55 Best Shows On HBO Max

HBO's reputation for high-quality TV shows is reaching all new heights thanks to HBO Max. This streaming platform boasts an unrivaled array of top-tier programming across an enormous variety of genres. Gritty crime sagas led by complicated cops and robbers are on offer here, as are light-hearted fantasies aimed at children. Viewers will also find work from such esteemed third parties as the Sesame Workshop, Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, and Comedy Central. Moreover, HBO Max Originals, shows produced exclusively for the platform, are changing the game every single week with innovative content of all stripes.

All the way back in 2013, CNN declared we were living in a new Golden Age of TV. That age has yet to end, and with HBO Max bringing ever more excellent programming to the masses, it doesn't seem likely to do so any time soon. Looking to enjoy this bounty? We're here to help. From colorful comedies to searing family dramas, these are the 55 best shows on HBO Max.

Epic crime drama "The Wire" covers an enormous amount of ground over the course of its five seasons, with each examining a different facet of life in Baltimore. This results in tremendous depth. Characters like stick-up legend Omar Little and police major Bunny Colvin are seen from multiple angles and in many different contexts. It also pushes the series beyond cliché. Yes, "The Wire" explores the sort of gang violence, police corruption, and struggling schools you might be expecting, but it understands — unlike lesser productions — that these problems all come down to people trying to get by. This doesn't excuse the cruel or insult the heroic: It's just the truth. "The Wire" never loses sight of this, which is why it's one of the greatest TV shows ever made.

• Starring: Michael K. Williams, Dominic West, Idris Elba

• Creator: David Simon

• Year: 2002 – 2008

• Runtime: 60 episodes

• Rating: TV-MA

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%

The five California moms at the center of "Big Little Lies" live seemingly charmed lives. But they have a secret — and it has to do with the man who was murdered during a major school fundraiser. As the authorities close in, they must decide who can handle the truth ... and who among their number can even be trusted. "Big Little Lies" is unabashedly glamorous, what with its cast full of movie stars and borderline-soapy plot. But at its core, it's an incredibly tender story about friendship and family. It also offers a clear-eyed and empathetic portrayal of domestic violence that avoids the pitfalls many other productions stumble into. Come for the chic pantsuits, stay for the powerhouse emotion.

• Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Zoe Kravitz

• Creator: David E. Kelley

• Year: 2017 – Present

• Runtime: 14 episodes

• Rating: TV-MA

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 89%

An untold number of TV shows revolve around young people living in New York City. Yet "Girls" — which follows self-centered Hannah, aloof Marnie, bohemian Jessa, and earnest Shoshanna — still manages to stand out. These young women flail between jobs, relationships, educational paths, and aspirations, being generally unsure of what they want from life. Whether or not they learn anything along the way is up for debate. "Girls" is utterly unflinching — the central characters go out in badly applied eye makeup, make fools of themselves at parties, and burn professional bridges they desperately need. No one is guaranteed a happy ending or even a particularly stable one. What results is a brutal but marvelously honest portrait of the sudden and bewildering onset of adulthood.

• Starring: Lena Dunham, Allison Williams, Adam Driver

• Creator: Lena Dunham

• Year: 2012 – 2017

• Runtime: 62 episodes

• Rating: TV-MA

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 89%

Decades after "Sex and the City" debuted, women are still asking themselves if they're a Carrie, a Samantha, a Charlotte, or a Miranda. These four friends spend every episode taking New York City by storm — or tripping over their own Manolos. For every thrilling promotion, engagement, or purchase, there's a miserable break-up, date, or betrayal. Carrie Bradshaw — the heart, soul, and narrator of the series — chronicles it all in her newspaper column, which shares the show's title. It's easy to think of "Sex and the City" as the TV equivalent to Carrie's beloved Cosmopolitans: sweet, a tad tart, and giggle-inducing. But beneath the show's hot pink surface is an utterly serious commitment to love in every form, especially the love that exists between our four heroines.

• Starring: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon

• Creator: Darren Star

• Year: 1998 – 2004

• Runtime: 94 episodes

• Rating: TV-MA

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 70%

Few sketch comedy series come out of the gate as confidently weird and fine-grained as "A Black Lady Sketch Show." The comic cavalcade glories in the strangeness of everyday life: A woman's choice to forgo makeup becomes the stuff of horror movies while dads in dorky shorts vogue at the "Basic Ball." This can be hysterically cutting, but the series also knows how to make joy funny, as when the occupants of a court room realize they're all Black women and find themselves unable to keep their excitement from affecting the trial. When you put on "A Black Lady Sketch Show," prepare to recognize something truly odd about everyday experience — and promptly bust a gut laughing over it.

• Starring: Robin Thede, Ashley Nicole Black, Quinta Brunson

• Creator: Robin Thede

• Year: 2019 – Present

• Runtime: 18 episodes

• Rating: TV-MA

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%

Molly, a fantastically dressed corporate lawyer, is the kind of person who gets into elite dating apps ... but she's also seemingly less lucky in love than her best friend, Issa. But Issa, who works for a non-profit, isn't entirely happy with long-term boyfriend Lawrence. Which of these Los Angeles women counts as successful? "Insecure" poses a better question: Who the heck even knows what success is? This series captures early adulthood in all its battered, earnest, frustrating glory, from allegedly finished relationships that never seem to actually end to the heart-stopping shock of realizing one's parents have become old. In so doing, it becomes an irresistible entry in the canon of 20-to-30-something stories and one of the most skillfully written shows of the 2010s.

• Starring: Issa Rae, Yvonne Orji, Jay Ellis

• Creator: Issa Rae, Larry Wilmore

• Year: 2016 – 2021

• Runtime: 44 episodes

• Rating: TV-MA

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%

Owning a funeral home doesn't inure the Fisher family to loss, as they learn when their patriarch dies in a Christmas Eve car accident. So begins one of the richest and most rewarding family dramas of the modern TV era. Over the course of this series, the three Fisher children, their widowed mother, and the galaxy of people who come into their lives confront death over and over again. The family business plays a prominent role, of course, but "Six Feet Under" also explores death in other ways. Eldest son Nate, for example, must cope with a life-threatening brain condition while youngest child Ruth marries a man consumed by fears of nuclear destruction. It all adds up to a sublime exploration of what the end of life means to the living.

• Starring: Peter Krause, Michael C. Hall, Lauren Ambrose

• Creator: Alan Ball

• Year: 2001 – 2005

• Runtime: 63 episodes

• Rating: TV-MA

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 81%

When her record-breaking Las Vegas residency is threatened, veteran comedian Deborah Vance is forced to work with Ava Daniels, a Gen Z writer kicked to the Hollywood curb for the crime of an overly hot take. Ava has little respect for Deborah's repertoire, while Deborah sees Ava as a hypersensitive brat. Over the course of their time together, they discover their assumptions are largely correct but also far from the entire picture. "Hacks" mines laughter and tears from the most uncomfortable parts of our protagonists' lives. As they're women in the ruthlessly male-dominated world of comedy, those parts are plentiful, which makes this show a dazzlingly scripted and impeccably acted gem.

• Starring: Jean Smart, Hannah Einbinder, Carl Clemons-Hopkins

• Creator: Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, Jen Statsky

• Year: 2021 – Present

• Runtime: 18 episodes

• Rating: TV-MA

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%

When he returns home from the Korean War, sci-fi fan Atticus Freeman finds a strange letter from his vanished father. His quest to untangle its bizarre contents takes him, his uncle George, and his friend Leti to an opulent mansion in Massachusetts, one presided over by an occult organization of unknown means and ambitions. As the central trio soon discovers, horrific and unfathomable monsters are very real, and they're intertwined with the racism of the Jim Crow era. In combining classic genre tropes, real-world history, and achingly human drama, "Lovecraft Country" becomes something entirely unique — a kaleidoscopic horror-fantasy that captures entirely real evil through spectacular flights of fancy.

• Starring: Jurnee Smollett, Jonathan Majors, Courtney B. Vance

• Creator: Misha Green

• Year: 2020

• Runtime: 10 episodes

• Rating: TV-MA

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 88%

"My Brilliant Friend" brings Elena Ferrante's beloved Neapolitan novels to vibrant life. Best friends Lenu and Lila start out as girls, growing up amidst post-war ruin in 1950s Naples. Though both children are intelligent, Lila's education is cut brutally short, but Lenu's is supported through college. Their lives diverge wildly over the ensuing decades, but no matter how erudite they become or how far they flee, their origins have a way of bringing them back to where they began. "My Brilliant Friend" understands the weight of history with unique potency. Lenu and Lila are indelibly marked, for good and for ill, by all that they were born into. Watching them wrestle with this fact is a multifaceted pleasure.

• Starring: Alba Rohrwacher, Gaia Girace, Margherita Mazzucco

• Creator: Saverio Costanzo

• Year: 2018 – Present

• Runtime: 24 episodes

• Rating: TV-MA

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%

A celebrated actor dies on stage in the middle of "King Lear." He is the first casualty of a global pandemic so vicious that it flattens civilization within months. This might sound like the beginning of an action-thriller, but in fact, "Station Eleven" is a contemplative tale comprising multiple timelines and subplots. We get to know the unfortunate King Lear before the virus' descent. We quarantine with Jeevan and Kirsten, a "King Lear" audience member and child actress. We rocket forward 20 years to join the Traveling Symphony, a troupe of performers who bring Shakespeare to the post-apocalyptic masses. In intertwining these storylines, "Station Eleven" captures the connectivity where the virus thrives — which also happens to be the only way out of devastation. 

• Starring: Mackenzie Davis, Himesh Patel, Gael García Bernal

• Creator: Patrick Somerville

• Year: 2021 – 2022

• Runtime: 10 episodes

• Rating: TV-MA

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 98%

After emotionally imploding in front of her entire office, Amy Jellicoe spends two months in a rehabilitation facility. She returns to work as a newly idealistic woman, eager to make the world a better place. But corporations resist change, and few people in Amy's life truly believe she's going to stick to her shiny new principles. Can enlightenment survive the venality of the American office? While most dramedies lean slightly towards comedy or drama, "Enlightened" truly balances both. Amy's journey is intensely funny and undeniably tender. People are ridiculous on this show, which will make you laugh, but they're also so painfully human that it's impossible to disdain even the most ridiculous corporate drone. You'll laugh, you'll wince, and inevitably, you'll recognize yourself.

• Starring: Laura Dern, Luke Wilson, Diane Ladd

• Creator: Mike White, Laura Dern

• Year: 2011 – 2013

• Runtime: 18 episodes

• Rating: TV-MA

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 87%

A miniseries about the 1986 Chernobyl disaster probably sounds like bleak viewing. Indeed, it is — but "Chernobyl" is also an incredibly gripping exploration of institutional dysfunction at its most obscene. In the wake of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant's explosion, men in distant rooms decide which lies will be told about it. Firefighters dying of radiation sickness are hidden from their families. Experts like Valery Legasov give truthful testimony about what went wrong and why, only to see their words erased by a ruthless government. Though "Chernobyl" focuses on one particular event, its portrayal of bureaucratic mendacity resonates far and wide. This is a grueling watch, to be sure — but it's also an unforgettable triumph.

• Starring: Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgard, Emily Watson

• Creator: Craig Mazin

• Year: 2019

• Runtime: 5 episodes

• Rating: TV-MA

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 95%

Most Americans have heard of John Adams, but few could rattle off interesting details about his life. It's easy to assume, then, that he was a less interesting or influential Founding Father than most. "John Adams" reveals how false this assumption is. This brisk miniseries follows Adams over the course of many years. He attends the First Continental Congress, courts allies in Europe, becomes president, and finally retires to Massachusetts, where he eventually passes away. Paul Giamatti skillfully captures Adams' principled irascibility, a quality that waxes and wanes over the course of his life in fascinating ways. Adams couldn't charm people like Benjamin Franklin or Thomas Jefferson could, but "John Adams" makes a persuasive case that this made him, in many ways, a better man and an essential ingredient in the United States' origins.

• Starring: Paul Giamatti, Laura Linney, Stephen Dillane

• Creator: Tom Hooper

• Year: 2008

• Runtime: 7 episodes

• Rating: TV-14

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 82%

After a long and impressive diplomatic career, Julia Child and her husband Paul settle down in Cambridge, Massachusetts. When she learns about public television, she's intrigued — and when she realizes she can use it to reach the masses, she's positively enthralled. With the help of Paul, her best friend Avis, a brilliant young producer named Alice, and some well-placed visionaries, Julia embarks upon her beloved TV show in this winning series. While "Julia" is resolutely delightful, it doesn't shy away from the rockier side of life. Menopause, sexism, and loss do their best to throw Julia off course. But as anyone who's watched "The French Chef" knows, Julia Child isn't afraid of difficulty. Watching her realize that over the course of this series is a true joy.

• Starring: Sarah Lancashire, David Hyde Pierce, Bebe Neuwirth

• Creator: Daniel Goldfarb

• Year: 2022 – Present

• Runtime: 8 episodes

• Rating: TV-MA

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%

This series' salacious title is technically accurate: "The Sex Lives of College Girls" follows a group of female undergrads as they explore the R-rated world of campus relationships. But this isn't a prurient peek behind the sorority house door — it's a love letter to a complex and vibrant life stage. Sheltered Kimberly, eager Bela, aloof Leighton, and focused Whitney are determined to make the most of their time at Essex College. Unfortunately, school has a way of disrupting even the best-laid plans. Explosive secrets, "naked parties," and shocking break-ups ensue — and often bring the quartet closer together. They also tend to be absolutely hilarious. In reimagining the raunchy college romp from young women's point of view, "The Sex Lives of College Girls" brings new life to a beloved subgenre.

• Starring: Pauline Chalamet, Amrit Kaur, Alyah Chanelle Scott

• Creator: Mindy Kaling, Justin Noble

• Year: 2021 – Present

• Runtime: 10 episodes

• Rating: TV-MA

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%

Though many gritty Batman tales are excellent, some fans long for something a bit more light-hearted. Enter "Batman: The Brave and the Bold." This animated series recalls the Silver Age of Comic Books: The Joker bursts into song, Batman trades flirtatious puns with Catwoman, and team-ups with caped goofballs are the order of every day. Most episodes are self-contained adventures, which typically end with squashed bad guys and a well-cracked joke. DC Comics fans will love seeing obscurities like the Batmen of All Nations and Monsieur Mallah pop up, and the uninitiated will enjoy the on-point voice acting and surprisingly metatextual humor. Grim superheroes are all well and good, but "Batman: The Brave and the Bold" reminds us that the genre is, at its core, somewhat ridiculous — and that can be a wonderful thing.

• Starring: Diedrich Bader, Jeff Bennett, Tom Kenny

• Creator: James Tucker, Michael Jelenic

• Year: 2008 – 2011

• Runtime: 65 episodes

• Rating: TV-Y7

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%

What if Jonny Quest grew up? "The Venture Bros." posits he'd become Rusty Venture, a middle-aged malcontent unable to replicate his father's greatness. His excitable teen sons, Hank and Dean, aren't bothered by this, however. As far as they're concerned, they're boy adventurers just like their pop. From this relatively simple starting point, "The Venture Bros." becomes a gloriously bonkers genre mash-up. In this world, supervillainy has its own bureaucracy, "super-scientist" is a real job, and fantastical space stations screen "Sharky's Machine" during movie night. Though "The Venture Bros." is endlessly comedic, it also tells an affecting and dizzyingly complex story. Watching Hank and Dean figure out what they want from life is a genuine joy — the fact that they do so through nanobots and arcane magic is just a bonus.

• Starring: James Urbaniak, Patrick Warburton, Christopher McCulloch

• Creator: Christopher McCulloch

• Year: 2003 – 2018

• Runtime: 86 episodes

• Rating: TV-MA

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%

In the midst of a brutal battle, a terrifying demon known as Aku flings a prince of feudal Japan into the future. To the prince's horror, Aku rules this blighted era with an iron fist. Rechristened Jack by the strange inhabitants of this world, he sets out to return to his timeline and destroy Aku before it's too late. Few cartoons are as boldly spare as "Samurai Jack." Silence lingers here, and action scenes aren't crowded with color and noise. This is brave unto itself, and it marvelously highlights the series' inventive character designs, elegant animation, and deep emotions. No wonder "Samurai Jack" was revived for a final season 12 years after it was canceled: There still isn't anything quite like it in American TV animation.

• Starring: Phil LaMarr, Mako, Tara Strong

• Creator: Genndy Tartakovsky

• Year: 2001 – 2017

• Runtime: 62 episodes

• Rating: TV-Y7 (Seasons 1-4) TV-MA (Season 5)

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%

Steven Universe is a member of the Crystal Gems, a band of alien rebels with fantastical powers. But unlike Pearl, Amethyst, and Garnet, Steven is a half-human kid who isn't sure what powers he possesses. He knows even less about the Gems' origins or the planet they left behind. But the past can't stay buried forever, no matter how many miles the Gems have put between themselves and their home world.

"Steven Universe" is a dramatic space fantasy full of gorgeous cosmic vistas and intriguing alien worldbuilding. It's also a high-spirited, all-ages cartoon. These truths are never in conflict — in fact, they bolster each other. As Steven must learn, the universe is a mix of love, sorrow, humor, and cruelty. Embracing that is where his strength — and that of the show — truly lies.

• Starring: Zach Callison, Estelle, Deedee Magno Hall

• Creator: Rebecca Sugar

• Year: 2013 – 2019

• Runtime: 160 episodes

• Rating: TV-PG

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%

Before Hazel Green escapes the Hub, her tech magnate husband's virtual reality compound, he puts a chip in her brain that allows him to see through her eyes. If this sounds like a set-up for a dark exploration of abuse, it is — but "Made for Love" is also an absurdist comedy that eviscerates the tech industry's most ludicrous excesses. Watching Hazel wrench herself free of his sleek nightmare is triumphant, hilarious, and surprising at nearly every turn. Whether you're interested in an incisive look at abusive relationships or want to laugh at the "flavor balls" her husband eats instead of actual food, you'll get what you wish for — and a whole lot more.

• Starring: Cristin Milioti, Billy Magnussen, Ray Romano

• Creator: Alissa Nutting, Christina Lee, Patrick Somerville, Dean Bakopoulos

• Year: 2021 – 2022

• Runtime: 16 episodes

• Rating: TV-MA

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%

Most sketch comedy series delve into absurdity, but few ever bring it as close to home as "Key & Peele" does. The segments that comprise this gut-bustingly funny show locate themselves firmly in everyday life. High school classrooms, classy restaurants, and cable sports networks all serve as sketch springboards. Then, little by little, the titular twosome take these mundane realities to the heights of hilarity. Valets grow so excited as they discuss Liam Neeson that they burst into Riverdance-style performances. College football players participating in the East/West Bowl gain ever more ludicrous names. President Obama's "anger translator" became such a sensation that he made a real-world appearance at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. "Key & Peele" doesn't just satirize daily life — it makes us realize how ridiculous it already is.

• Starring: Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele

• Creator: Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele

• Year: 2012 – 2015

• Runtime: 53 episodes

• Rating: TV-14

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%

The all-girl group of skaters at the center of "Betty" deal with plenty of unpleasantness. Most prominently, the show's title is a sneering label applied to them for the crime of being female and being into skateboarding. But Janay, Indigo, Kirt, Honeybear, and the rest of this New York City crew can't be stopped by harassment, cruelty, or racism — they know the streets are theirs. This sun-soaked look at friendship, adolescence, and young love is the perfect balance of laid-back cool and honest emotion. "Betty" is especially deft at portraying the literal and figurative escapism skateboarding offers. In one memorable scene, Indigo literally skates out of a miserably bigoted modeling gig. Ugliness is very real in "Betty," but with good friends, a solid board, and enough audacity, it's never insurmountable.

• Starring: Dede Lovelace, Nina Moran, Ajani Russell

• Creator: Crystal Moselle

• Year: 2020 – 2021

• Runtime: 12 episodes

• Rating: TV-MA

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 98%

Cassie Bowden, the titular flight attendant, lives life on the liquor-soaked edge. Her hedonism grinds to a halt, however, when she wakes up next to a passenger with a gruesomely slit throat. Panicked, she conceals the body and continues on as normal — until the G-men find her. So begins Cassie's breathless plunge into international espionage, FBI surveillance, and her own vivid memories. "The Flight Attendant" takes place in Cassie's mind as much as any physical location. Hallucinations, trauma-altered recollections, and imaginary conversations with the murder victim stud each episode. This makes it as much of a pulse-pounding thriller as it is contemplative character study.

• Starring: Kaley Cuoco, Zosia Mamet, Michiel Huisman

• Creator: Steve Yockey

• Year: 2020 – 2022

• Runtime: 16 episodes

• Rating: TV-MA

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 91%

Wind Gap, Missouri, is a pretty little town. It's also a remarkably deadly place to be a teenage girl, as journalist Camille Preaker knows well. She left this place — and the memories it holds of her dead sister — many years ago. But when one Wind Gap girl turns up dead and another goes missing, she's forced to return and investigate. Smothered by her icy mother and reckless half-sister, Camille must tear away Wind Gap's veneer before the rot that lies beneath consumes them all. "Sharp Objects" thrums with tension and terror. Every house is built on lies, every conversation hints at buried secrets, and every character is either trying to conceal their ugliest truths or they're being eaten alive by them. What results is an unforgettable thriller about the costs of apparent perfection.

• Starring: Amy Adams, Patricia Clarkson, Eliza Scanlen

• Creator: Marti Noxon

• Year: 2018

• Runtime: 8 episodes

• Rating: TV-MA

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%

"The Plot Against America" takes place in the United States, circa 1940 — but not the United States we know. Here, Charles Lindbergh is running for president on a zealously xenophobic — and horrifyingly popular — platform. Jewish families like the Levins adapt to this growing bigotry in a wide variety of ways. Some of their number, like single woman Evelyn, cozy up to the powers that be. Others, like fiery Alvin, search for ways to fight back. Notably, "The Plot Against America" isn't interested in portraying impassioned resistance. Rather, it's a meditation on the persistence of anti-Semitism, populism's ugliest extremes, and the force of history. This makes it a thoroughly disquieting watch but also a deeply powerful one no viewer will soon forget.

• Starring: Morgan Spector, Winona Ryder, John Turturro

• Creator: David Simon, Ed Burns

• Year: 2020

• Runtime: 6 episodes

• Rating: TV-MA

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 87%

In "The Rehearsal," comedian Nathan Fielder helps everyday folks rehearse life's thorniest moments. We're not talking about simple role-play scenarios here. Fielder musters hired actors and eerily detailed sets in his efforts to help these people practice parenthood, confess to minor lies, and confront their family members. This already-bizarre premise spirals into kaleidoscopically weird metafiction as Fielder becomes part of the rehearsals himself. 

"The Rehearsal" is a brilliant work of dark comedy, as attempting to "practice" life is inherently doomed. But the series is also a penetrating examination of human relationships. Can we ever truly know another person? Are we trapped within our own finite minds? What does it mean to turn a person into a source of entertainment? In pondering these questions, "The Rehearsal" becomes one of the most fascinating, unsettling, and strangely humorous shows on TV.

• Starring: Nathan Fielder, Anna Lamadrid, Angela Sankovich

• Creator: Nathan Fielder

• Year: 2022

• Runtime: 6 episodes

• Rating: TV-MA

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%