HBO Max sends subscribers bizarre 'integration test' email, blames 'the intern'

HBO Max
(Image credit: Presley Ann/Getty Images for WarnerMedia)

HBO Max just sparked the biggest mystery since Mare of Easttown: why did subscribers get an unexplained "integration test" email out of the blue?

Users of the streaming service on Thursday suddenly received a bizarre email with the subject line "Integration Test Email #1." Inside was just a one sentence body: "This template is used by integration tests only." And that was it.

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"We mistakenly sent out an empty test email to a portion of our HBO Max mailing list this evening," HBO Max said on Twitter. "We apologize for the inconvenience, and as the jokes pile in, yes, it was the intern. No, really. And we're helping them through it."

So there you have it. Alternatively, perhaps after clearing up the confusion about how HBO Max was actually different from HBO Go and HBO Now, the company felt compelled to leave everyone scratching their heads in an all new way.

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Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.