HBO orders stoner series 'High Maintenance'

HBO celebrates 4/20, the highest of holidays for cannabis enthusiasts, by ordering six new episodes of the stoner comedy Web series High Maintenance.

Created by husband and wife duo Katja Blichfeld and Ben Sinclair, the series follows "the Guy," a Brooklyn-based drug delivery man, and his range of absurd customers.

High Maintenance started as an independently funded Web series that was released for free on the video-sharing site Vimeo. In its first venture into original programming, Vimeo invested in the series and released six new episodes on its on-demand platform in November. Now, the series is making the jump to HBO with six new episodes, announced today by Michael Lombardo, president, HBO Programming.

"High Maintenance has proven to be one of today's most highly-acclaimed online comedies," said Lombardo, in a statement. "We are thrilled to bring this sophisticated and clever series to our HBO audience."

Each episode focuses on one of the many New York characters — from a cancer-stricken middle-aged woman to a homeless girl who finds housing through online dating — who rely on the weed dealer (played by Sinclair) to curb their neuroses and insecurities. Blichfeld and Sinclair earned a WGA award for the episode about a cross-dressing stay-at-home dad:

In addition to funding new episodes, HBO will make all 19 episodes of the series available to watch on HBO, HBO NOW and HBO GO later this year.