first? If you want a quick hit, queue up The Cabin in the Woods and then jump into Friendship for a tonal reset. If you’re ready to lock in for a few weeks, start Task when it premieres and ride the weekly wave. If you want to decompress, My Happy Place and Beachfront Bargain Hunt are low-commitment. And if you want something you haven’t seen on every streaming home page, Our Vines Have Tender Grapes is a solid bet.
Here’s the bottom line on the strategy: keep people from opening other apps. New A24 films do that. A Garland thriller absolutely does that. A prestige limited series from the Mare of Easttown creator does that. And when none of those fit the night, food competitions and home shows slide in to keep the autoplay humming. It’s not flashy, but it’s effective.
Why this slate matters
The size of the September slate is one thing; the shape is another. This month has tentpoles you can point to, but it also has range. The schedule doesn’t hinge on a single IP or a single four-quadrant bet. That matters in a market where viewers bounce quickly if they don’t feel seen by the catalog.
It also shows the service leaning into what works. Prestige crime limited series with a clear authorial voice. Documentaries about public figures who mean something to multiple generations. Comfort-TV that can fill the gaps. And a film library that handles Friday scares as well as Saturday nostalgia.
If you keep a running watchlist, expect it to grow fast. Between Friendship on September 5, Warfare on September 12, and the early-month deluge on September 1, most viewers will find at least one weekly anchor and a few weekend plays. That’s how you build a month that feels busy without feeling overwhelming.