Millions of streamers logged on to HBO Max on Sunday evening hoping to catch the finale of the gripping miniseries "Mare of Easttown." Instead, many came away disappointed — at least for a few hours.
According to Down Detector— a website that crowd-sources outages for websites and streaming apps — reports of HBO Max outages exploded around 10 p.m. ET, the exact time that the final episode of "Mare of Easttown" went live on the app.
It wasn't until about 10:30 p.m. ET that HBO Max's help account confirmed that the site was having issues.
"We're aware some customers may be experiencing issues streaming #HBOMax and appreciate your patience as we work to resolve this as quickly as possible," the company said.
We’re aware some customers may be experiencing issues streaming #HBOMax and appreciate your patience as we work to resolve this as quickly as possible.
— HBOMaxHelp (@HBOMaxHelp) May 31, 2021
Around 1 a.m. ET, HBO Max confirmed that full service had been restored to the streaming app, finally allowing viewers that final visit to Delaware County, Pennsylvania — but not before a few jokes were had at HBO's expense.
Me trying to get my hbo Max to work pic.twitter.com/iv5hWkL9iN
— xtine 🚮 (@xtinee) May 31, 2021
#MareOfEasttown the IT guys at HBO Max right now. pic.twitter.com/5NnaKhX7d4
— Will Leggett (@wtleggett) May 31, 2021
It's not the first time a highly-anticipated HBO premier has been ruined by a streaming outage. In April 2019, HBO Go and Hulu both experienced outages ahead of the season premiere of Game of Thrones, and the "True Detective" season one finale in 2014 also presented issues for streamers.
