HBO Max may not have the shine it once did, but the streaming service (previously just Max) is still home to some of the best TV shows of the past 25 years, from The Sopranos and The Wire to Game of Thrones and The Leftovers.
Whether you’re a longtime fan of the “it’s not TV” cable network or a HBO Max newbie trying to figure out where to start, the shows below should give you plenty upon which to feast your eyes.
Looking for more recommendations? Head to WIRED’s guide to the best TV shows on Netflix, the best TV shows on Amazon Prime, the best TV shows on Disney+, and the best TV shows on Hulu.
The Yogurt Shop Murders
On December 6, 1991, a police officer responding to reports of a fire at a frozen yogurt shop in Austin, Texas, was horrified to discover the bodies of four teenage girls inside. All four girls, who ranged in age from 13 to 17, had been shot in the head, and at least one of the young women had been raped. More than 30 years later, the events of that night continue to haunt not just the friends and family members of the victims, but the law enforcement officials who investigated the gruesome crime, and even the journalists who covered it. HBO’s enthralling new four-part docuseries takes a deep dive into the killings, which remain unsolved to this day.
The Gilded Age
While it hasn’t made quite the splash that Downton Abbey did, Julian Fellowes’ latest period piece is just as decadent—and really came into its own with its second season. In this case, the drama moves stateside to document the struggle between New York City’s old-money aristocrats and the vulgar new-money types attempting to infiltrate their social circles. There’s also plenty of the Upstairs, Downstairs–type drama that Fellowes is known for, with the servants who cater to Manhattan’s elite playing a big part of the story here too. Somewhere in the middle of it all is Marian Brook (Louisa Jacobson, Meryl Streep’s youngest child), a young woman attempting to navigate a world she only belongs to by proxy. Christine Baranski, Carrie Coon, and Cynthia Nixon lead a stellar cast. Its third season, which premiered on June 22, is getting some of the series’ strongest reviews.
Duster
Fifteen years after Lost said goodbye, J.J. Abrams and Josh Holloway have re-teamed for the 1970s-set action-crime-comedy about a top-notch getaway driver (Holloway) who partners with the FBI’s first Black woman agent (Rachel Hilson) to take down a notorious crime boss (the always-pitch-perfect Keith David). With its quirky mix of genres, distinctly ’70s look, and unmistakable sense of humor, Duster feels a bit like what Quentin Tarantino might do as a TV showrunner.
The Mortician
HBO delivered one of its most iconic series in the mid-2000s with the family funeral home-set Six Feet Under. The Mortician is essentially the flip side of that critically acclaimed drama: It’s a three-part docuseries that explores the disturbing story of the Lamb Funeral Home, a real-life Los Angeles business that made headlines in the 1980s when it was revealed that its new owner, David Sconce, was engaging in reprehensible practices that seemed to value profit over human life. Years later, and after spending more than a decade in prison on two separate occasions (the second time for violating his parole), Sconce sits down to speak about his crimes, and still seems unmoved by the emotional damage he has caused.
The Rehearsal
Good luck trying to explain what The Rehearsal is to anyone who isn’t familiar with Nathan Fielder’s mastery of uncomfortable comedy. What begins as a series in which the awkward star/comedian attempts to help people prepare for big moments in life by rehearsing them until they get it right quickly turns into a bizarre social experiment in which Fielder himself becomes one of the key players. The less you know about it ahead of time, the better. Just be aware that you’ll be encountering people who responded to a Craigslist ad to take part in season 1, and that the second season sees Fielder stepping in to create a wild role-playing environment to improve communication between pilots, with the hope of preventing plane crashes. It might make you worry about exactly who is commandeering your next flight and give whole new meaning to the chorus of Evanescence’s 2003 hit “Bring Me To Life.”
Conan O’Brien Must Go
Conan O’Brien is at his zaniest in this offshoot of his popular podcast, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend. Whereas the popular audio series features O’Brien chatting with his fellow celebrities, this globe-trotting series sees the former late-night host surprising everyday people he has featured on said podcast. But it doubles as a kind of travel series, as he uses the time in these far-off places (which, in the first season, included Norway, Thailand, Argentina, and Ireland) to immerse himself in the food, traditions, and culture of his chosen destinations. Season 2 sees O’Brien visit New Zealand, Austria, and Spain over three episodes. It’s a short season, to be sure, but a third season is already confirmed.
The Last of Us
The Last of Us managed to succeed where Netflix’s Resident Evil (which was canceled after one season) and other live-action TV shows based on video games failed—by being really, really good. Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) and the video game’s original director, Neil Druckmann, cocreated the postapocalyptic drama, in which one grizzled survivor (Pedro Pascal) is tasked with smuggling a smart-mouthed teenager (Bella Ramsey) who could be the key to finding a cure for the fungal infection-fueled pandemic that has turned most of America into zombie-like creatures. Props to everyone for generating so much interest in the (very real and parasitic) Cordyceps fungus—because fungi nerds like TV too. After a near two-year wait, the show’s second season arrived in April. Set five years after the events of the first season, it begins with Joel (Pascal) and Ellie (Ramsey) having seemingly found a permanent community, despite discord in their own relationship—and zombies that are getting smarter. But the latest season takes some unexpected turns that viewers who aren’t familiar with the video game may not see coming—a trend that will seemingly continue when its third season eventually arrives.
Hacks
Jean Smart has always been a legend, so it’s only appropriate that she plays a legend in Hacks. The HBO Max series debuted in 2021—not long after the streaming platform itself dropped—and became one of its first major hits. Four seasons in, the show follows the evolution of the relationship between world-renowned Las Vegas entertainer Deborah Vance (Smart) and Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder, daughter of SNL legend Laraine Newman), a cynical young writer who is on the outs with Hollywood following a bad-take tweet that went viral. What begins as a reluctant “mentorship” slowly transforms into a loving and respectful friendship in which both women realize they have something to learn from the other. The show has won a slew of awards, including nine Emmys (three of them for Smart)—a streak that is likely to continue following the show’s dramatic fourth season, which ended with a development that already has fans wondering what season 5 (which is already ordered) might look like.
The Righteous Gemstones
The Righteous Gemstones is Danny McBride’s latest effort to put forth a group of highly unlikeable people and find a way to make you like them even less but still want to keep watching. In this case, it’s a family of televangelists whose real god is greed and power. McBride assembled an all-star cast that includes John Goodman as the family’s patriarch, Adam DeVine and Edi Patterson as his fellow Gemstone children, and national treasure Walton Goggins as Uncle Baby Billy Freeman—a child-star-turned-grifter who has given the series some of its most memorable quotes and moments. (Can you say Baby Billy’s Bible Bonkers?) The series’ fourth and final season, which added Megan Mullally and Seann William Scott to the mix, concluded on May 4. All episodes are airing now.
When No One Sees Us
HBO Max’s first Spanish-produced series, adapted from Sergio Sarria’s novel of the same name, is a smart, slow-burning crime drama. US Army special agent Magaly Castillo (Mariela Garriga) is sent to a base in Morón de la Frontera, Spain, to look into the strange disappearance of a soldier. Not far away, Civil Guard sergeant Lucía Gutiérrez (Maribel Verdú) is investigating a suicide that has ritualistic elements of harakiri. Eventually, their investigations begin to overlap, and the two work together—despite protocol and politics—to understand what is happening around them.
Celtics City
In 2024, the Boston Celtics did their city proud when they ended the team’s 16-year drought by nabbing the NBA Championship. It was a reminder to sports fans, and the world at large, why the winningest team in NBA history is also the most storied, going back more than 70 years. This nine-episode docuseries, executive produced by Bill Simmons, traces the history of the franchise and the challenges players have faced both on and off the court. Most specifically: How Boston’s reputation as a racist city has impacted the team, including a reluctance on the part of Black players to want to sign on with the Celts. While it’s a series made for sports fans, it’s just as much a historical docuseries that will resonate with the state of the world in 2025.
The White Lotus
While it was originally imagined as a one-off limited series from the brilliantly screwed-up mind (in a good way) of Mike White—who cocreated the sadly overlooked Enlightenment with Laura Dern, another HBO show you should check out—The White Lotus has since morphed into a full-on, five-star franchise that just wrapped up its wild third season. The series dives below the surface of the seemingly fabulous lives of deep-pocketed guests who can afford to stay at one of the ultra-luxe resorts of the title’s locations (first Hawaii, then Sicily, followed by Thailand), and the people who trip over themselves to serve their every need. Somewhere in between, murder always seems to end up on the menu. The newest season proved to be deliciously addictive, with Walton Goggins, Carrie Coon, Parker Posey, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Michelle Monaghan, Leslie Bibb, and Aimee Lou Wood among the delightfully dysfunctional guests—plus a surprise cameo from Sam Rockwell as a wild character who won’t soon be forgotten. While fans of the series lamented the loss of Jennifer Coolidge as a recurring cast member, writer/actor Natasha Rothwell did her former would-be business partner proud (and Coolidge’s lying husband dirty) by reprising her role as Belinda Lindsey, the spa manager fans met (and rooted for) in Season 1. A fourth season has already been greenlit, but production won’t begin until 2026—meaning it could be 2027 before viewers see the next season of The White Lotus, wherever in the world the show goes.
The Pitt
First things first: Yes, The Pitt is a medical drama that reunites ER star Noah Wyle with executive producer John Wells. But that’s really where the similarities to that iconic NBC series end. Really, The Pitt has more in common with 24. Set in an underfunded hospital in Pittsburgh, the series plays out over 15 hours in real time as patients come and go (in some cases, shuffling off this mortal coil); medical students and interns learn the truth about their chosen profession; and seasoned doctors and hospital administrators butt heads over the nature of the US health care system. It’s an engaging watch that moves at a breakneck speed while offering a somber reality about medicine in a post-pandemic world. Season 1 was a near-perfect season of television, and a second season—which will follow the same real-time format and take place over Fourth of July weekend—is already in production, with a planned January 2026 premiere.
Somebody Somewhere
Sam (the amazing Bridget Everett) is a forty-something woman who has lost her way. After returning to her hometown of Manhattan, Kansas, to care for her dying sister, she is left broken and floundering following her sister’s death. Unsure of who she is, what she is doing, or where she fits in, she slowly starts to find her place thanks to Joel (Jeff Hiller), a coworker and former classmate. With his friendship and support, and reconnecting with her love of singing, Sam starts to learn that we don’t need to have the answers to know when something feels “right.” The Peabody Award–winning series is one of the best things to happen to TV audiences in a long time—and a reminder that “acceptance” is in the mind of the beholder. All three seasons are now streaming.
Dune: Prophecy
HBO Max is going all in on Frank Herbert’s Dune. In addition to Denis Villeneuve’s two recent Dune movies—which are both streaming here—there’s now Dune: Prophecy. Based on Brian Herbert (son of Frank) and Kevin J. Anderson’s prequel trilogy novels, the series is set 10,000 years before the events witnessed in the Dune films. In this world, it’s the women who rule as two sisters (Emily Watson and Olivia Williams) work to establish the secretive Bene Gesserit sisterhood, who have developed the power to ensure that all future members will be built to stand as powerful leaders. Comparisons to The Handmaid’s Tale are inevitable. There’s more to come: The series was renewed for a second season just days before its season 1 finale.
Like Water for Chocolate
Foodies and romance lovers alike will enjoy this latest adaptation of Laura Esquivel’s seminal 1989 novel. Set during the Mexican Revolution, it tells the story of Tita de la Garza (Azul Guaita) and Pedro Múzquiz (Andres Baida)—a young couple in love. Tita’s cruel mother, Mamá Elena (Irene Azuela), insists that her daughter will take care of her until her death, and thus refuses to consent when Pedro asks for Tita’s hand. Instead, he ends up marrying Tita’s sister Gertrudis (Andrea Chaparro) in an attempt to remain a part of Tita’s life, which only makes their circumstances more agonizing. Tita’s love does not exactly go unrequited: She expresses it in the food she cooks, which is felt by everyone who tastes it. (This is much less silly than it sounds.) A second, and final, season is currently in production.
The Sex Lives of College Girls
Mindy Kaling cocreated this HBO Max series, which puts a new spin on the teenage sex comedy—one in which the women are fully in charge. Nerdy Kimberly (Pauline Chalamet, yes, Timothée’s sister), aspiring professional funny person Bela (Amrit Kaur), snotty Upper East Sider Leighton (Reneé Rapp), and soccer star/senator’s daughter Whitney (Alyah Chanelle Scott) are four college freshmen randomly thrown together as suitemates. But as they get to know each other, and themselves, their forced cohabitation develops into a true bond—one in which there’s no such thing as TMI and a “naked party” is just one way to unwind after a long week. Season 3—which saw Rapp depart the series and new roomie Kacey (Gracie Lawrence) take over her space in the quad—wrapped in January and will sadly be its last.
The Franchise
Armando Iannucci has never met a world he didn’t want to skewer (see: In the Thick of It, Veep, Avenue 5). In the case of The Franchise, which Iannucci co-created with Sam Mendes and Jon Brown, it’s the ridiculousness of superhero movies—and, more specifically, superhero cinematic universes—that is ripe for mockery. Daniel Kumar (Himesh Patel) is the first assistant director on an upcoming movie, Tecto: Eye of the Storm, that’s being made in the shadow of one of its franchise’s team-up movies, Centurios 2, so getting short shrift. Though his name will be buried in the credits, Kumar—who might have the production’s most thankless job—is determined to make a movie that rises above its material. And budget. And actors. And crew. Think of it as a satirical potshot at the MCU. Sadly, one season is all we’re going to get of Iannucci’s latest; HBO canceled the series in early January.
It’s Florida, Man
“What you’re about to see may be dangerous, petty, misguided, and most definitely stupid,” warns the voiceover in the trailer. “But it’s also all true. Sort of.” Danny McBride strikes again (as one of the executive producers) on this new late-night series that brings the unbelievable, infamous “Florida Man” headlines to life. Each episode recreates these Floridians’ stories with an A-list lineup of comedic actors, including Anna Faris, Jake Johnson, Randall Park, Juliette Lewis, Sam Richardson, and Ego Nwodim. Get ready for feral bunnies, mermaids being harassed by witches, and so much more. HBO Max has already given the green light to a second season, which is expected later this year.
The Penguin
While superhero/villain TV shows typically tend to be the domain of Disney+, The Penguin is different—in so many ways. Spun off from Matt Reeves’ The Batman (2022) and based on the characters famously created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, The Penguin takes a very prestige TV approach to its comic book origins. Which is likely partly why you’ve heard so many comparisons between The Penguin and The Sopranos—a likening that is somewhat overblown. (Though Colin Farrell’s Oswald “Oz” Cobb does bear a passing resemblance to James Gandolfini’s legendary mob boss.) Still, The Penguin is its own beast; it’s an origin story that documents Oz’s violent rise to power following the death of Gotham crime boss Carmine Falcone. While Farrell’s Penguin was one of the most compelling parts of Reeves’ The Batman, here it’s Cristin Milioti—who manages to be utterly charming despite playing a brutal psychopath—who steals the show as Carmen’s daughter Sofia Falcone, a mastermind battling Oz for control of Gotham’s underworld. While conversations are reportedly being had, there’s no word yet on whether a second season will be coming. (Reeves has stated that The Batman 2 is their current priority.)
Chimp Crazy
“You can’t tame wild things.” That’s Alan Cumming’s very simple summation of why it’s not a great idea to have a 250-pound chimp living in your home as if it were another family member. Chimp Crazy takes that notion to the extreme. Ostensibly, the four-part docuseries—which comes to HBO Max from the same people who brought us Tiger King—is about the lengths to which Tonia Haddix, a tanning-salon-loving exotic animal broker, will go to ensure she cannot be separated from her beloved chimp Tonka (despite what PETA believes is best for the primate). Ultimately, however, it’s an examination of the “chimp mom” community and the disturbing reality of what can happen when a human being puts their own needs above those of these highly intelligent primates, who need more than living in the suburbs can afford them.
City of God: The Fight Rages On
In City of God (2002), Fernando Meirelles’ Oscar-nominated feature, Wilson “Rocket” Rodrigues (Alexandre Rodrigues) is an aspiring photojournalist who uses his art to help make sense of—and bring attention to—the dangers of the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. In this 2024 sequel series, it’s a full two decades after the events of the original film. Rocket has achieved his dream of becoming a successful photojournalist, but the dangers that residents of the favela face on a daily basis are still present. So he uses his camera once again to capture the corruption that happens when the drug trade, police, and militia collide.
Industry
You may not have had an “investment banking drama” on your bingo card as your next obsessive binge-watch, but Industry has got a lot more to offer than financial jargon. The British-American series is set in and around Pierpoint & Co., one of London’s most prestigious investment banks and the place that any up-and-comer wants to land a job at. The problem is, Pierpont is picky—and has a very limited number of full-time positions up for grabs. So what you get instead is an inside peek at a cutthroat industry coupled with an ensemble dramedy about the lives of the young professionals competing to make it to the top. Game of Thrones star Kit Harington joined the show—which many have deemed “the new Succession”—for its third season. Kiernan Shipka, Max Minghella, Jack Farthing, Toheeb Jimoh, and Amy James-Kelly have been announced as new cast members for the fourth season, which is expected to arrive in January.
House of the Dragon
While it would be silly to think any series could replicate the cultural behemoth that was Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon does a pretty admirable job (even if George R.R. Martin doesn’t necessarily agree with all of the creative choices that make it different from the book). Especially if you wished its predecessor had more dragon action. This prequel series, which is set approximately 200 years before Game of Thrones, is all about discord within House Targaryen and the beginning of the end of that ruling family’s dynasty. Just like GoT, there’s enough sex, violence, backstabbing, family dysfunction, and dragons to fill that void—and even the occasional darkly lit scene to get audiences all riled up.
The Sopranos
It has been more than 25 years since audiences were introduced to Tony Soprano and his family—both the blood kind and the other kind. Whether you’ve never seen the series that still tops many people’s lists as the greatest television show ever created, or it’s just been a while, it’s time to give it a rewatch. By now the basic premise is well known: Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) is a New Jersey mob boss who struggles with depression and panic attacks. So he starts seeing a psychiatrist (Lorraine Bracco), which is a no-no in Tony’s line of work. Over the next six seasons, audiences are invited to experience the life of a mob boss—both the violent side and the mundanities it can bring. A quarter-century later, the series still holds up. For an extra dose of Sopranos content, be sure to check out the 2021 prequel movie, The Many Saints of Newark, or Alex Gibney’s two-part docuseries, Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos, both of which are streaming now.
Ren Faire
What would happen if Succession‘s Logan Roy were in charge of a Renaissance fair? It might look a lot like Ren Faire. This surprisingly engaging three-part docuseries follows the drama that ensues when George Coulam, founder of the Texas Renaissance Festival (America’s largest Renaissance fair) announces his retirement. While it would seem that the festival’s general manager would be first in line to take over, a kettle corn kingpin and former elephant trainer rise up to challenge that notion of succession. Who knew the Ren faire business was so cutthroat?
Fantasmas
Calling all Los Espookys fans: Julio Torres has a new series. And yes, it’s just as absurd and silly and funny as its horror-comedy predecessor. In this case, Torres plays a fictionalized version of himself who ends up wandering New York City looking for a lost earring. Along the way, he encounters all sorts of bizarre characters, with guest appearances from the likes of Steve Buscemi, Emma Stone, Ziwe, Paul Dano, Bowen Yang, and Aidy Bryant.
The Jinx
The Jinx is as unnerving as it is fascinating. Director Andrew Jarecki’s first brush with the history of Robert Durst came in the form of All Good Things, the 2010 feature starring Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst that fictionalized the life of Durst. But when Durst saw what Jarecki had done with that project, he requested they sit down for an interview, which spawned this true-crime docuseries that initially premiered in 2015—and eventually led to new charges being filed against Durst. We won’t give away too much, but suffice to say the words “killed them all, of course” will forever live in your mind. The Jinx Part Two picks up the story after Durst uttered that haunting phrase.
The Sympathizer
Viewers still lamenting the end of The Americans will find much to love about The Sympathizer, which was co-created by acclaimed filmmakers Park Chan-wook and Don McKellar. Based on Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize–winning novel, this limited series follows the exploits of the Captain (Hoa Xuande), a police captain in the Vietnamese capital then known as Saigon, who also happens to be a communist spy. Eventually, he makes his way to America, where he continues gathering intelligence for the Viet Cong. While it may not sound like the premise of a black comedy, that’s indeed what it is—especially whenever Robert Downey Jr. is around. The Iron Man star makes for a formidable villain who viewers love to hate in each one of the four characters he plays.
Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show
One has to imagine that putting “Reality Show” in the title was somewhat tongue-in-cheek, as this docuseries—in which comedian Jerrod Carmichael claims he’s attempting to “self-Truman Show” himself—is much more intimate and authentic than that label would imply. Carmichael’s goal is to be as honest as he can be about his life and struggles while the cameras are rolling. And if one were to judge his success based on how uncomfortable some viewers might be bearing witness to it all, the show is an absolute triumph.
Tokyo Vice
In 1993, American journalist Jake Adelstein landed a job at the Tokyo-based Yomiuri Shimbun as the newspaper’s first non-Japanese staff writer—a position he held for a dozen years. Nearly 30 years later, in 2022, HBO Max turned Adelstein’s life into a slick crime drama that sees the young journalist (played by Ansel Elgort) forge a deep connection with high-ranking members of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, who allow him to get dangerously close to the violence and corruption that exist within the city. In summer 2024, HBO Max announced that the show’s explosive second season would be its last. But Tokyo Vice producers are still holding out hope that a third season will be greenlit elsewhere.
True Detective: Night Country
Did you take our advice and watch Deadloch and now you want more of that, but far darker and more creepy? We have just the solution: True Detective: Night Country. Truth be told, this anthology series has had a rough go. Following a wildly successful first season that crashed HBO Max’s predecessor, HBO Go, and had everyone talking about how time is a flat circle, the series’ second and third installments failed to capture the same momentum. Night Country is a return to form, as evidenced by its 19 Emmy nominations (the most of any HBO series in 2024). It stars Jodie Foster, who won her first Emmy for the role, and Kali Reis as a pair of investigators trying to uncover a conspiracy and solve a series of bizarre murders. Mysterious symbols are also involved. Yes, that’s pretty much the plot of every season of True Detective, but this season has corpsicles. As with all of those previous iterations, the less you know at the start, the better. Speaking of the less you know: A fifth season has been commissioned, with Night Country creator Issa López returning as showrunner. No details have been revealed in terms of the storyline, cast, or possible release date.
Curb Your Enthusiasm
“I really did the best under the circumstances of a person who hates people and yet had to be amongst them,” Larry David says in the trailer for the 12th—and final (yes, really)—season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. David—both the real-life comedian and the semi-fictionalized version of himself he plays on TV—has been dipping in and out of our lives for more than 20 years now. And he continually exceeded audience expectations with each new season of Curb. Even though he cocreated Seinfeld, one of the most game-changing TV series of all time, it’s Curb Your Enthusiasm to which he’ll always be more closely linked. Pretty good for a social assassin. Pretty, pretty good.
Rap Sh!t
Insecure impresario Issa Rae is the brains behind this laugh-out-loud comedy, which follows Mia Knight (KaMillion) and Shawna Clark (Aida Osman), two former high school friends and struggling rappers trying to make it on the Miami music scene. Ultimately, they decide to join forces to form a group, double their chances of success, and use social media as their launching pad—all with mixed results. As much as the series is about music, at its heart it’s really about the unending possibilities of youthdom and the beauty of women supporting women. At just two seasons long, it’s an easy binge-watch.
Starstruck
Jessie (Rose Matafeo) is a twentysomething New Zealander attempting to make ends meet as a nanny in London. One New Year’s Eve, she has a drunken one-night stand, only to sober up and realize she just slept with Tom Kapoor (Nikesh Patel), a major movie star. But what was presumably a one-off encounter turns into much more over time in this charming romcom series, which is a little bit like Notting Hill—only drunker.
Our Flag Means Death
Rhys Darby and Taika Waititi do what Rhys Darby and Taika Waititi do best as two very different kinds of pirates who cross paths in the 1700s. Darby plays Stede Bonnet, a fictionalized version of a very real member of the landed gentry whose version of a midlife crisis sees him abandon his family and hit the high seas for a swashbuckling adventure. Waititi, meanwhile, plays the infamous Blackbeard, who learns of Bonnet and seeks him out. What begins as a kind of mentorship eventually becomes the gay pirate action-comedy series you never knew you needed.
How to With John Wilson
If Steven Wright and Nathan Fielder decided to create a YouTube channel of how-to tutorials on topics like putting up scaffolding and covering furniture in plastic, it might look a lot like How to With John Wilson. So it probably comes as no surprise that Fielder is an executive producer of the series, which follows Wilson as he attempts to uncover the secrets of such universal dilemmas as how to make small talk. Wilson’s surprising mix of earnestness and deadpan delivery make the series surprising, enlightening, and extremely strange.
Project Greenlight: A New Generation
In 2001, just three years after Good Will Hunting made them bona fide Oscar winners, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck launched Project Greenlight, a competition that gave aspiring filmmakers the chance to make a real, live movie—which begat Project Greenlight, a reality series that chronicled the ups and downs (mostly downs) of that experience. While the competition was better known for the TV series it spawned versus the movies that it produced, it’s now more than 20 years later. And, as new mentors Issa Rae, Kumail Nanjiani, and Gina Prince-Bythewood quickly realize, it’s all still a bit of a nightmare. Gray Matter, the movie that was created from the competition’s rebirth, is also streaming on HBO Max, so you can judge for yourself whether things are different this time around.
Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York
This four-part docuseries, based on Elon Green’s book Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust and Murder in Queer New York, looks at the murders of several gay men in the early 1990s. Set against the backdrop of rising homophobia during the AIDS crisis, director Anthony Coronna’s doc talks to the family members of those killed and the LGBTQ+ community advocates who pushed law enforcement to investigate the deaths happening in their community.
The Other Two
Chasedreams (Case Walker) is a 13-year-old internet icon whose overnight rise to global stardom has become the sole focus of his mom (Molly Shannon). Chase’s older siblings, however, are having a much harder time finding success. Brother Cary (Drew Tarver) is an aspiring actor who can’t even land the part of “Man at Party Who Smells Fart,” while sister Brooke (Heléne Yorke) is just trying to figure out who and what she wants to be. All three seasons of the series, which was cocreated by former SNL head writers Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider, are available to binge.
Barry
No one seemed particularly wowed when HBO announced that Bill Hader and Alec Berg were cocreating a series in which Hader would play a hitman with a conscience who attempts to go straight. But what might sound like a played-out trope has taken on new dimensions of humor, darkness, humanity, and plain old weirdness, with its recently concluded final season serving as a brilliant crescendo of all of that dark weirdness mixed in with a little time jump. Barry Berkman (Hader) is a traumatized marine whose newfound apathy toward the world and the very act of living makes him perfectly suited to work as a gun for hire. When a job takes him to Los Angeles, Barry stumbles upon an acting class led by Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler, in what may be the role that finally supplants Fonzie as his most memorable), a failed but charismatic mentor. But transitioning back into the real world isn’t without consequences for Barry, who can spend an entire episode being hunted by a pint-sized martial arts master. All four seasons of the Emmy-winning series, each one better than the next, are available to stream in full.
Love & Death
Elizabeth Olsen seamlessly transitions from part-time superhero to cold-blooded seductress in this retelling of the story of Candy Montgomery—a churchgoing wife and mother who turns murderous after having an affair with a fellow parishioner (the always excellent Jesse Plemons). If the plot sounds familiar, that might be because it’s based on the true story of a murder that took place in Texas in 1980. Or perhaps it’s because Hulu got there first with its own limited series, Candy, starring Jessica Biel as the femme fatale.
Succession
Media empires run by dysfunctional families may rise and fall, but we’ll always have Succession. The Emmy-winning series concluded its four-season run in early 2023, but its legacy as one of the most surprising pieces of prestige TV will be felt for decades to come (especially after what happened at Shiv’s wedding … then “Connor’s Wedding,” not to mention on the balcony or in the hand-hold seen ’round the world). At a time when TV shows about rich people, real or imagined, are in ample supply, Succession manages to stand out by being as bitingly funny as it is painfully tragic. The jet-black family dramedy chronicles the Roy family and the people/cronies/tall men who orbit them, all of whom seem to be angling for control of Waystar Royco, the family-run global media conglomerate—whether by succession (get it?) or more hostile means. Think of it as King Lear meets Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., only funny. (Unless you’re invited to play a game of Boar on the Floor.)
A Black Lady Sketch Show
In 2015, Robin Thede made television history when she was named head writer for The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore—making her the first Black woman to hold the head writer position on a late-night talk show. Four years later, she revolutionized the TV landscape once again when she gathered up a group of her funniest friends—including Ashley Nicole Black, (future Abbott Elementary creator) Quinta Brunson, Gabrielle Dennis, and Skye Townsend—and created A Black Lady Sketch Show, the first sketch comedy written, produced, and starring Black women. The four-season series has brought such A-list names as Angela Bassett out as guest stars with its no-holds-barred humor, and the entire series is available to stream now.
Rain Dogs
Costello Jones (Daisy May Cooper) is an aspiring novelist and working-class mom who isn’t always successful at making ends meet for herself and her wise-beyond-her-years daughter, Iris (Fleur Tashjian). So Costello is regularly forced to call upon her violence-prone—but wealthy—gay best friend, Selby (Jack Farthing), to unstick them from whatever jams they’ve managed to get caught in. The series is billed as a black comedy, which it definitely is, although the moments between the levity are sometimes so dark and raw that even the frothiest bits carry weight. This darkly nuanced and sometimes surreal meditation on class, sex, dysfunction, and the varying definitions of “family” makes for a compulsively watchable series. Sadly, the BBC-HBO coproduction was canceled after one season, so the eight existing episodes are all you get.
Abbott Elementary
Abbott Elementary creator/star Quinta Brunson (A Black Lady Sketch Show) has garnered all sorts of accolades with this ABC series and even managed to create streaming deals with both HBO Max and Hulu. The surprise hit follows the lives of a group of teachers who are working at one of the most woefully underfunded public schools in America while doing their best to inspire students. Yes, it all sounds very earnest—and it is—but it’s also the kind of funny we don’t see much of on network TV anymore. The series—which just finished up its fourth season and already secured a fifth season renewal—has racked up enough awards (Emmys, Critics Choice, Indie Spirit, and beyond) to fill a school trophy case.
I May Destroy You
Michaela Coel is a creative force of nature who delivered on what she promised with the title of this limited series, which she created, wrote, directed, and stars in. Arabella (Coel) is a Londoner living the millennial dream with a thriving writing career, thanks in part to her celebrity as a social media influencer. But Arabella’s Insta-perfect life begins to unravel when, after a night out with friends, she begins to recall—in fragments—being sexually assaulted. Eventually, the need to piece together exactly what happened to her, and who did it, consumes her completely and the past comes knocking at her door. Last August, Coel announced she was working jointly with HBO and BBC on a new series, First Day on Earth, that will be equally personal.
Avenue 5
Bad timing may have led to the unfortunately early demise of Avenue 5, which had filming on its second season delayed, and delayed again, due to Covid-19. But the space-set comedy from the brilliant mind of Armando Iannucci, creator of Veep (another classic streaming on HBO Max), and its even swearier predecessor, The Thick of It, is well worth your time, if only to see what could happen when space travel inevitably goes wrong. Hugh Laurie stars as the “captain” of an interplanetary cruise ship, with Josh Gad playing the role of eccentric tech billionaire/huge baby Herman Judd, whose planned eight-week tour of the galaxy turns dire when a gravitational disaster steers the ship off course. The series gets more bonkers as it goes along, and poop plays a massive part in saving thousands of passengers and crew members. Consider yourselves warned—and feel free to laugh at the inanity of it all. Loudly.
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