Disney+, Apple TV+, HBO Max, and more

Among many things, 2019-2020 might go down in history as the streaming service explosion. Thanks to the massive influx of streaming services rolling out over the next year, television audiences and streaming services subscribers are experiencing a sense of “decision paralysis” surrounding which services to subscribe to. 

With eight major options to choose from, consumers will probably have to prioritize their favorite content, and sacrifice access to longtime favorite titles for access to upcoming originals — that is, unless you subscribe to all the services listed below and pay upwards of $60 a month to do so. 

If such a monthly charge isn’t in your budget, we’ve rounded up all the streaming services currently live or launching in 2020, and compiled prices and famous titles from each. This guide won’t make hard choices any easier, but knowledge is power. We’re all in this together.

HBO Max

Price per month

HBO’s newest streaming service, HBO Max, will cost $14.99 per month for new subscribers. HBO Go and HBO Now subscribers will receive access to HBO Max as part of their current subscriptions.

Launch date

HBO Max will launch in May 2020, which gives the streaming service ample time to build hype for its flashy offerings, both new and old. Subscribers will be able to stream the entirety of HBO’s back catalog, classics like Friends and Sesame Street, and titles from Warner Brothers, CNN, Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, TNT, truTV, and TBS. 

Shows to look forward to

House of Dragons, a prequel to Games of Thrones from George R.R. Martin and Ryan Condal (Colony), was officially announced yesterday. The fantasy series will be available for streaming after the service’s launch.

College Girls, a comedy from showrunner Mindy Kaling, tells the story of three roommates at Vermont’s Evermore College. The series will be available for streaming after the service’s launch.

DC Superhero High is a comedy series that sees superheroes from the DC universe (think Batman, Superman, and the Justice League) as teenagers in high school. Executively produced by Elizabeth Banks, DC Superhero High will be available for streaming after the service’s launch.

Apple TV+

Price per month

Apple TV+ will cost $4.99 per month, which grants subscribers exclusive access to the streaming service’s original series, films, and documentaries. A week-long free trial will be available for those interested, but because episodes from original series will be released on a weekly basis, “it’s unlikely that Apple’s most anticipated shows will be available” to watch throughout the trial period.

Launch date

Apple TV+ launches November 1, and premiere episodes for the service’s anticipated originals will be available that day. The service has announced release dates for forthcoming new series and episodes after the launch date, as well.

Shows to look forward to

The Morning Show, a drama series starring Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, and Steve Carrell, among others. Mashable’s Proma Khosla called the Apple TV+ frontrunner “unmissable.” The premiere will be available for streaming on November 1.

For All Mankind is a sci-fi miniseries created by Ronald D. Moore (Battlestar Galactica) that imagines an alternative history in which the global space race continued after the first moon landing. The premiere will be available for streaming on November 1.

Dickinson, starring Hailee Steinfeld, sees the Oscar-nominated pop star as poet and recluse Emily Dickinson if her adolescence had been excessively dramatized. The comedy series also stars Jane Krakowski and John Mulaney, and features an appearance from Wiz Khalifa. The premiere will be available for streaming on November 1.

Disney+

Price per month

Disney+ will cost $7 a month, and an annual subscription is discounted at $70. The streaming service has also partnered with Hulu and ESPN+ for a bundled package that will cost $13 a month. Notably, the $7 rate allows subscribers to stream new titles and Disney’s epic back catalog. 

Launch date

Disney+ will launch on November 12 with a slate of original series, films, and documentaries from the brand and its affiliates, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic.

Titles to look forward to

The Mandalorian, an original sci-fi series from Star Wars, explores galaxies far, far, away from the perspective of a lone gunfighter played by Pedro Pascal (Game of Thrones, Narcos). Critics are hyped for it, and the premiere episode will be available on November 12.

Noelle, an original holiday comedy movie starring comedy vets Anna Kendrick, Bill Hader, and Billy Eichner, follows Santa Claus’ sister, Noelle, in her quest to save Christmas. The movie will be available for streaming just in time for the beginning of the holiday season, on November 12.

Marvel’s What If…? is an adaptation of Marvel’s comic series of the same name which imagines alternate timelines based on modified events within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, like Peggy Carter replacing Steve Rogers as the first super-soldier. The Disney+ animated series will premiere in 2021.

NBC’s Peacock

Price per month

NBC has not yet released a monthly price for Peacock. More information is expected closer to the streaming service’s launch.

Launch date

Peacock will launch in April 2020 boasting a back catalog of NBC favorites — such as Parks and Recreation and Saturday Night Live —  and other blockbusters from Universal Content Productions and Universal Television like The Breakfast Club, Bridesmaids, and Mamma Mia. 

Shows to look forward to

A Saved By the Bell reboot, starring original cast members Mario Lopez and Elizabeth Berkley, will return to Bayside High after California Governor Zack Morris “gets into hot water for closing too many low-income high schools” and sends “affected students to the highest performing schools in the state,” including Bayside. It is still unclear if Mark-Paul Gosselaar will return alongside Lopez and Berkley. The reboot will premiere after the streaming service’s launch.

Rutherford Falls, Mike Schur’s newest comedy series, will be a collaboration with Sierra Teller Ornelas (Superstore) and Ed Helms. The series will premiere after the streaming service’s launch.

A Battlestar Galactica reboot is also in the works from Mr. Robot and Homecoming producer Sam Esmail. The sci-fi series will premiere after the streaming service’s launch.

Quibi

Price per month

Quibi will costs $5 a month to watch content with ads and $7 to watch ad-free. 

Launch date

The short-form streaming service from former Disney chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg and tech executive Meg Whitman launches on April 6, 2020. Quibi, which stands for “quick bites,” will stream, short, episodic content. Shows, which will stream via the Quibi app, will be engineered to be watched specifically on mobile phones and will play both horizontally and vertically on phone screens. 

Content to look forward to

Spielberg’s After Dark is a horror series from Steven Spielberg that will be released in chapters running between 7 and 10 minutes each. Spielberg’s stipulation in writing the show is that viewers only be able to watch it after dark. According to Variety, “a clock will appear on phones, ticking down until sun sets in wherever that user is, until it’s completely gone. Then the clock starts ticking again to when the sun comes back up — and the show will disappear until the next night.”

Chrissy’s Court is a reality series that will star Chrissy Teigen in a Judge Judy-esque role as she presides over small claims cases. Teigen’s mother, Vilailuck Teigen will ask act her daughter’s bailiff.

Royalties is a musical comedy series starring Darren Criss and John Stamos. Criss will also act as executive producer, and write songs for the show alongside his StarKid co-founders Nick and Matt Lang.

Netflix

Price per month

A basic streaming plan that grants access to all of the streaming service’s catalog in standard definition costs $9 a month. On Netflix’s basic plan, one user can stream content at a time. 

A standard plan, which streams in high definition, costs $13 a month and allows two users to stream content at the same time. Lastly, a premium plan, which streams content in 4K Ultra HD, costs $16 a month and up to four users can stream content at the same time. All of Netflix’s original content is available through the service’s three streaming plans.

Fan favorite titles

Stranger Things, which is coming upon its fourth season, is a sci-fi series starring Millie Bobby Brown, Winona Ryder, and David Harbour.

Orange is the New Black is a series based on the book of the same name by Piper Kerman. The comedy-drama series stars Taylor Schilling as Piper after she is sentenced to prison for drug trafficking. The Netflix original spanned seven seasons, and wrapped this past summer.

Black Mirror is a British anthology sci-fi series; its first two seasons appeared on U.K.’s Channel 4 and the series’ remaining three seasons and movie were co-opted as Netflix originals. Individual episodes star Bryce Dallas Howard, Jon Hamm, Miley Cyurs, Daniel Kaluuya, and many more.

Hulu

Price per month

Hulu’s basic plan is $6 a month, or $12 a month to watch ad-free. Both versions of the basic plan grant access to the entirety of Hulu’s original series and catalog of content.

Hulu also offers its basic plan bundled with live streaming capabilities for $45 a month, or $51 a month to watch ad-free. The plan, which rivals traditional cable, allows subscribers to stream on two devices at once and record live TV to watch later on a cloud DVR. 

Fan favorite titles

The Handmaid’s Tale is based on Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel of the same name. The Emmy-award winning drama series, which has been renewed for a fourth season, stars Elisabeth Moss, Samira Wiley, and Yvonne Strahovski.

Castle Rock, a horror anthology series set in the Stephen King multiverse, recently premiered its second season on October 23. The show stars Lizzy Caplan, Sissy Spacek, and Bill Skarsgård, among many others.

The Act is a true crime series based on Gypsy Blanchard’s childhood as she endured her mother’s Munchausen’s syndrome by proxy, which caused her to go to great lengths to convince doctors that Gypsy was gravely ill. Patricia Arquette won an Emmy for her portrayal of Gypsy’s mother, Dee Dee. 

Amazon Prime Video

Price per month

A subscription for Amazon Prime Video is $9 a month. Access to Amazon Prime Video as part of a general Amazon Prime mail delivery membership costs $13 a month. Like iTunes, Amazon Prime Video offers shows for purchase and films for purchase or rent at an up-charge.

Fan favorite titles

Fleabag is set in London and stars Phoebe Waller-Bridge as woman coping with the loss of her best friend. The Emmy-award winning comedy series, which recently ended after two seasons, is based on Waller-Bridge’s one woman show of the same name.

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is a comedy series about Midge Maisel, a woman living in late 1950s New York City, who decides to try her hand at stand up comedy. The eight-time Emmy-award winning series stars Rachel Brosnahan, Tony Shalhoub, and Michael Zegen.

The Man in the High Castle explores what our world would be like if the Axis Powers (Japan, Italy, and Germany) had won World War II. The historical fiction series is loosely based on Phillip K. Dick’s novel of the same name, and its fourth season premieres on November 15.