Warner Bros. Discovery recently unveiled a streaming service combining iconic HBO programming such as “The Sopranos” with a mix of unscripted TV series in a push to reap more subscribers from what so far has been a muddled media merger.

The $16-per-month service, called Max, will be released May 23 in the U.S. and automatically replace the company’s existing HBO Max service in what is being promised as a seamless transition. Max will gradually become available in the rest of the world.

The existing Discovery+ app featuring reality and unscripted series such as “Fixer Upper” and “Naked and Afraid” from a collection of TV networks will continue to be offered. That’s even as all that programming is made available within the new Max app, which will be marketed with the tagline “The one to watch.”

The transition comes a year after the completion of a deal that spun off AT&T’s WarnerMedia Division — which included HBO, CNN and TBS — into Discovery, whose stable includes TLC, HGTV and Magnolia and Food networks.

When the deal was announced in 2021, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav envisioned it creating “the best media company in the world” backed by a vast library of movies, TV series, documentaries and children’s programming. The goal was to stand out among an array of streaming options competing for subscribers at a time many households are trimming discretionary spending amid high inflation.

With Max now on the verge of rolling out, Zaslav said he still sees big things ahead.

“This is our rendezvous with destiny,” he declared during a recent presentation in the same studio where movies such as “Casablanca” and “A Streetcar Named Desire” were made. Those movies, as well as other Warner Bros. films, will be available in Max, which Zaslav hailed as “the streaming version of must-see TV.” Zaslav hinted that live sports events and news will be added to Max before the end of the year.

Given that the Max app will bring more pedestrian programming from the Discovery networks alongside the boundary- breaking series that have been HBO’s hallmark, Warner Bros. Discovery executives at the presentation periodically emphasized HBO would remain the same groundbreaking network that recently caused a stir with the series “The Last of Us” and is making waves with the final season of “Succession.”

Toward that end, the company has also announced another offshoot of its most watched series, “Game of Thrones,” and that it is developing a new live- action “Harry Potter” series featuring a different cast from the popular film franchise based on the books by J.K. Rowling.

The “Harry Potter” series is described as a “faithful retelling” of the books about the boy wizard. Each season is intended to focus on one of the seven books, though Max anticipates stretching the series to a decadelong run.

The “Game of Thrones” prequel, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: The Hedge Knight,” will be set in Westeros 100 years prior to the events of “Game of Thrones.” It’s based on fantasy novellas by George R. R. Martin that follow the adventures of a knight named Ser Duncan the Tall (known as Dunk) and Aegon V Targaryen (called Egg). Martin will serve as an executive producer and writer on the series alongside Ira Parker.

“House of the Dragon,” also a “Game of Thrones” prequel, has begun production on its second season for HBO.

Other announcements included a series based on the Penguin character in “The Batman,” which is now in production with Colin Farrell reprising his role, and another comedy set in the “Big Bang Theory” universe from Chuck Lorrie, both for Max.