Release date: Episode 1 debuts tonight (August 16) at 9 p.m. ET (airs weekly on Sundays)
Cast: Jonathan Majors, Jurnee Smollett, Courtney B. Vance, Aunjanue Ellis, Michael K. Williams
Creator: Misha Green
Age rating: TV-MA
Episodes: 10 (hourlong)
Rotten Tomatoes: 100%
Tonight, horror fans will want to watch Lovecraft Country on HBO and HBO Max, and it appears they'll return for every following Sunday night. The new horror series comes from executive producers Jordan Peele, and J. J. Abrams, so you know the supernatural scares will be very real.
Much like its HBO sibling Watchmen, Lovecraft Country is a racial commentary. The show is set in the segregated Jim Crow era of the United States of the 1950s and the characters face all sorts of monsters — both the supernatural kind and the racist human kind.
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Lovecraft Country centers on Atticus Freeman (Jonathan Majors), who embarks on a road trip with friend Letitia (Jurnee Smollett) and his Uncle George (Courtney B. Vance) to search for his missing father. Along the way, they encounter vampire-like creatures and menacing cops. The show balances a fantastical tale with the (still) dangerous reality of being Black.
The show is based on the novel of the same name by Matt Ruff, who took inspiration from H.P. Lovecraft's frightening tales. Lovecraft himself was a racist, which the show acknowledges.
Here's everything you need to know about how to watch Lovecraft Country on HBO and HBO Max.
- Not in the US? Here's how to watch HBO Max from anywhere
How to watch Lovecraft Country anywhere, with a VPN
Just because HBO and HBO Max aren't available everywhere doesn't mean you need to miss Lovecraft Country if you're away from home. Watching along with the rest of the internet can be pretty easy. With the right VPN (virtual private network), you can stream the show from wherever you go.
We've evaluated many options, and the best VPN is ExpressVPN. It meets the VPN needs of the vast majority of users, offering outstanding compatibility with most devices and impressive connection speeds. It's also affordable at $12.95 per month. (Signing up for longer periods of six months or a year reduces the cost even more.)
How to watch Lovecraft Country in the US
You can watch the premiere episode of Lovecraft Country on demand at HBO as well as streaming now on HBO Max.
Lovecraft Country airs weekly on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET.
HBO Max is on Apple TV, iPhone, iPad, Android and Android TV, Chromecast, Playstation 4 and Xbox One, as well as Samsung TVs from 2016 and later.
Lovecraft Country episode 1 can also be sampled for free, even if you don't subscribe to HBO or HBO Max. Check it out on YouTube or on HBO.com.
How to watch Lovecraft Country in Canada
Lovecraft Country will air on HBO Canada. However, HBO Max isn't available in the country, so if you subscribe to that service, you'll need ExpressVPN.
How to watch Lovecraft Country in the UK
Good news, Brits — Lovecraft Country will be available the day after the U.S. airing every week on Sky Atlantic and the NowTV streaming service.
NowTV offers a seven-day free trial and then costs £8.99 per month after.
Lovecraft Country trailer
The Lovecraft Country trailer opens with Atticus describing the book he's reading (an allusion to the author H.P. Lovecraft. "It's about heroes who get to go on adventures, defeat monsters and save the day," he says. And that's exactly the fantastical journey he's about to go on.
Lovecraft Country reviews
Here's a roundup of Lovecraft Country reviews:
New York Times: "The characters and story are engaging, and the production has a dreamy but vivid feel that hints at Lovecraft’s mesmeric quality while avoiding his florid excesses."
Entertainment Weekly: "In its first five episodes, though, Lovecraft Country is full of paranormal clichés and un-scary jump scares, with limp CG thrills and some goofy TV-MA sex scenes (on a sink, on the stairway, on top of a car!)."
AV Club: "Lovecraft Country is an utterly imaginative, wild ride, but it isn’t nearly as wild as the nonsensical bigotry that makes the series necessary."
CNN: "The show cleverly plays with conventions of the genre, while employing more familiar tricks -- like the enticing twists that close episodes, designed to pull the audience into the next hour."
Hollywood Reporter: "A celebration of and corrective to the legacy of the pulpiest of pulp fiction, Lovecraft Country is proudly comfort-resistant, zagging abruptly any time you think you're sure where it's zigging and forcing viewers to interrupt their entertainment for regular confrontations with a past that's never too far in the past and nightmares that are hard to relegate to the realm of fiction."
