Streaming service algorithms aren’t always the be-all end-all for finding things to watch and, based on HBO’s new human curator-focused tool, the company wants to help.
HBO launched a new website called Recommended by Humans, which pulls from video suggestions and fan tweets to recommend different series or documentaries that people should watch. There are 50 free episodes, movies, and documentaries available on the site, according to a press release from the company, which makes the site feel a little bit like a marketing tool designed to give potential customers a taste of HBO shows to get them to sign up.
People can scroll through the website and see mini-reviews from fans about why they’re watching certain shows — like the Zendaya-starring teen drama, Euphoria, or the popular miniseries, Chernobyl. The site doesn’t allow for full streaming of entire seasons, but teases it out. It’s similar to when HBO throws an episode of a new show up on its YouTube page for free over a limited time.
The tool was designed to showcase the “emotional connection HBO viewers have with the network’s programming and illustrates the power of recommendations from real humans who, simply put, really love television,” according to the press release. Marketing tactic or not, though, conversations about streaming service algorithms have kicked up in recent months following the cancellation of some beloved Netflix series, including Tuca & Bertie and The OA.
Conversations about streaming service algorithms have kicked up in recent months following the cancellation of some beloved Netflix series
Concerns over the algorithm not recommending shows to the right people, or hiding series altogether, was a prominent part of Tuca & Bertie creator Lisa Hanawalt’s thread about her show’s cancellation. Despite having a legion of vocal fans who beloved the cartoon, “none of this makes a difference to an algorithm,” she tweeted. The cancellation led other showrunners, writers, and producers on Netflix series to question whether the algorithm would hurt their own shows, and vocalized frustrations with the technology.
“I’m co-creator of a Netflix original, The Dragon Prince, previously headwriter of Avatar: The Last Airbender,” writer Aaron Ehasz tweeted. “If you liked ATLA, you might like TDP — but I meet so many people who tell me they love Avatar, they have Netflix, and they have never heard of The Dragon Prince.”
HBO has always prided itself on its smaller slate of content, but award-winning dramas and critically acclaimed shows. The company also produces its own series, which is different from Netflix that offers a mix of both in-house and licensed content. Announcing the tool as “recommendations from real humans” who really enjoy TV isn’t necessarily a dig at Netflix, but it is a statement on the current state of streaming. It’s even reminiscent of what FX president John Landgraf said at a TV Critics Association conference a couple of years ago.
“Television shows are not like cars or operating systems, and they are not best made by engineers or coders in the same assembly line manner as consumer products which need to be of uniform size, shape and quality,” Landgraf said.
HBO’s tool may not fix that problem, but it’s certainly trying to take a stance on algorithms. The company says that the recommendation tool will be updated regularly.