JJ Abrams Is Returning To TV With ‘Subject To Change’ Series At HBO Max

JJ Abrams is returning to television, with several new projects in the works at HBO Max. Recently Abrams announced that he would be taking on a new Constantine adaptation. And as part of his deal with Warner Bros. JJ Abrams will also helm a new series for HBO Max called Subject To Change. This original series is a thriller centered around “a desperate college student who signs up for a clinical trial. This begins a wild, harrowing, mind- and reality-bending adventure.” Writer Jennifer Yale of Outlander, Legion, and Dexter is also onboard as the series showrunner.

Abrams said, “It’s been incredible fun weaving this rather insane yarn with Jenn. I am grateful to her and everyone at HBO Max for the opportunity to bring this story to life.”

Abrams Returns To His TV Roots With Subject To Change

Image via Bad Robot

The move for Bad Robot to return to television comes a full decade after the end of Abrams’ last hit show: LOST, which celebrated it’s 15th anniversary last year. It is easy to forget that Abrams started in television, since he has become such a well-known genre filmmaker. The success of various Abrams-related shows like LOST, Fringe, and Alias led Abrams to lucrative film contracts in the Star Trek and Star Wars universes. But it is the legacy of the Bad Robot television shows that may prove to have real staying power.

There is a strong argument to be made that Abrams actually does better on television than he does in making movies. Or at least, one could argue that he comes up with great ideas for shows and then hands them off to people better suited to running the show. (See: Alex Kurtzman and Robert Orci taking over Fringe and running it far better than JJ himself could have done.)

Image via 20th Century Fox

This is also not the first Abrams series that focuses on a college student. His very first show Felicity starred a young Keri Russell attending college. That series was fairly straightforward however. At least until an abrupt time-travel element occurs in the final season. Subject To Change finds JJ Abrams returning to his roots both on television, and apparently in college.

Sarah Aubrey – Head of Original Content at HBO Max – says “We cannot wait to bring this complex, eye-opening thriller to HBO Max. It will take viewers on an unexpected ride, showcasing the creative brilliance of J.J., Jennifer and the Bad Robot team.”

We will absolutely be keeping an eye on all of these Bad Robot related shows coming to HBO Max. Be sure to stay tuned to Comic Years on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on all of the developments.

Emily O'Donnell is a writer and photographer with roots in some of the earliest online fandoms. She cut her genre teeth on the Wizard of Oz books at the tender age of 6 years old, and was reading epic adult fantasy novels by the age of 10. Decades later, she still consumes genre fiction like there is no tomorrow. She is delighted to be living through the golden age of sci-fi and fantasy popularity. She is unashamed of the amount of fanfiction that still lingers online under her name.