What’s on HBO tonight? Here is the full HBO schedule for Tuesday, October 27, 2026, with times in Eastern Time (ET).

HBO’s best hour is the early evening, not primetime

See also: What's on tonight across all channels | Wednesday's TV guide

The strongest thing on HBO tonight starts before primetime does: The Departed at 6:25pm ET. Martin Scorsese’s 2006 crime thriller, with Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg, runs 155 minutes, and it is based on Infernal Affairs. For a Tuesday it is as good a film as anyone could ask a movie channel to put in front of them, and it finishes just before the 9pm ET hour begins.

That leaves primetime thin. Kordell Stewart: Slash & Burn airs at 9pm ET, again at 9:43pm ET and again at 11:20pm ET, and The Pet Cemetery Murders: A Ghost Story fills 10:25pm ET in between. Both are strands that repeat across the schedule, with the Pet Cemetery title appearing four times today, so the evening reads as a rotation more than a lineup. If you want something at nine, this is what there is, and the three Kordell Stewart slots at least give you a second chance to catch it.

The daytime is mostly films. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice runs overnight at 1:53am ET, Maze Runner: The Death Cure at 7am ET, then The Spectacular Now and Battle of the Sexes through the middle of the day. Real Time with Bill Maher: Karoline Leavitt/Steve Hilton/Andy Beshear is at 6am ET, which is the only live-feeling talk slot on the page.

Plan the evening around the six o’clock film and treat everything after nine as optional.


Also on TV tonight at 8pm ET

  • ABC: Dancing with the Stars
  • NBC: NBA Basketball
  • CBS: NCIS
  • FOX: 2026 World Series
  • PBS: Finding Your Roots
  • The CW: WWE NXT
  • ION: Chicago Fire
  • TCM: Arsenic and Old Lace
  • AMC: A Nightmare on Elm Street (from 7pm ET)
  • FX: Independence Day (from 6pm ET)

Every channel tonight, side by side · Movies on TV this week · Tomorrow’s TV


Frequently asked questions

What’s on HBO tonight?

On Tuesday, October 27, 2026, HBO shows Kordell Stewart: Slash & Burn at 9pm ET, Kordell Stewart: Slash & Burn at 9:43pm ET and The Pet Cemetery Murders: A Ghost Story at 10:25pm ET.

Is there a movie on HBO tonight?

Yes: The Departed (2006) at 6:25pm ET.

What’s on HBO late tonight?

After 11pm ET, HBO has Kordell Stewart: Slash & Burn at 11:20pm ET.

What time does HBO’s evening start?

The evening schedule starts with The Departed at 6:25pm ET.

A premium film channel with a few originals on a loop

HBO, the linear channel, is mostly a place to catch recent films. Movies took 70% of its airtime in the two weeks we tracked, about 20 of them a week, and the rest went to a small set of HBO’s own titles that it plays again and again around the clock. Programmes start whenever the last one ends, at times like 3:21am, 9:51am or 6:57pm.

That loose clock is the first thing to understand about HBO. It runs about 22 programmes a day, and 60% of airtime went to titles that came back on at least three days, but almost nothing sits in a fixed slot. The same handful of originals rotates through the day, and the films fill the gaps between them.

How an HBO day runs

Three 2026 titles were the spine of the schedule: War, Youth and The Pet Cemetery Murders: A Ghost Story. War and Youth aired on all 15 days we tracked, and The Pet Cemetery Murders on 14, each three or four times a day at shifting times. Each runs under an hour, and they often follow one another in sequence. The Pet Cemetery Murders was also the most common primetime title, most often at 9pm.

Around them, the day mixes films with HBO’s talk shows. Real Time with Bill Maher was repeated on eight days, usually from the morning, and John Oliver’s comedy-news show turned up on six, often late in the evening around 11pm.

Primetime, 8pm to 11pm ET, is where HBO puts its featured film. The newer releases tended to land at 8pm or 9pm: The Housemaid (2025) was the most-aired film of the window, usually at 8pm, and The Death of Robin Hood (2026) also took 8pm on its evening airings. A second film or a comedy special, such as Kate Berlant: Parmesan at 10pm, often follows. Late night and the early hours carry more films.

Weekends look much like weekdays, with films taking slightly more of the airtime (74% against 69%).

Popular shows and films on HBO

Real Time with Bill Maher is a talk show hosted by Bill Maher that began in 2003. On the channel each episode is repeated several times, often in the morning and afternoon.

Lanterns is an HBO drama series from 2026, a superhero and mystery series starring Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre, with Nathan Fillion and Kelly Macdonald among the cast. It had only a few airings in the window, at 10:15pm.

The Housemaid is a 2025 thriller directed by Paul Feig, with Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried. It was HBO’s most-repeated film in the window, with five airings.

The Death of Robin Hood is a 2026 drama directed by Michael Sarnoski, with Jodie Comer and Bill Skarsgård. It aired three times, twice at 8pm.

Anatomy of a Fall is a 2023 French courtroom thriller directed by Justine Triet, starring Sandra Hüller. It aired twice, both times just after midnight.

The film mix

The library spans decades. Alongside the new releases, the window included The Maltese Falcon (1941) with Humphrey Bogart, Tom Cruise’s Risky Business (1983) and Mission: Impossible (1996), Steven Spielberg’s The Post with Tom Hanks, and Kenneth Branagh’s Murder on the Orient Express (2017). Most films aired only once or twice, so the slate turns over fast.

The window fell before Halloween, and horror was more prominent than usual: Evil Dead Burn (2026), Backrooms (2026), It Comes at Night (2017) and the horror comedy Zombieland (2009) all aired, some in primetime. Expect that to fade after October.

How to watch HBO

HBO is a premium channel, so it needs a subscription and is not free over the air. Its programmes stream on demand on HBO Max, which is also the HBO app, and some HBO Max plans include the live HBO channels. Among live TV streaming services, HBO is an add-on on YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV and Philo, and it is also available on DirecTV Stream.

Channels like HBO

  • Showtime is HBO’s closest relative: a premium channel that is almost entirely films, with even fewer series.
  • TCM shows films all day with no breaks, though from much further back in the archive.
  • AMC and FX also give about nine-tenths of their airtime to movies.
  • Comedy Central carries The Daily Show at 11pm on some nights, for anyone who comes to HBO for its talk shows.

Who it’s for

The HBO channel is for subscribers who like to switch on and find a recent film already playing, and who do not mind that the clock is irregular. If you follow HBO’s series, the on-demand app is the better way to watch them; the channel plays its originals on a loop rather than in appointment slots. If you want a dependable 8pm film from the last year or two, HBO is one of the better bets on the dial.

What’s on HBO most nights?

Usually a recent film around 8pm or 9pm ET, often followed by a second film or a comedy special. HBO’s own titles, such as The Pet Cemetery Murders: A Ghost Story, are also common at 9pm.

Does HBO show movies?

Yes, mostly. Films took about 70% of the airtime we measured, roughly 20 a week, from new releases to classics.

How can I watch HBO without cable?

Subscribe to HBO Max, which streams HBO on demand and, on some plans, the live channels. YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV and Philo offer HBO as an add-on, and DirecTV Stream carries it too.

Why do HBO programmes start at odd times?

HBO does not run to a half-hour grid: each programme starts as soon as the last one ends, at times like 6:57pm rather than on the hour.