Who watches the Watchmen? Everyone does, as HBO has announced that it has made the entire hit television series of Watchmen free to watch this weekend. From Friday, June 19 through the end of Sunday, June 21, you will be able to watch Watchmen at HBO.com and on-demand services.
HBO is also airing a marathon of the series on HBO and HBO Latino starting at 1:00 p.m. ET/PT on Friday, June 19. That's about an hour from now at time of writing, so turn your TV on quick if you want to get in on this from the beginning.
Watchmen is set in an alternative history where superheroes are treated as outlaws and vigilantes. Based on the excellent graphic novel of the same name, Watchmen explores the history of systemic racism within the United States of America. HBO is releasing the entire series for free as part of its ongoing effort to highlight “Black experiences, voices and storytellers”.
There’s some serious star power in the cast, with Regina King, Jeremy Irons, and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II all giving outstanding performances as a mixture of new characters and icons like Dr Manhattan. We were huge fans of the series when it dropped back in late 2019 and now that it’s free we highly recommend you check it out.
If you don’t have the chance to check out Watchmen this weekend, you can always grab a subscription to HBO Max, the new TV streaming service from HBO which launched recently and is about to replace HBO Go. HBO Max is packed with great shows and movies, including a huge library of superhero titles like Wonder Woman and Joker, so you’ll have plenty more world-saving exploits to watch after you’re done with Watchmen.
HBO Max costs $14.99 per month, though there is a 14-day free trial. That might seem quite pricey when you look at other competing services like Netflix, which starts at just $8.99. We think it’s worth the extra cost though when you look at HBO’s library of content. Game of Thrones, Westworld, Watchmen.
There’s also a slate of HBO Max Originals that will be exclusive to the service, including new Looney Tunes Cartoons that will be perfect for the kids. Let them watch cartoons on a tablet while you get lost in the gritty world of Watchmen.
