What is the number one TV show on HBO Max last week? It isn’t Euphoria as you might think, but some kind of Swedish spin on Sex and the City called simply Lust. Eight episodes of pure middle-aged comedy is telling a story about the sex lives of four middle-aged women in Stockholm. It originally premiered in Berlinale and three weeks ago, HBO Max released the show in whopping 61 markets. It started slowly, a week before last it was in the middle of the pack, but last week it ruled the top ten. Sex sells, obviously. Before Lust, we had Sex Lives of College Girls. A little bit on the nose with the title, but it did the job.
Lust is considered a big success, but then there is a Turkish rom-com show about a millionaire cutting a scholarship of a young attractive female, only to offer her money back if she will pretend to be engaged to him for two months. Kind of a weird version of Pretty Woman, but we are sure there is more to it. It became an instant hit in twenty markets and it will maybe expand to others as well.
HBO knows how to produce their own international shows or how to market the acquired ones. With a recently expanded international presence, the numbers of international content are starting to play a key role in the global charts. Expect to see more HBO original content made abroad fighting US shows for the number one spot.