It’s not hard to find a good show on HBO, and there are plenty of excellent ones. The platform has proven itself worthy of the premium TV label, and its streaming service now features both old favorites like Friends and cutting-edge works like Succession and The White Lotus, both of which have won Emmys. There’s a plethora of high-quality material to pick from: Get started with HBO Max movies by checking out our recommended shows below. We also, gave some explanations on top series shows HBO max in 2023 and of all time
Best Shows on HBO Max 2023
As fans of canceled series look for something new to binge on HBO Max shows in 2023, we’ve compiled a list of our all-time best picks.
#1. How to With John Wilson
How to With John Wilson teaches DIY tasks like scaffolding and plastic-wrapping furniture on YouTube. The channel was created by Steven Wright and Nathan Fielder. Thus, Fielder is an executive producer on the show, which follows Wilson as he solves classic puzzles like small talk. The series, which has recently finished its third and final season, is startling, illuminating, and highly odd because of Wilson’s unique mix of seriousness and deadpan delivery.
#2. 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—which kicked off its second season on August 6—has seemed to fly oddly under the radar. But it’s period filmmaking and high-stakes sports drama at its finest.
#3. Project Greenlight: A New Generation
In 2001, just three years after Good Will Hunting made them legitimate Oscar winners, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck introduced Project Greenlight, a contest that gave budding filmmakers the chance to make a real, live movie; this, in turn, spawned Project Greenlight, a reality series that chronicled the ups and downs (mostly downs) of their involvement. Twenty years after the competition, the television series it inspired is more famous than the films it inspired. It’s still a bit of a nightmare, as Issa Rae, Kumail Nanjiani, and Gina Prince-Bythewood’s new mentors rapidly learn. Watch Gray Matter, the film that revived the rivalries, on Max to discover whether things are different this time.
#4. Full Circle
From the brains of director Ed Solomon (Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure), this twisting crime thriller follows the lives—and lies—of numerous seemingly unconnected characters in New York City following the disappearance of a teenager. The kidnapping of a son by his parents (Claire Danes and Timothy Olyphant) appears to be a simple story at first, but in the hands of Steven Soderbergh, who produced and directed all six episodes of this inadequate series, virtually nothing is as it seems.
#5. Last Call: When a Serial Killer Stalked Queer New York
The deaths of many gay men in New York City in the early 1990s are the subject of this four-part docuseries, which is based on Elon Green’s book Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust, and Murder in Queer New York. Documentary filmmaker Anthony Coronna interviews victims’ loved ones and advocates for the LGBTQ+ community who urged local authorities to look into a string of murders that occurred in an atmosphere of escalating homophobia during the AIDS epidemic.
#6. The Other Two
Case Walker’s character, 13-year-old internet sensation Chasedreams, is the main focus of Molly Shannon’s character, his mother. However, Chase’s elder siblings are having a much more difficult time breaking into successful careers. Cary (Drew Tarver), a prospective actor who can’t even get the role of “Man at Party Who Smells Fart,” and Brooke (Heléne Yorke), an unsure young woman, have a sister who is also uncertain about her future. In May, the third and last season of the sitcom, which was co-created by former Saturday Night Live head writers Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider, debuted to relatively little fanfare.
#7. Barry
HBO’s news that Bill Hader will play a conscience-driven hitman who attempts to go straight didn’t excite anyone. Its final season, which wrapped up not too long ago, was a fantastic crescendo of all that dark weirdness coupled with a short time jump, breathing fresh life into what might sound like a tired cliche.
Barry Berkman (Hader), a former marine with PTSD and apathy, is excellent for contract killing. Barry enrolls in an acting class taught by Gene Cousineau (who is portrayed by Henry Winkler, in one of his most famous roles since Fonzie) after being transferred to Los Angeles for work. Barry’s return to Earth, however, is not without repercussions; he may spend an entire episode being sought by a miniature martial arts expert. The Emmy-winning series is now available to stream in its entirety across all four seasons.
#8. Love & Death
In this rendition of the story of Candy Montgomery, a churchgoing wife and mother who becomes deadly after having a sexual relationship with a fellow parishioner (the always superb Jesse Plemons), Elizabeth Olsen makes a smooth shift from part-time savior to cold-blooded seductress. The murder that inspired this narrative actually occurred in Texas in 1980, so any similarities you detect may be intentional. Maybe it’s because Hulu already had a similar limited series, Candy, with Jessica Biel as the bad girl.
#9. Succession
Succession will interest us even if media mogul families with a history of volatility change. The four-season Emmy winner ended on May 28, but the show’s impact as one of the most unexpected pieces of prestige television will be felt for years to come (especially after Shiv’s wedding, then “Connor’s Wedding,” not to mention the balcony or the hand-hold seen around the world).
Succession is funny and poignant in a time when there are many TV dramas about wealthy people. The jet-black family dramedy follows the Roys and the various cronies and tall men who seem to be plotting to take over the family’s global media giant, Waystar RoyCo, via peaceful or violent methods. Imagine a hilarious mashup of King Lear and Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.
#10. The Last of Us
The Last of Us was great, unlike Netflix’s Resident Evil (canceled after one season) and other video game-based TV dramas. Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) and Neil Druckmann, the video game’s original director, cocreated the post-apocalyptic drama, in which one grizzled survivor (Pedro Pascal) must smuggle a smart-mouthed adolescent (Bella Ramsey) who may hold the key to curing the fungal infection-fueled pandemic that has turned most of America into zombies. Because fungal nerds like TV, thanks to everyone for producing so much enthusiasm for the parasitic Cordyceps fungus.
#11. White House Plumbers
Real-life electoral fraud fails to make for good comedy—unless you give it to Veep’s delightfully deranged brains. Emmy-winning writers Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck wrote this entertaining Watergate satire, co-written by David Mandel.
Woody Harrelson and Justin Theroux, who plays E. Howard Hunt and G. Gordon Liddy, respectively, show how Nixon’s closest allies assassinated him. Despite its slapstick style, the plot closely follows the scandal’s history, adding to its ridiculousness.
#12. 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 series, which has brought such A-list names as Angela Bassett out as guest stars with its no-holds-barred humor, just aired its fourth, and final, season; the entire series is available to stream now.
#13. Rain Dogs
Costello Jones (Daisy May Cooper), a working-class mother and aspiring novelist, struggles to support herself and her wise-beyond-her-years daughter, Iris. Costello often asks her aggressive, wealthy, gay closest friend Selby (Jack Farthing) for support.
The show is advertised as a comedy, yet serious moments give even the lighter ones a gloomy undertone. I love this odd and darkly subtle study of socioeconomic status, sexuality, familial dysfunction, and changing definitions of “family”.
#14. Abbott Elementary
Quinta Brunson, star of the ABC comedy Abbott Elementary, has received numerous accolades for her work on the show. The unexpected success centers on a group of educators who are doing their best to motivate kids at one of the most severely underfunded public schools in the United States. It’s earnest, but network TV rarely has such sincere humor. Despite only having two seasons, the show has received Emmys, Critics’ Choice Awards, the Indie Spirit Award, and more.
#15. The White Lotus
They drew many viewers to The White Lotus because of Jennifer Coolidge, the only actor to appear in both seasons despite the show’s geographical shifts. From the delightfully screwed-up (in a good way) mind of Mike White, who also co-created the criminally underrated Enlightenment with Laura Dern (another HBO max movie series of all time 2023 you should check out), this show has evolved from a one-off idea into a full-fledged franchise.
#16. I May Destroy You
Michaela Coel fulfills the promise of the title as the series creator, writer, director, and star. Arabella (Coel) is a social media influencer and Londoner living the millennial dream with a successful writing career. After a night spent with friends, Arabella remembers being sexually molested in fragments, tearing apart her Instagram-perfect life. As her fixation on finding out what happened to her and who did it deepens, she must face her past.
#17. The Sex Lives of College Girls
This Mindy Kaling-co-created Max series gives female characters strength, reinventing teenage sex comedy. Four college students, Kimberly the nerd (Pauline Chalamet, yes, Timothée’s sister), Bela the ambitious professional comedian, Leighton the snooty Upper East Sider, and Whitney the soccer star/senator’s daughter (Alyah Chanelle Scott), are thrown together as roommates. When forced to live together, they build a genuine friendship with no limit on information.
#18. The Rehearsal
Nathan Fielder’s cringe-inducing humor makes The Rehearsal impossible to describe to someone unfamiliar with it. What starts out as a show in which the socially inept star/comedian tries to assist others in preparing for life’s important moments by having them practice until they get it perfect quickly evolves into a surreal social experiment in which Fielder himself plays a central role. Knowing as little as possible about it in advance is preferable.
Keep in mind that everyone you meet is here because they saw an ad for it on Craigslist and decided to check it out. The four seasons of Nathan for You, another form of meta-comedy that will make you constantly cover your eyes in vicarious shame. Also available to stream on Max if you’re keen on seeing more of Fielder’s odd brilliance.
#19. Avenue Five
put on hold and then postponed again because of COVID-19, which may have contributed to the show’s untimely cancellation. Armando Iannucci’s space-based comedy is certainly worth your time if only to watch what could happen when space travel eventually goes wrong. Iannucci is also responsible for Veep (another classic streaming show on HBO Max movies of all time) and it’s even swearier forerunner, The Thick of It. Hugh Laurie is the “captain” of an intergalactic cruise ship, and Josh Gad plays tech billionaire/huge baby Herman Judd. Those eight-week galactic vacations go horribly wrong after a gravitational calamity throws the ship off track.
#20. Stath Lets Flats
As London’s worst real estate agent, Stath Charalambos, Jamie Demetriou, the show’s writer, and actor, is Natasia Demetriou’s younger brother. This British sitcom, which aired on Channel Four in the UK from 2018 to 2021 (but is largely unknown in the United States), won BAFTA awards for Best Scripted Sitcom and Best Male Comedy Performance (for Demetriou) in 2020.
#21. The Righteous Gemstones
The pairing of Danny McBride and the HBO Max movie series of all time in 2023 is like the new Brangelina on TV shows. They collaborated on Vice Principals and Eastbound & Down, which was obnoxious for its own sake. The Righteous Gemstones, McBride’s latest show, stars a cast of unlikeable people who make you dislike them even more. The family of televangelists in question worships money and power more than any higher power.
What Is HBO Max’s Most Watched Series 2023?
Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones is still one of HBO’s most-watched shows ever because of its stunning visuals and thrilling drama. The show’s gore and graphic material may turn off some viewers. Game of Thrones surprise narrative twists and intriguing characters have made it a worldwide phenomenon. In spite of widespread criticism, the show’s final season actually proved to be its most successful. The all-time program has generated a spin-off, House of the Dragon, and there are persistent rumors that the HBO Max series is developing a Game of Thrones film even in 2023.
Is HBO Max Free With Amazon Prime?
If you’re a US resident and you’ve been missing HBO on Amazon’s Prime Video Channels, you’re in luck. Customers who already subscribe to Prime Video and want to view Warner Bros. Discovery shows like House of the Dragon of All Time can do so by adding HBO Max for $14.99 per month.
Why Is Everything on HBO Max Movies So Good?
In addition to producing some of the best executives in the business, they often credit HBO Max movies as the source of some of cable’s best original series in 2023. HBO achieved this not simply by producing quality programming but also by actively recruiting and nurturing talented newcomers. “It’s worth noting that many of HBO’s actors appear in more than one series,”
Are HBO Max Movies Free With Prime Membership?
You can acquire the HBO Max movie promotion with your Prime membership and then continue your subscription for another $15.99 each month (or at least until Succession is finished). After a 30-day free trial, you can join Amazon Prime for $14.99 a month (thanks, Mom and Dad).
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- What’s New on HBO Max: New Movies, TV Shows & What Leaving
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