It may not have the shine it once did, but Max (previously HBO 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.
Max has gotten into the original content game too, with highly acclaimed series like Hacks, Station Eleven, and The Staircase (the owl did it!). So even if you’ve watched all of the HBO classics, there’s more to devour.
Whether you’re a longtime fan of the “it’s not TV” cable network or a 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.
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 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 new 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 for its third season, which is airing now.
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 show’s second season just wrapped in August, meaning you’ve got about another year to catch up.
The Sopranos
It has been 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 the head of a New Jersey crime family 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 Alex Gibney’s new two-part docuseries, Wise Guy: David Chase and The Sopranos, which premieres on September 7.
Ren Faire
What would happen if 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, which premiered in April, picks up the story after Durst uttered that haunting phrase.
Hacks
Jean Smart has always been a legend, so it’s only appropriate that she plays a legend in Hacks. The Max series debuted in 2021—not long after the streaming platform itself dropped—and became one of its first major hits. Now in its third season, which premiered in early May, 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 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 that viewers love to hate in each one of the four characters he plays.
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 (including Norway, Thailand, Argentina, and Ireland) to immerse himself in the food, traditions, and culture of his chosen destinations. The bad news? There are only four episodes of the series, so you’ll want to savor this one—at least until the second season arrives. On May 15, Max announced that it had renewed the series.
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.
The Regime
In The Regime, Kate Winslet does that thing that only Kate Winslet can really do: Play someone who is cold, calculating, and highly unlikeable yet immensely watchable. The Titanic star plays Chancellor Elena Vernham, a ruthless dictator who seems to be losing her hold over her people. So she turns to Herbert Zubak (Matthias Schoenaerts), her water diviner, for advice and companionship. But it turns out the former soldier might have some pretty lofty power goals of his own.
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, 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 June, Max announced that the show’s explosive second season (all of which you can stream right now) 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 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. It stars Jodie Foster 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. Let it pull you in, and never let go.
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.
Julia
In the nearly 20 years since her death in 2004, Julia Child has gotten the biopic treatment with Julie & Julia (2009) and was the subject of Julie Cohen and Betsy West’s documentary Julia (2021). In 2022, Happy Valley’s Sarah Lancashire stepped into Child’s toque to recount the earliest days of her career as a cookbook author and TV chef innovator, and it makes for one tasty dramedy. Both seasons are available to stream now.
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.
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 too. Somewhere in the middle of it all is Marian Brook (Louisa Jacobson), 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.
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 led to 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.
Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty
John C. Reilly stars as Lakers owner Jerry Buss in a performance that would make Reed Rothchild, his Boogie Nights character, proud. This fast-paced period sports drama, which is based on Jeff Pearlman’s book Showtime, chronicles exactly what it promises in the title: the rise of the Los Angeles Lakers, who ruled the NBA throughout much of the ’80s—thanks in large part to owner Buss and rookie player Magic Johnson (Quincy Isaiah). Though it has been lauded by critics, Winning Time has seemed to fly oddly under the radar. This might explain why it was recently axed by HBO. But it’s still period filmmaking and high-stakes sports drama at its finest.
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 Max, so you can judge for yourself whether things are different this time around.
Full Circle
When a teen goes missing in New York City, the lives—and lies—of several seemingly unconnected characters find a way to intertwine in this twisty crime series from the mind of filmmaker Ed Solomon (Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure). What at first might seem like a straightforward story of two bereaved parents (Claire Danes and Timothy Olyphant) attempting to deal with the kidnapping of their son becomes much more complicated in the hands of Steven Soderbergh, who produced and directs all six episodes of this limited series, where nothing is what it seems.
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.)
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 post-apocalyptic 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. (Fans will be getting a second season of it all, with Pascal and Ramsey returning, in 2025.)
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.
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 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 is entering its fourth season, and has managed to rack up enough awards (Emmys, Critics Choice, Indie Spirit, and beyond) to fill a school trophy case.
The White Lotus
Knowing that Jennifer Coolidge stars in the first two seasons of The White Lotus (the only actor to move locations with the series) is reason enough for many people to tune in. While it was originally imagined as a one-off 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—it has since morphed into a full-on franchise. The series dives below the surface of the seemingly fabulous lives of deep-pocketed guests who can afford to stay at one of the five-star resorts of the title’s locations (first Hawaii, then Sicily, with Thailand scheduled for season 3), and the people who trip over themselves to serve their every need. Somewhere in between, murder always seems to end up on the menu. As season 3 won’t premiere until 2025, you’ve got time to catch up—and you’ll want to. HBO has already announced that Carrie Coon, Walton Goggins, Parker Posey, Patrick Schwarzenegger, and Aimee Lou Wood will all appear in the next installment.
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. In August, Coel announced she was working jointly with HBO and BBC on a new series, First Day on Earth, that will be equally personal.
The Sex Lives of College Girls
Mindy Kaling cocreated this 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. The series’ third season is expected to premiere later this year, and will be the final go-around for costar/Gen Z icon Reneé Rapp, who announced that she’d be exiting the show to focus on her musical career.
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. For more of Fielder’s weird brilliance, all four seasons of Nathan for You—another kind of meta-comedy that will force you to repeatedly cover your eyes in vicarious embarrassment—are also streaming on Max.
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.
The Righteous Gemstones
Danny McBride and HBO are the new Brangelina of television. First they teamed up for the hilariously offensive-for-offense’s sake Eastbound & Down; then there was Vice Principals. The Righteous Gemstones, which McBride created and stars in, is his 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 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.
