hbo max maybe Be one of the biggest things to come out of the streaming revolution. No, this is not paid promotion; It’s only simple logic, considering that some of television’s most compelling content in the last 25 years—from the Sopranos And Wire To game of Thrones And the leftovers– “It’s Not Just TV” originated on the network. So having a hub to find them all (including the above-mentioned titles) just makes good sense for both the network and the binge-watchers alike to maximize their investment.
But HBO’s streaming arm (soon to be known as Max) has also gotten into the original content game, such as the highly acclaimed series hacks, station elevenAnd the staircase (The owl did it!). Here are our favorite shows streaming on HBO Max right now while you’re re-watching some classics.
Looking for more tips? 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.
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succession
Media empires run by dysfunctional families may rise and fall, but we will always have succession, While the Emmy-winning series is currently airing its fourth and final season, its legacy as one of the most amazing pieces of Prestige TV will be felt for decades to come (especially what happened in Shiva’s Wedding). After that … then “conor’s wedding, In a time when TV shows about rich people, real or fictional, are in ample supply, succession It manages to stand out by being painfully sad as well as being bitterly funny. The jet-black family dramedy chronicles the Roy family and the people/cronies/tall men who orbit them, who all seem to be angling for control of Viastar Royco, the family-run global media conglomerate – whether by succession (it Get it? ) or more hostile means. think of it as King Lear Rupert meets Murdoch’s News Corp, only funny. (Unless you’re invited to play a game of Pigs on the Floor.)
Barry
When HBO announced that Bill Hader and Alec Berg were producing a series in which Hader would play a hitman with a conscience who attempts to go straight, no one was particularly impressed. But what might seem like a played out trope has taken on new dimensions of humor, darkness, humanity and plain old weirdness. Barry Berkman (Haider) is a traumatized Marine whose newfound indifference to the world and the very act of living makes him perfectly suited to work as a hired gun. When a job takes him to Los Angeles, Barrie takes an acting class led by an unsuccessful but charismatic mentor, Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler, in what may be the role that eventually turns Fonzie into his most memorable). I stumble. But getting back to the real world is not without consequences for Barry, which can sometimes cost an entire episode. Hunted down by a pint-sized martial arts master, first three seasons of Barry are now available to stream in their entirety, with new episodes from its fourth and final season currently premiering each Sunday.
a black lady sketch show
In 2015, Robin Thede made television history when she was named head writer. Nightly Show with Larry WilmoreBecame the first black woman to hold the position of head writer on a late-night talk show. Four years later, she revolutionized the TV landscape once again when she assembled a group of her funniest friends—including Ashley Nicole Black, (future Abbott Elementary producers) Quinta Brunson, Gabrielle Dennis and Skye Townsend—and created a black lady sketch show, the first sketch comedy written, produced by, and starring black women. The series, which has brought out A-list names like Angela Bassett as guest stars with its no-holds-barred humor, premiered its fourth season on April 14 (all three previous seasons are available to stream now ).
last of us
last of us Where Netflix has managed to achieve success resident Evil (which was canceled after one season) and other live-action TV shows based on video games were failures—in fact, In fact Good. Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) and the video game’s original director, Neil Druckmann, created the post-apocalyptic drama in which a grizzled survivor (Pedro Pascal) is tasked with trafficking a smart-mouthed teenager (Bella Ramsey) who may be the key to finding a cure. Might be possible. Fungal infection-fuelled pandemic that has turned much of America into zombie-like creatures. Props to everyone for generating so much interest in the (very real and parasitic) Cordyceps fungus – because fungi love TV too.
rain dogs
Costello Jones (Daisy Mae Cooper) is an aspiring novelist and working-class mother who isn’t always successful in providing for herself and her intelligent-beyond-her-years daughter, Iris (Fleur Tashjian). So Costello is forced to regularly call upon his violence-prone—but wealthy—gay best friend Selby (Jack Farthing) to bail them out of whatever jams they’ve managed to find themselves in. . The series is billed as a black comedy, which it certainly is, though the levity in-between moments are sometimes so dark and raw that they make even the most frothy bits feel a little heavy. In terms of this deeply nuanced and sometimes surreal meditation on class, sex, dysfunction, and varying definitions of “family,” it makes for a compulsively watchable series.
Abbott Elementary
Abbott Elementary Producer/Star Quinta Brunson (a black lady sketch show) has garnered all kinds of accolades with this ABC series, which has somehow managed to score streaming deals with both HBO and Max. And Hulu. The surprise hit follows the lives of a group of teachers working in one of America’s worst public schools while desperately trying to inspire the students. Yes, it all sounds great—and it is—but it’s also the kind of funny we don’t see much on network TV anymore. The series is currently airing its second season, but has already managed to garner enough awards (Emmys, Critics’ Choice, Indie Spirit, and beyond) to fill the school trophy case.
White lotus
knowing that Jennifer Coolidge stars in both seasons White lotus (the only actor to move places with the series for season 2) is reason enough for many people to tune in. White – who sadly ignored Enlightenment With Laura Dern, another HBO series you should be watching—it’s since morphed into a full-fledged franchise. The series dives deep beneath the surface of the seemingly luxurious lives of guests with deep pockets, who can afford to stay at one of the five-star resorts of the title locations (first Hawaii, then Sicily, for Season 3. with determined Asia), and those who stumble over themselves to provide for their every need. Somewhere in the middle, murder always seems to end up on the menu.
i can destroy you
Michaela Coel is a creative force of nature who delivered on what she promised with this limited series title that she created, wrote, directed, and starred in. , thanks to her celebrity as a social media influencer. But Arabella’s insta-perfect life begins to crumble when, after a night out with friends, she begins to remember — in pieces — the sexual assault. Eventually, the piecing together of what really happened to her, and who did it, consumes her completely until the past comes knocking at her door.
sex life of college girls
Mindy Kaling created this HBO Max series that puts a new spin on the teen sex comedy — one in which the women are totally in charge. Nerdy Kimberly (Pauline Chalamet, yes, Timothée Chalamet’s sister), aspiring professional humorist Bella (Amrit Kaur), snotty Upper East Sider Leighton (Rene Rapp), and soccer star/senator’s daughter Whitney (Elijah Chanelle Scott) form four college freshmen. Are. Thrown together as suitemates that have nothing in common. But as they get to know each other and themselves, their forced coitus develops into a true bond—in which there’s no such thing as TMI and a “naked party” is just the way to unwind after a long week. There is a way.
Rehearsal
what is luck trying to explain Rehearsal is for anyone who isn’t familiar with Nathan Fielder’s mastery of uncomfortable comedy. What begins as a series in which the oddball star/comedian attempts to help people prepare for life’s big moments until they get it right quickly turns into a bizarre social experiment. In which the fielder himself becomes one of the key players. The less you know about this ahead of time, the better. Just know that you will be meeting people who responded to the participating Craigslist ad. For more on Fielder’s strange talent, watch all four seasons. for you nathan— another kind of meta-comedy that will make you repeatedly cover your eyes in bizarre embarrassment — is also streaming on HBO Max.
avenue five
Bad timing may unfortunately lead to an early demise avenue 5which saw filming delayed on its second season, 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 also its predecessor, thick of it, is worth your time, if only to see what can happen when space travel inevitably goes wrong. Hugh Laurie stars as the “captain” of an interplanetary cruise ship, with Josh Gad playing eccentric tech billionaire/giant kid Herman Judd, whose plans for an eight-week tour of the galaxy go awry when a gravitational disaster strikes. Gets the ship out of the way. , The series finds more bonds as it progresses, and defecate plays a large role in saving thousands of passengers and crew members. Consider this as a warning to yourself – and feel free to laugh at the absurdity of it all. loudly.
Staith Lets Flats
Jamie Demetriou – brother of what do we do in the shadows‘ Natasia Demetriou, who also created the series and stars as London’s worst real estate (aka letting) agent Staught Charalambous. While it’s a poorly known state of affairs, this three-season British comedy – which ran on Channel Four in the UK from 2018 to 2021 – was nominated for Best Scripted Comedy and Best Male Comedy Performance (for Demetriou) in 2020. BAFTA Award, if that kind of recognition is important to you. Weird comedy fans will appreciate Stath attempting to turn each apartment’s worst features into selling points. Or the way he treats such presumed amenities as kitchen cabinets as genuine luxury items (“It’s all in the bowls, baby”).
righteous gems
Danny McBride and whatever are the new Brangelinas of HBO television. First they teamed up for hilariously offensive-to-insult east and down, then there was vice principal. righteous gems, which McBride created and stars in, is his latest attempt to put together a group of intensely disliked people and find a way to make you like them even less, but still want to keep watching. In this case, it is a family of TV evangelists whose real gods are greed and power. McBride assembled an all-star cast that included John Goodman as the family patriarch, Adam DeVine and Eddie Patterson as the 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.
