HBO makes dozens of hit shows and movies available to watch for free

Late last week, WarnerMedia announced that it was making dozens of its hit HBO shows, as well as movies and more, available to stream for free starting on April 3. The content is being made available without a subscription so that people staying home in quarantine can check out the service without signing up — and, potentially, get hooked on a series that compels them to subscribe after the free period ends.

As of Friday, anyone can now hop on the HBO NOW and HBO GO apps and stream a variety of free HBO programming, including hit shows like Veep, The Sopranos, The Wire, and more. The company is also making some movies from its current lineup free to watch, including some recent offerings like The LEGO Movie 2 and Pokemon Detective Pikachu.

Joining those TV shows and movies are a total of 10 HBO docu-series and documentaries like The Case Against Adnan Syed. You'll be able to access this content for free until the end of April, after which point you will need a subscription in order to continue watching. The overall lineup amounts to around 500 hours of programming.

Assuming you go for the HBO NOW streaming service option, you'll pay $14.99/month for access if you decide to stick with the service after the free period ends. WarnerMedia says that its distribution partners will be making the free content available to their customers 'in coming days' through their own platforms, as well.

WarnerMedia isn't the first video company to offer free content to the quarantined public. Late last month, OTT television company Sling TV announced a temporary new free tier that includes a selection of live and on-demand programming, enabling anyone who doesn't already subscribe to the service to check out the content.