The fourth season of the American anthology comedy-drama web series High Maintenance is set to debut on Vimeo and HBO. The show’s cast includes Ben Sinclair, who stars as the weed dealer “the Guy,” and his clients played by various guest actors. Season 4 will be eight episodes long, each about 10 minutes in length (excluding credits). Season 1 aired from September 2015 to October 2016; Season 2 aired for six weeks starting November 17, 2016; Season 3 was released on January 18, 2018. The show is currently in production for season four.
About High Maintenance:
High Maintenance is an American web television comedy-drama series created by Katja Blichfeld and Ben Sinclair. It follows a nameless cannabis deliveryman called “the Guy” (Ben Sinclair) as he delivers his product to customers around New York City.
The show’s premise was partly inspired by the real experiences of co-creator Blichfeld and her friends, who were all cannabis users. The first season was released as a web series on Vimeo in September 2013. The show is now broadcast exclusively through HBO’s digital platforms (HBO Go and HBO Now). It has received positive reviews from critics.
Have you heard the good news?!
High Maintenance has been renewed for Season 4 🎉#HMonHBO pic.twitter.com/RuxoruPHJD— High Maintenance (@HMonHBO) March 19, 2019
Release date:
The release date for the 4th season of High Maintenance has not been announced yet, but it is expected to be on screens in 2022.
Production:
High Maintenance is an American television series created by husband and wife team Ben Sinclair and Katja Blichfeld, who serve as executive producers alongside Russell Gregory. The show’s production company is Heavy Duty Productions, Inc., which also produces the Comedy Central series Broad City. High Maintenance began airing on Vimeo in September 2013. In October 2016, the series moved to HBO.
Filming:
The show was filmed in New York City. The episodes are usually shot within a week or two.
Awards:
The series has won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series, two Peabody Awards (in 2016 and 2018), a Gotham Award, A Television Critics Association award for Program of the Year. It was also chosen as one of IndieWire’s “Best TV Shows of 2017”.
Revenue:
The series and producers have received funding from the New York State Council on the Arts, The Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation. It has also been supported by a National Endowment for the Arts grant, Jerome Foundation, and Open Society Foundations Fellowship, among others. The budget per episode for season four is $US700,000.
Renewal status:
On January 18, 2016, it was announced that HBO had renewed the show for a fourth season, which premiered on November 11, 2017. On December 14, 2017, Vimeo acquired rights to all four seasons of High Maintenance and will make them available exclusively through their service beginning in February 2018.
All six episodes were made available early on November 20, 2017, on HBO NOW and HBO GO. The series is renewed by HBO for the fifth season. The release date of High Maintenance Season Five is not announced yet, but it will be coming soon in 2023.
The Plot:
The basic format of each episode is that a nameless protagonist (played by Ben Sinclair) delivers cannabis to various customers around New York City, who are often described in the vernacular of marijuana dispensaries as “maintenance” or “care,” hence the show’s title. The characters are affluent and educated professionals in their 20s and 30-40s who have plenty of disposable income.
Ratings:
High Maintenance has received positive reviews from critics. On Metacritic, season one of the series holds a score of 80 out of 100, based on seven reviews. The season was the third highest-rated original show on HBO for adults 18–49 during its run with a 0.18 rating (roughly 177,000 viewers in that age bracket). It averaged 820,000 total viewers per episode, overall twelve episodes at an average of 23 minutes per episode.
Reviews:
“High Maintenance is a great example of how web series can lead to bigger and better things.” — The New York Times” I was surprised at the quality level. I don’t know what it cost, but this seems like something that could have been on HBO or Showtime. It’s not just because they’re weed stories…it’s more about relationships.” — Forbes”High Maintenance is the perfect show for people who find Parks and Recreation to be too warm-hearted. It’s an irreverent, cynical look at Brooklyn hipsters that manages to be consistently hilarious while also being mordantly sad.”— Flavorwire.
