Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav believes “this is the strongest HBO has ever been” in its 53-year history, with a pop-culture mojo reminiscent of NBC’s “must-see TV” era.

Speaking to Wall Street analysts on Wbd’s first-quarter earnings call, Zaslav saluted HBO and Max content chief Casey Bloys as a “generational talent,” noting his senior leadership team has been together for 15 years. Coming off the success of The White Lotus and the current quarter’s The Last of Us, Wbd’s shareholder letter and earnings release prior to the call foregrounded HBO.

When an analyst lobbed a softball over the plate – “how is HBO able to turn out so many standout hits like this?” – Zaslav pounced. “The idea of, it’s not how much, it’s how good is something we identified,” he said. “We’re not going to flood the zone. We want to be telling the...