Narrowing down a list of the best HBO Max shows is no easy task. There's a good reason why the streamer – which until recently was simply known as Max – has gone back to its original name. HBO has been a symbol of quality programming for decades now.
To reflect this, we've expanded our list of the best HBO Max shows from 10 to 15 – and we're going to keep on updating it over the next few months. From canonical classics like The Sopranos to critically acclaimed masterpieces like The Leftovers, and new shows like The Last of Us season 2, HBO Max has something for everyone.
So if you're looking for a new TV obsession then you're in the right place. When you've finished here, check out our list of the best HBO Max movies, too.
15. The Penguin
Colin Farrell is exceptional and near-unrecognisable in this TV spin-off of Matt Reeves' The Batman. Farrell appeared fleetingly in that film playing Oz Cobb – AKA the Penguin. He really gets under the character's skin in this moody series, which delves into Cobb's grasp for power. Pitted against him is Cristin Milioti as Sofia Gigante, a vengeful alleged killer recently released from prison.
Nobody had any reason to expect this to be as good as it turned out to be, but as with Andor, The Penguin succeeds by caring less about fan service and more about its characters. Batman is barely a footnote, with the show instead playing out as an operatic thriller set in Gotham's criminal underworld. Thanks to a combination of terrific writing, acting, and direction you somehow end up caring about these monstrous people – even the Penguin himself.
Our full The Penguin review delves deeper into The Batman spinoff.
14. Station Eleven
Year: 2021
Seasons: 1
Depending on your outlook, the 10 episodes of Station Eleven either dropped at the worst or best possible time, arriving as the series did in the middle of the pandemic. "Worst" because the show asked us to visit a fictional world that had been ravaged by disease like our own, or "best" because it forced viewers to reckon with the pain we all faced, while finding something beautiful in that strength to endure.
Those willing to stick with the TV adaptation of Emily St. John Mandel's hit novel were rewarded with a deeply emotional, bittersweet tale that reminded us how powerful art and expression can be at a time when that was the only thing keeping us all sane back home.
13. Scavengers Reign
Year: 2023
Seasons: 1
Scavengers Reign transports you to another world with its story of a spaceship crew stranded on a strange alien planet where they must do everything they can to survive. Hypnotically beautiful yet disturbingly dangerous, the eco-system they find themselves in is one of animation's most visually inventive.
Every frame could be hung in the Louvre, and the same could be said for every page of the script as well because this is astonishingly well-written and paced, capturing deeply complex existential thoughts and philosophical musings with gorgeous symbolism in an eco-horror framework. You'd be hard-pressed to find a better sci-fi to represent the best this genre is capable of.
Read our list of the best animated TV shows of all time if you want more recommendations, like Scavengers Reign!
12. House of the Dragon
Year: 2022
Seasons: 2
Game of Thrones was a true behemoth of television, a dragon that towered over pop culture for almost a decade. HBO's first attempt at a spinoff, the House of the Dragon prequel, doesn't quite soar in the same way, but watching white-haired Targaryens battle for the Iron Throne all over again is still a thrill that can't be missed.
In a standout cast bursting with talent, it's the dual talents of Emma D'Arcy and Olivia Cook that will burn in your memory long after the show's over and the timelines converge. House of the Dragon season 3 is also on its way, so now is the time to get caught up with one of the best shows that Max has to offer.
If you need a Westeros refresher, you can read our House of the Dragon timeline guide or check out this House of the Dragon season 2 review.
11. Boardwalk Empire
Year: 2010
Seasons: 5
Boardwalk Empire arrived on HBO in 2010 with a huge amount of fanfare. Blessed with a movie star lead in Steve Buscemi, and a pilot episode directed by none other than Martin Scorsese, it seemed like the heir apparent to The Sopranos' throne. In truth the Atlantic City-set show – which followed the life and crimes of Enoch "Nucky" Thompson (Buscemi), a fictionalized take on the real life politician Enoch L. Johnson – never quite captured the public's imagination in the same way The Sopranos did, but it remains a terrific period drama.
Set in the Prohibition era of the 1920s and '30s, Boardwalk Empire followed Nucky as he tried to carefully navigate his personal, political, and criminal lives. It was dark, dangerous, and classy. A slightly weaker final season perhaps marred the show's track record, but Boardwalk Empire remains one of HBO's many great shows and very much worthy of a place on this list.
10. Our Flag Means Death
Year: 2022
Seasons: 2
What starts off as a slightly uneven comedy about a fledgling pirate determined to escape a midlife crisis becomes much more poignant as he falls in love with Taika Waititi's ruthless Blackbeard. Rhys Darby and Taika Waititi are endlessly charming as the two pirates who meet in the middle and find something special, despite hailing from two very different worlds.
Season two, especially, is the equivalent of buried treasure for anyone who hasn't discovered the delights of Our Flag Means Death yet. Jump aboard and binge both seasons as heartily as you can before joining the campaign to renew this series for another much-needed and well-deserved third season.
Check out our Our Flag Means Death season 2 review for more details on this delightful pirate streaming pick.
9. True Detective
Year: 2014
Seasons: 4
A new season of True Detective is always met with anticipation – and not a little trepidation. The crime anthology series changes its premise and its cast with each run, but that first series, which starred Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey as two troubled 'tecs investigating a series of occult-tinged murders, set such an incredible standard that the show has sometimes struggled to match it.
Season 2, starring Colin Farrell and Rachel McAdams, failed to recapture the magic with a grim, meandering storyline. Season 3, starring Mahershala Ali, was a terrific return to form with an Ozarks-set mystery about missing children. It was last year's True Detective: Night Country, however, that really made True Detective essential again. Jodie Foster and Kali Reis starred in a gripping Alaska-set thriller that acted as a dark mirror of the first year and became the show's most watched season to date.
8. The Last of Us
Year: 2023
Seasons: 2
Video game adaptations often make people cry for all the wrong reasons, but with such cinematic source material to work with, The Last of Us is the rare show that gets it right, channeling the bleak apocalyptic horror of the games through a tender lens. Much of that emotional heft comes from Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, who trek together across a zombified wasteland in search of hope, but the show succeeds on just about every other level, too, and even more when it deviates from the game.
Who could have ever known that the mushroom zombie show would give us one of the most enduring gay love stories of the past decade? Now that The Last of Us season 2 is finally here with new episodes, it is the best time to catch up on all the Clicker action over on Max.
For more information on this post-apocalyptic gem, read our The Last of Us season 2 review, or go back to the beginning with out The Last of Us episode 1 review.
7. Hacks
Year: 2021
Seasons: 4
The legendary Jean Smart plays a very different kind of legend in Hacks. As the cantankerous comedian Deborah Vance, Smart is brash and gaudy and even unlikeable at points, but you'll love her anyway thanks to Jean's charisma, which carries Deborah through a hilarious set one minute and a deeply heartbreaking revelation the next.
Paired with Hannah Einbinder's 25-year-old mentee, an outspoken oversharer who's often offended by Vance, the two find they have much more in common than either of them initially realize. So begins an incredibly smart two-hander which has rightly nabbed Smart an acting Emmy for every season produced so far. Expect people to look back on Hacks as legendary in its own right in years to come, the kind of series that only comes along once a decade, or once a streamer, as might be more fitting these days.
6. Game of Thrones
Year: 2011
Seasons: 8
While there's little doubt that the end of Game of Thrones has tarnished its reputation somewhat, there's no arguing with the early years of this fantasy mega-hit. Based on George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Thrones felt like nothing else on TV, with its combination of rich character drama, political scheming, and full-blooded fantasy action.
The first four seasons of Thrones, which hew closely to Martin's novels, are superb. With Martin struggling to finish sixth book The Winds of Winter, however, the series arguably lost its way, leading to a rushed conclusion. Still, even the later years are gripping TV and Game of Thrones remains one of the most important shows of the last 20 years, with an unmatched scale, a legendary cast of characters – Tyrion Lannister, Daenerys Targaryen, Jon Snow, to name just three – and a richly-realised world that continues on in the prequel series House of the Dragon.
5. Barry
Year: 2018
Seasons: 4
This comedy drama about a hitman who finds a new purpose in life when he takes up amateur dramatics is one of HBO's great cult hits of recent years. Co-created by star Bill Hader and Alec Berg, the first two seasons of Barry were silly, surprisingly heartfelt, and breathlessly exciting. Leads Hader and Sarah Goldberg (who plays fellow acting student Sally) were exceptional, but it was the guest cast – notably Anthony Carrigan as useless gangster NoHo Hank, and Happy Days star Henry Winkler as arrogant acting coach Gene Cousineau – that made this show truly special.
As the show continued, it took on a darker tone, as Hader (who wrote and directed the entire final season) questioned if redemption is possible for a killer like Barry Berkman. The jokes became fewer and farther between and the series started to feel like HBO's answer to Breaking Bad, culminating in an absolutely devastating series finale.
4. The Wire
Year: 2002
Seasons: 5
There's a reason why former police reporter David Simon's masterpiece is often cited as one of the greatest TV shows of all time. Over five seasons The Wire takes a forensic look at the way crime operates in the city of Baltimore, with a cast of unforgettable characters, including breakout roles for Wendell Pierce, Dominic West, and Idris Elba to name just a few.
Each season of The Wire focused on a different aspect of urban living, from drugs and housing to the docks, government, the school system, and finally print media, with the last season focusing on The Baltimore Sun newspaper. Together the series became a richly-evoked and breathtakingly realistic look at life in a very specific time and place in recent American history.
3. Succession
Year: 2018
Seasons: 4
If you ever start to wonder if your family might be a bit dysfunctional, look no further than the Roys. This comedy-drama created by Jesse Armstrong charts the highs and lows of Logan Roy, the owner of global media conglomerate Waystar RoyCo, and his children, Kendall, Roman, Shiv, and Connor. The show kicks off with Logan looking for a suitable successor amid his blood-thirsty brood after some health concerns.
Soon, everyone – and their partners – come out of the woodwork desperate for a slice of wealth. Brilliantly scripted, incredibly acted, and perfectly paced, Succession is a masterpiece. It feels like a show that could have run for years, but there are only four seasons to enjoy. We'll take some solace, at least in the fact they're perfect.
2. The Leftovers
Year: 2014
Seasons: 3
Based on Tom Perrotta's novel of the same name, The Leftovers takes place in a world where 2% of the world's population has vanished overnight. Rather than explain what happened to these people, however, this alternately gripping, heartbreaking, and often surprisingly funny series is about how people confront the inexplicable in their everyday lives. Some join cults. Others buy into wild conspiracies. And some, like Justin Theroux's damaged cop Kevin Garvey, begin to believe that they have a cosmic destiny.
The Leftovers, particularly in the opening few episodes of its first season, can be bracingly bleak. Stick with it, though. As the show progresses it gets warmer, more expansive, and hopeful. Season 2 moves the series into mystery thriller territory, while season 3 grapples with an apparently looming apocalypse, before ending with an unforgettable final episode focused on Carrie Coon's Nora Durst, one of the great TV characters of the last few decades.
1. The Sopranos
Year: 1999
Seasons: 6
Often crowned as one of the best TV shows ever made, our list would be incomplete without The Sopranos. Created by David Chase, the series focuses on Tony Soprano (played masterfully by James Gandolfini), as he balances family life with being a mobster in New Jersey.
The epic family saga covers six seasons, and a huge 86 episodes, as it follows the ups and downs of everyone in Tony's orbit. Particular shoutouts go to Edie Falco as his wife Carmela and Michael Imperioli as his protégé Christopher, who are frequent scene stealers. Aside from being a masterclass in acting, the writing, direction, and music make this show worthy of a legacy of one of the most influential series ever made.
For more on HBO Max, check out our guide on all the deals and prices available. We also have a list of the best shows on Netflix and the best shows on Amazon Prime if you fancy more streaming picks.
