HBO Max Adds Shuffle Play To Its Offerings

In the mood to watch “South Park” or “Friends” — but you just want to see a random episode? HBO Max now has you covered.

WarnerMedia’s HBO Max this week introduced a new “shuffle” button, a highly requested feature that gives users the option to play back a random episode of a curated selection of series on the platform.

The move comes nearly a year after Netflix officially launched Play Something, a shuffle option that pulls up a TV show or movie based on subscribers’ viewing history or plucked from their watchlist.

HBO Max’s version of the shuffle button, by contrast, doesn’t span everything on the service. Rather, it’s limited to 45 shows (for now), including “Friends,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “The Big Bang Theory,” “Looney Tunes,” “Rick & Morty,” “Teen Titans Go!”, and “South Park.”

HBO Max shuffle is currently designed to randomize episodes within a given series because that “gives users some context into the content they will be shown.”

With an added element of serendipity, selecting the shuffle button lets you kick your feet up and start watching faste.

Another difference between the Netflix and HBO Max shuffle-play features: The HBO Max iteration is currently available globally in the desktop (web browser) interface, whereas Netflix’s Play Something is available on connected TV devices and Android phones and tablets.