The sun has set on the Netflix empire. No one can deny that Netflix was somewhat of a cultural phenomenon of the past decade. However, the tides have changed in the streaming scene, and HBO Max has proven to be a higher-quality platform with a dynamic array of award-winning originals and movies. 

Sure, if you want thousands of movies that barely crack 20 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, go ahead, renew your Netflix subscription. But if you want a superior collection of shows that have gripped the country with their new seasons, then HBO Max is the right place. HBO Max originals blow Netflix out of the water: “Game of Thrones,” “Euphoria,” “Succession,” “Westworld,” and “Girls” are all HBO originals. 

The entire archive of old iconic HBO shows like “Sex and the City” and “The Sopranos” are revamped in HD. Their classical movie selection features the entire Rocky Trilogy, “Casablanca,” “Miracle on 34th Street,” “West Side Story,” “M*A*S*H*,” and “Reservoir Dogs,” not to mention documentaries and commentary shows like “Last Week Tonight” and “Chernobyl.” Where else can you watch a chunk of Wes Anderson’s filmography, “Inception,” “The Matrix,” “Ocean’s 11,”  and “The Hangover” movies? The platform even has an entire section of Oscar-winning movies, with their “31 Days of Oscar” section boasting dozens of Academy Award-winning films. 

With such a selection of media, you would think that accessing HBO Max would drain your bank account. Surprisingly, Netflix is slightly more expensive than its HBO counterpart, at $15.49 compared to $14.99 per month. Both platforms allow up to five profiles as well. A ticket to see “Free Guy” or “The French Dispatch” would have cost $15 to see in theaters last month, but both titles were accessible on HBO Max just a few weeks after theatrical release. 

Netflix can out-quantify HBO a million times over, but the sheer upper-most echelon on a cinematic masterpiece from the past century, as well as gripping original silver-screen successes, makes HBO Max the best and most promising platform on the streaming scene. Sorry, Netflix, but there’s a new sheriff in town.