Students can get Max for half-price: here are 3 shows with 100% on Rotten Tomatoes to start with

An animated man sits on top of alien-like plant matter and animals
(Image credit: HBO Max)
Max deals

Save money with the best streaming deals or check how to get a Max free trial to see if you can try out the service first. 

Max is one of the best streaming services and it's a particularly good option for anyone studying and looking to budget their spending in the back-to-school sales: its student discount cuts the cost of an annual subscription by 50%, bringing the price down to just $4.99 per month. 

Wondering how to get a Max student discount so you can start streaming the best Max movies and best Max shows for less? You'll need to be a US student over the age of 18 and to be registered with the site Unidays first, if you haven't already. From there:

  • Search for "Max" or browse the entertainment offers until you see the Max deal.
  • Select the Max offer and then select Get Now > Reveal Code.
  • Copy the promotional code and then select Launch Website or go directly to auth.max.com/redeem.
  • Paste the code and select Apply.
  • Create a new Max account or sign in to your existing one.
  • Start streaming.
Max: save up to 50% on annual plans

Max: save up to 50% on annual plans
With a choice of three plans, get gritty Warner Bros. movies and TV shows, as well as easy entertainment from Discovery's library of reality TV in one. Starting from $9.99 a month for its With Ads plan, why not subscribe straight up for a whole year and save up to 20% across all three plans available.

Done that? Try streaming these three shows first.


Scavengers Reign

Scavengers Reign | Official Trailer | Max - YouTube Scavengers Reign | Official Trailer | Max - YouTube
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  • RT Score: 100%
  • Age rating: TV-MA
  • Length: 12 episodes
  • Creators: Joseph Bennett, Charles Huettner

This beautifully animated slice of dystopian sci-fi, which follows the remaining crew of a damaged interstellar freighter who are stranded on a strange planet, has wowed the critics. The New Yorker says it is "a triumph of imagination, using animation to bring wondrously unfamiliar flora and fauna to life," and But Why Tho? says "Scavengers Reign is a gorgeous piece of animated fiction that revels in the high stakes and improbable world it’s built for itself". Inverse puts it well: "Scavengers Reign is a wonder. It’s a feat of animation, a feat of sci-fi storytelling, and by far one of the best surprises of the year."

Chewing Gum

Chewing Gum | Official Trailer | Hulu - YouTube Chewing Gum | Official Trailer | Hulu - YouTube
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  • RT Score: 100%
  • Age rating: TV-MA
  • Length: 12 episodes (2 seasons)
  • Creators: Michaela Coel

Don't let the Hulu branding in the trailer confuse you: this critically acclaimed British comedy drama is now on Max. It centres on Tracey Gordon (Michaela Coel of I May Destroy You fame), a religious, Beyoncé-obsessed 24-year-old, who discovers that the more she learns about the world, the less she understands. Both seasons have the full 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and high audience ratings too. The New Yorker describes the show as "a one-woman bedroom farce", while The Guardian says that "Michaela Coel's incredible timing, warmth and gift for physical comedy basically make her, in my eyes, the second coming of Lucille Ball".

Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake

Adventure Time: Fionna & Cake | Sneak Peek | Max - YouTube Adventure Time: Fionna & Cake | Sneak Peek | Max - YouTube
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  • RT Score: 100%
  • Age rating: TV-14
  • Length: 10 episodes
  • Creators: Adam Muto, Fred Seibert, Sam Register

Max is basically heaven for Adventure Time fans, with all ten seasons plus the mini-series Distant Lands and this spin-off series available for streaming. This show is slightly more adult than the original but retains its chaotic and irreverent energy. According to Decider, it's "the triumphant return to the world of Adventure Time fans have been waiting for, and it sets the stage for one of the most interesting concepts the show has seen in some time". According to Paste magazine: "At its best, it feels as if it’s making good on the promise of the original series’ theme song: 'The fun will never end'.”

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Carrie Marshall
Contributor

Writer, broadcaster, musician and kitchen gadget obsessive Carrie Marshall has been writing about tech since 1998, contributing sage advice and odd opinions to all kinds of magazines and websites as well as writing more than a dozen books. Her memoir, Carrie Kills A Man, is on sale now and her next book, about pop music, is out in 2025. She is the singer in Glaswegian rock band Unquiet Mind.