The 40 Best HBO Series of All Time, Ranked
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."
HBO is the go-to destination for quality television. Don’t believe me? Look no further than the recently wrapped thriller True Detective: Night Country, which became the highest-viewed season of the franchise. Or perhaps The White Lotus, a satire about wealth and greed, that continues to spark fanfare. If that’s not your thing, you could always turn to The Last of Us or the classic mob tale The Sopranos.
You get the point. It’s no secret that HBO has a habit of cranking out incredible programming, but in a sea of streaming services, they rarely get their flowers nowadays. That ends today. As avid television watchers, we can confirm that HBO is the place to be. Aside from their well-known classics, the streamer has a host of new programming that’s sure to keep you entertained. Next month, HBO will release The Regime, starring Kate Winslet as a European Chancellor. Then, in April, you can tune into the espionage thriller The Sympathizer.
In the meantime, there are plenty of other series to dive into. Below, we’ve rounded up (and ranked) the 46 best shows on HBO. Enjoy.
40. In Treatment
In Treatment was one of HBO’s largest experiments. The psychotherapy drama’s first season consisted of 43 (!) episodes, which ran every day over the course of nine weeks. Paul, played by Gabriel Byrne, would see a different weekly client on the episodes scheduled for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc.–just as if their therapy appointment was happening in real time for the audience. While In Treatment wasn’t the breakout hit that HBO needed it to be if it was going to run over 40-episode-long seasons, you have to respect its boldness.
39. Ballers
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson starred as retired NFL player Spencer Strasmore in Ballers, a dramedy about sports management that ran for five seasons on HBO. The pilot was directed by Peter Berg (Friday Night Lights) and explored the world of professional athletes who must find a new life for themselves after their playing careers are over.
38. The Gilded Age
Christine Baranski and Cynthia Nixon in fancy dresses? Sign me up! Following women in 1882 New York City, this period drama explored the conflicts between old and new money in a rigid and exclusive society.
37. The Young Pope
Jude Law starred as the titular Young Pope in this drama about a cardinal from New York who becomes the new Pope Pius XIII. Exploring the inner workings of the vatican's politics, the series was followed by The New Pope, where Law was joined by John Malkovich.
36. My Brilliant Friend
Elena Ferrante's popular coming-of-age novels were brought to life in My Brilliant Friend, the story of two women growing up in Naples. While Elena is able to focus on her studies and her career, her friend, Lila, marries at the age of 16.
35. Mare of Easttown
Kate Winslet starred in this True Detective-inspired crime drama as a detective who must solve the murder of a teenage mother outside the city of Philadelphia. With rich accents and a cold case that has scarred Marianne "Mare" Sheehan for years, the character begins to doubt her abilities as she also battles divorce and a son recently lost to suicide.
34. Big Little Lies
In the crusade that is Reese Witherspoon's complete takeover of media, Big Little Lies marks her most nuanced performance. Based on a novel of the same name, the series closely followed along with the book's plot during Season One to winning effects. Big Little Lies's renewal for a second season? It proved to be a curse for the show. Had that second season not happened, Big Little Lies would be sitting squarely in the Top 10.
33. Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley nearly missed its window. Running for six seasons, the comedy continues to draw critical acclaim—and few fans, even several years after its finale.
32. Hacks
Hacks stars the inimitable Jean Smart as Deborah Vance, a pioneering comedian who has settled into the complacency of a cushy Las Vegas residency. Hannah Einbinder stars opposite Smart as Ava, an outcast 25-year-old comedy writer from Los Angeles. When Deborah stands to lose her residency and Ava’s writing career is on life support, their shared manager pairs them up to revitalize Deborah’s material. Punctuated by caustic barbs and generational conflict, Deborah and Ava’s animosity softens into a growing friendship. Featuring a career-best performance from Smart and a poignant story about generational divides, Hacks is an HBO all-timer.
31. The Righteous Gemstones
The Righteous Gemstones acts almost like a parody of shows like Succession, even though they both run on the same network. Helmed by Danny McBride, the series follows a fictional megachurch leader who has a hard time concealing his hedonistic and arrogant personality.
30. Euphoria
Listen. Euphoria is a lot to take in. (See: dozens o' dicks.) It also will make you extra grateful to not be coming of age in the year of our Lord, 2024. When the high school-set series began, it hinged on Zendaya's performance, but as seasons have continued, its supporting cast has upped the ante. The peephole into addiction, drug access, social pressures, and growing up right now is some of the most visually stimulating and thought-provoking television around.
29. Eastbound & Down
A major comedy vehicle for The Righteous Gemstones'Danny McBride, Eastbound & Down featured the comedian as a burnt-out pro-baseball player who returns to his hometown to teach physical education. The series also had several celebrity cameos, including Will Ferrell, Adam Scott, Craig Robinson, Matthew McConaughey, Lily Tomlin, and Jason Sudeikis.
28. Girls
Created by Lena Dunham, the show follows four young women as they step into adulthood while living in New York City... for better and worse. They can be messy and hypocritical and privileged, but isn't that the point? Have you met a New Yorker before?! What Dunham created is a triumph, documenting 21st-century women who dare to be adventurous. What cements Girls's spot on this list is that it's a series too cool to care if we remembered it at all.
27. I May Destroy You
Michaela Coel's HBO series was widely seen as one of the best series of 2020. In the years since, it's only grown in esteem. Unrelenting and impossibly brave in its discussion of sexual assault, Coel's character, Arabella, faces the truths of her past and how it affects her job, her relationships with those closest to her, and most importantly, herself.
26. The Last of Us
The mushroom monster show made me cry, and that’s an experience that easily vaulted HBO’s hit drama on this list. Featuring the acting talents of Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, The Last of Us is also the best video game to live-action adaptation we’ve seen from any scripted series or film. I’m still reeling from that season finale—and it only gets crazier from here on out.
25. The Newsroom
Like The West Wing but about a news station, The Newsroom was a drama that eerily followed politics and how they’re covered in the news, greatly bolstering the career of writer Aaron Sorkin. It was a massive hit at the time, even if some moments are hard to go back and watch today.
24. Flight of the Conchords
A little, niche comedy from New Zealand about the country’s self-described “fourth most popular comedy folk duo," Flight of the Conchords gained a worldwide cult following for its deadpan humor and catchy songs. Fun fact: multi-instrumentalists Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement got their start before Conchords in a band alongside Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi.
23. Boardwalk Empire
What happens when you combine Steve Buscemi, New Jersey, and the prohibition era? You end up with a really great HBO show. Boardwalk Empire only falls this low because the rest of the list is so incredibly strong.
22. Chernobyl
Nothing like a massive nuclear accident to get the family around the television, right? The 2019 miniseries was a stalwart during awards season and still (!) holds a 95 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
21. Treme
Treme had a relatively quiet run beginning in 2010, which is a damn shame because it is one of the best shows HBO has ever released. Following the events of Hurricane Katrina, it serves as a love letter to New Orleans. Treme made the city a character, with all its food, music, and culture.
20. Oz
Oz was ahead of its time. Set in a fictional men's prison, the series ran for six seasons and tackled topics that were, at the time of its 1997 premiere, too taboo for any other channel. It helped usher in a new era of television, one that skips the fluff and gets into difficult conversations.
19. Getting On
Laurie Metcalfe paired with Niecy Nash and Alex Borstein is an indomitable trio. Together, on Getting On, you have one of the most accomplished casts on television representing overworked doctors and nurses. It's a series that doesn't come up enough, and it certainly hits a little differently now in 2024.
18. Station Eleven
Station Eleven deserves this spot. With standout performances from Lori Petty, Himesh Patel, and Mackenzie Davis, this series about a post-pandemic world is all about the poetry of being alive—and the bravery it takes to push through when just surviving isn't enough.
17. The White Lotus
In this sensational anthology series, a group of privileged assholes descend on a luxury resort named The White Lotus, where chaos ensues. These travelers soon collide with one another, as well as with the put-upon hotel staff. The pressure-cooker plot dredges up secrets and crimes, all while tackling issues of wealth, privilege, and infidelity. This is HBO magic at its finest—and we can't wait for season 3.
16. Watchmen
Watchmen changed the television landscape in late 2019. It also, as few shows do, exceeded expectations—which, with Damon Lindelof and Regina King involved, were high. In fact, the television adaptation of the graphic novel eclipsed the fanfare and left viewers hungry for more. In a rare move, Lindelof bowed out, leaving us with only one iconic run of episodes. But boy, was this great TV.
15. Insecure
Issa Rae set out to create a show that captured a bit of her life, but what she ended up with is something entirely phenomenal: a comedic look inside the life of two Black women trying to find success in Los Angeles.
14. Band of Brothers
Created by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks (ever heard of them?), Band of Brothers is one of the greatest World War II dramatizations we've ever seen. Gritty, gripping, and above all, devastating—the miniseries is one of a few projects that set the standard for how we remember World War II on screen.
13. Six Feet Under
Six Feet Under—a dark, comedic look at death through the lens of a funeral home—has only gotten better as the years have passed. The writing is smart, the acting is stellar, and the meditation on grieving is completely cathartic. Plus, the cast is stacked: Peter Krause, Lauren Ambrose, Rachel Griffiths, and Dexter before he was Dexter? Damn.
12. True Detective
True Detective vaults to the twelfth spot on this list for two reasons: 1/ Season 1's impact on television history, and 2/ Issa López's brilliant work in True Detective: Night Country. Would we have shows like Under the Banner of Heaven, Mare of Easttown—or the similarly named Mayor of Kingstown—without True Detective? Would the true-crime boom have still happened? Maybe, but at least we wouldn’t have to watch Vince Vaughn walk around in the desert for so long.
11. The Larry Sanders Show
Garry Shandling broke the mold with The Larry Sanders Show. The series may have been a fictional talk show, but something about the way Shandling infused his natural hosting talent with the vibe of the pretend Larry Sanders is magic that hasn't been recreated in the years since it wrapped.
10. Barry
Bill Hader was stellar on Saturday Night Live!, but his turn on HBO's Barry is the role he was meant for. The dark comedy follows Hader as Barry, a Marine-turned-hitman who just happened to find his bliss (or, you know, get closer to it) by joining the theater scene in Los Angeles. The dream! Just remember to always yes and...
9. Deadwood
Deadwood is the kind of period piece that feels like it just belongs on HBO. The drama, set in a lawless mining town in post-Civil War America, is one of HBO's most recognizable exports for good reason.
8. Sex and the City
Revolutionary for its time, I couldn't help but wonder... could this list ever include Sex and the City outside of the top five? With the reboot, things get tainted a bit. Is that fair? Perhaps not. But that's the risk you take when you play with an existing batch of characters. The adventures of Carrie, Samantha, Miranda, and Charlotte defined a generation and set up the idea that a show about women could be just a risqué as anything else on television.
7. Curb Your Enthusiasm
Improv on television? Sounds like a recipe for disaster. But former Seinfeld co-creator Larry David managed to create one of the most hilarious and unpredictable comedies by turning the focus on himself. (Yes, we're upset that he's ending the series.)
6. Game of Thrones
Placing Game of Thrones is difficult. The phenomenon of fanfare is hard to ignore. (But so is that very uneven final season.) If The Sopranos defined the genre of high-end television, then you have to give GoT the credit for reinventing it. The show has a following unlike anything else in recent memory, as well as some of the most intense scenes we've seen in television history. If you have a problem with where it landed on the list, tell Cersei it was me.
5. Veep
Selina Meyer predicted something that we could have never seen coming: what happens when someone absolutely bananas ends up in the highest office in the land. But more than that, Julia Louis-Dreyfus created a character that set her far apart from her Seinfeld years, proving herself to be one of the most iconic comedians of our time.
4. Succession
Succession might have been a slow burn when it came to building an audience, but after four successful seasons, the sardonic drama—comedy?—about an elite media family is the definitive look into 21st-century wealth and dominance.
3. The Leftovers
The Leftovers dared to be adventurous in ways that many shows shy away from: big mysteries, a controversial ending, and a crash course in just how good Carrie Coon is.
2. The Sopranos
Never has a cut to black caused so much controversy. But well beyond its shockingly ambivalent ending, the mob series set the tone for modern, elevated television. The Sopranos is responsible for prestige TV as we know it. Ultimately, no other series on this list would be what it is without its guidance.
1. The Wire
At the top of every HBO list is one of two culprits: The Sopranos or The Wire. While The Sopranos may have edged out The Leftovers, it's just impossible to beat The Wire, at least here at Esquire. The show captured the complexity of the Baltimore narcotics scene and the War on Drugs in a way that all the talking heads could not. This isn't just HBO's best series—it's one of the greatest television shows of all time.
You Might Also Like
