If you've been Netflix Party-ing it up in quarantine, you'll be happy to learn of yet another service bringing remote watch parties to the masses, this time with all your favorite HBO fare.
Scener is a free Chrome extension that lets remote users stream content from Netflix and now HBO while videochatting together — taking things a step further than Netflix Party's built-in chatroom feature. This means you can watch Girls and Game of Thrones re-runs, the latest Westworld finale, and the new season of Insecure, all while seeing your friends' reactions in real time.
To use it, every watch party member needs their own subscription to Netflix, HBO Now, or HBO Go. (It remains to be seen whether HBO Max, WarnerMedia's newest streaming service coming out May 27, will also be included on the platform.) As a refresher: At $14.99/month, HBO Now is a standalone streaming service that comes without a cable package, whereas HBO Go comes with your cable package.
You can download the extension here, as long as you have at least version 66.0.3359 of Chrome. Scener supports parties of up to 20 users, and you can communicate via video, audio, or chat. While it's not exactly the same as binging Run with your friends on the couch and sharing a bowl of popcorn, it's definitely the next best thing.
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