The Best TV Shows And Movies Coming To HBO Max In January 2023

Lately, HBO Max has been in the business of ejecting popular titles into the ether for the sake of tax write-offs. But believe it or not, cancellations are not their only revenue stream! Sometimes, the streamer even makes time to produce and acquire more movies and TV shows for their library. Will these titles eventually be at risk of being tossed overboard like everything else you once treasured and can no longer stream? Absolutely. But if they manage to avoid being shuffled off to some FAST (Free Ad-supported Streaming TV) channel or another, then HBO Max will be their long-term home.

A new month (and a new year) brings along more titles to stream on HBO Max, including a number of upcoming original series and older titles that you'll finally have a chance to catch up on. The list is pretty long and full of exciting options, which means even more reason to sit back on your couch and endlessly scroll through the library while procrastinating a decision. So, in case you'd like to bypass all that indecision, here's a quick guide to some of the must-see titles arriving in January.

If you, too, plan to spend the earliest days of the New Year catching up on the biggest hits of 2022, then "The Menu" is a great place to start. Mark Mylod's unhinged horror comedy will really strike a chord with the foodies of the world — so long as they don't mind a little terror in every bite. The film follows twelve hungry customers to Hawthorne, a world-renowned restaurant so exclusive that it only serves 12 guests a night (at a reasonable price of $1250 a head). Like the gourmet meal it presents, the film unfolds course by course, slowly showing us its cards to unveil the theme of the night — the not-so-surprising revelation that everything at Hawthorne is not as it seems.

The star-studded cast includes Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult, but most memorable is the stellar performance from Ralph Fiennes as the dedicated Chef Slowik, an artist whose craft is weighing heavy on his shoulders. His midlife crisis is a lot more intense than most because he happens to have a room full of guests at his mercy. Just how far will his crisis push him? My lips are sealed — you'll have to watch "The Menu" to find out.

Speaking of "The Menu," you know what might pair well as a great double feature? Another class-conscious drama that errs on the side of heartwarming rather than horrific. 

"Support The Girls" is an empathetic comedy that deserves a spot on your watchlist. The film stars Regina Hall as Lisa Conroy, the general manager at a highway-side sports bar that shares a lot in common with Hooters. Over the course of one extremely trying (but not-so-unusual) day, Lisa does her best to hold down the fort at Double Whammies, where awful customers threaten to push her over the edge, a scummy boss needs to be kept at bay, and an inept burglar attempts a robbery, all of which comes second to Lisa's primary responsibility: taking care of her waitresses. 

It's ridiculously sweet for a movie whose primary setting is a grimy bar that specializes in "boobs, brews, and big screens," and if that's not enough, it also features incredible performances from an ensemble cast that includes Regina Hall and frequent scene-stealer Haley Lu Richardson.

Scooby Doo has spent way too long in the spotlight: the time has come for another member of Mystery Incorporated to take center stage. 

After years of being the unsung and under-appreciated brains of the gang, Velma Dinkley is getting her own show. The 10-episode animated series stars creator Mindy Kaling as the voice of Velma in what will essentially work as an origin story for the character. There's no van and no Scooby, but expect to see plenty of the other gang members, with Glenn Howerton as Fred, Sam Richardson as Shaggy, and Constance Wu as Daphne. Together, they'll put their sleuthing skills to great use to unmask some villains and solve some new mysteries. But most importantly, we'll spend some time cracking the nut of Velma as a person.

HBO has found its bread and butter: *deep breath* Pedro Pascal playing a gruff smuggler with thick emotional walls who reluctantly agrees to transport living cargo which he will soon discover is actually the sweetest child in the entire fictional universe, wholly worthy of altering his life for. But instead of being set in space, this adventure takes place in a post-apocalyptic version of Earth that's been decimated after the outbreak of a fungal infection that essentially changes people into terrifying zombies. That's right, the game your friends have been yelling about for years has finally been transformed into an HBO TV series.

20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed, Joel (Pascal) meets Ellie (Bella Ramsey), and everything changes. Or, in a way, nothing changes. In the grand scheme of things, the world continues to crumble as the two trek across the country, but after meeting, neither of their lives will ever be the same. In "The Last of Us," what starts as a small job becomes a heartbreaking journey. Prepare to spend Sunday nights cowering in fear of clickers and sobbing as Joel and Ellie bond.

With the musical continuing to take the world by storm, there's never been a better time to revisit the magic of the 1996 family film, "Matilda." As someone who recently rewatched it for the first time in years, the most important detail I can highlight for you is Danny DeVito. He plays three crucial roles in this film: he directs, plays crooked car salesman and abusive father, Harry Wormwood, and also serves as the film's warm-toned narrator. A man of many talents!

"Matilda" follows Mara Wilson as the titular character, an extraordinary young girl from an uncaring family who spends her childhood buried in books. When finally allowed to attend school, she hopes to explore her love of reading but finds herself trapped at an institution run by Pam Ferris' Miss Trunchbull, a tyrannical principal who locks children in spike-filled torture chambers when she's not busy grabbing them by the pigtails to hurl them across the schoolyard. 

How has child services not arrested her? That remains an unsolved mystery. But not for very long because Matilda eventually gets to work saving the day with her telekinetic abilities. Didn't I mention those before? In addition to being a child prodigy, Matilda develops superpowers in response to her miserable home life. It's like "Carrie," but for children! And there's no pig's blood involved. I promise.

TO BE ANNOUNCED:

Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, Season 29 Premiere (HBO)

January 1:

20 Feet From Stardom, 2013 (HBO)

American Hustle, 2013

American Ultra, 2015 (HBO)

At Middleton, 2013 (HBO)

Back to School, 1986 (HBO)

Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons, 2022

Black Butterfly, 2017 (HBO)

Captain Phillips, 2013 (HBO)

Catch a Fire, 2006 (HBO)

Child's Play, 2019 (HBO)

Cold Pursuit, 2019 (HBO)

Cops and Robbersons, 1994 (HBO)

Coup de torchon, 1981

Crocodile Dundee, 1986 (HBO)

Crocodile Dundee II, 1988 (HBO)

Crocodile Dundee In Los Angeles, 2001 (HBO)

Cruising, 1980 (HBO)

Death Warrant, 1990 (HBO)

Dim Sum Funeral, 2008 (HBO)

Dom Hemingway, 2013 (HBO)

Every Secret Thing, 2014 (HBO)

Extortion, 2017 (HBO)

Fool's Gold, 2008 (HBO)

Flashpoint, 2007 (HBO)

From Here to Eternity, 1953

Gemini, 2017 (HBO)

Geronimo: An American Legend, 1993

Ghostbusters, 1984

Ghostbusters II, 1989

Hereditary, 2018 (HBO)

Hoodlum, 1997 (HBO)

Insidious: Chapter 2, 2013

Jennifer Eight, 1992 (HBO)

John Wick, 2014

John Wick: Chapter 2, 2017

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, 2019

Jumping the Broom, 2011

Jury Duty, 1995 (HBO)

Kill The Irishman, 2011 (HBO)

Kusama: Infinity, 2018 (HBO)

Law Abiding Citizen, 2009 (HBO)

Lawrence of Arabia, 1962

Line of Duty, 2019 (HBO)

Marley & Me, 2008 (HBO)

Matilda, 1996

Nine, 2009 (HBO)

Oasis: Supersonic, 2016 (HBO)

Our Idiot Brother, 2011

Piranha 3D, 2010 (HBO)

Piranha 3DD, 2012 (HBO)

Planet 51, 2009

Precious Cargo, 2016 (HBO)

Quartet, 2012 (HBO)

Regression, 2015 (HBO)

Rememory, 2017 (HBO)

Sarah's Key, 2010 (HBO)

Skate Kitchen, 2018 (HBO)

Stephen King's Graveyard Shift, 1990 (HBO)

Stephen King's Silver Bullet, 1985 (HBO)

Support the Girls, 2018 (HBO)

Teen Wolf, 1985 (HBO)

Teen Wolf Too, 1987 (HBO)

The Artist, 2011 (HBO)

The Book of Life, 2014 (HBO)

The Brink, 2019 (HBO)

The Cabin in the Woods, 2012 (HBO)

The Company Men, 2010 (HBO)

The Cookout, 2004

The Crying Game, 1992 (HBO)

The Guilty, 2021 (HBO)

The Haunting, 1999 (HBO)

The Homesman, 2014 (HBO)

The Hunter, 2011 (HBO)

The Iron Lady, 2011 (HBO)

The Last Face, 2016 (HBO)

The Lobster, 2015 (HBO)

The Master, 2012 (HBO)

The Perfect Score, 2004 (HBO)

The Promise, 2016 (HBO)

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, 1974 (HBO)

The Unborn, 2009 (HBO)

The Whole Ten Yards, 2004 (HBO)

This Boy's Life, 1993 (HBO)

This One's For The Ladies, 2018 (HBO)

Urge, 2016 (HBO)

USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage, 2016 (HBO)

Vendetta, 2022 (HBO)

When We Were Kings, 1996

White Chicks, 2004 (HBO)

Wild Rose, 2018 (HBO)

Woman at War, 2018 (HBO)

Zero Dark Thirty, 2012

January 3:

The Menu, 2022 (HBO)

January 6:

DC's Stargirl, Season 3

The Nun, 2018 (HBO)

Who's Talking to Chris Wallace?, Season 2

January 8:

We Baby Bears, Season 1F

January 10:

Horrible Bosses 2, 2014 (HBO)

January 11:

In with the Old, Season 3

January 12:

Blended, 2014 (HBO)

The Climb, Max Original Series Premiere

Velma, Max Original Series Premiere

January 13:

The Big Soirée (El Gran Sarao), Max Original Premiere

I Don't Like Driving w/t (No Me Gusta Conducir), Max Original Premiere

January 15:

The Last of Us, Series Premiere (HBO)

January 17:

Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons

​​Sesame Street Mecha Builders, Season 1E

USWNT @ New Zealand #1, Live Sports

January 20:

Game Theory with Bomani Jones, Season 2 Premiere (HBO)

Real Time with Bill Maher, Season 21 Premiere (HBO)

The Cabin Chronicles, Season 3

USWNT @ New Zealand #2, Live Sports

January 23:

YOLO: Silver Destiny, Season 2

January 25:

USMNT vs Serbia, Live Sports