The Best Shows to Watch on HBO Max Right Now
Lena Dunham’s Girls is currently having a resurgence among younger generations, and rightfully so. The coming-of-age series, which premiered back in 2012, follows a very unserious friend group who attempt to make lives for themselves in New York City.
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There’s no denying that And Just Like That... is an acquired taste, but fans of the original Sex and the City may still enjoy the mess. The new series follows Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte (no Samantha, sadly) as they navigate New York City in their 50s.
For the book lovers, My Brilliant Friend is an adaptation of Italian author Elena Ferrante’s 2011 novel of the same name. The series follows an intense lifelong friendship between two women in 1950s Naples—from their early days in elementary school to their adult years.
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If you haven’t yet seen Michaela Coel’s fantastic Emmy-winning series, I May Destroy You, now’s your chance. The story follows Arabella (Coel) in the aftermath of an assault that upends her entire life. Coel’s other series, the comedy Chewing Gum, is also on the streamer for your viewing pleasure.
Created by Mindy Kaling, this comedy follows four girls assigned to be roommates their first year of college. Each one of them is facing different challenges, from trying to afford tuition to hiding their sexual identity. The show is funny and light with some soap opera-level twists and turns, and the leads are equally compelling and hilarious.
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Twenty years ago, the world was infected by a terrifying fungus that turns people into, well, zombies. Society breaks down quickly, but a man named Joel (Pedro Pascal) survives even though his teen daughter doesn’t. Years later, Joel is given a chance at redemption when he is tasked with getting another teen girl, Ellie (Bella Ramsey), to safety after it is discovered she’s immune to the highly contagious fungus and possibly the key to a cure.
Created by former Saturday Night Live head writers Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider, The Other Two follows a pair of siblings floundering with their younger brother’s sudden fame. Brooke (Heléne York) and Cary (Drew Tarver) are a brother and sister and desperately trying to find their own road to the spotlight, but face setbacks at every corner. Molly Shannon is a delight as their mother Pat, a Rachel Ray type who is sincere to the bone.
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Based on the novel by Matt Ruff, the story follows Atticus Black, his friend Letitia, and his Uncle George as they traverse the U.S. during the Jim Crow era. The show explores complicated themes with a horror bent, touching on the work of controversial sci-fi writer H.P. Lovecraft.
Starring Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain, this short miniseries is adapted from Ingmar Bergman’s 1973 Swedish film. It follows two people through different eras of their life together, showing how their relationship breaks down over time.
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Each season of Mike White’s award-winning dramedy The White Lotus takes place in a different location of the fictional resort chain. But there are a few throughlines: mysterious murders; pointed satires on gender, race, and class; star-studded casts; and, of course, Jennifer Coolidge. The series is incredibly engaging, nerve-wracking, and at times laugh-out-loud funny. It will also make you feel like traveling...and then make you very afraid to.
The premise of this mystery series changes each season, following a different set of officers in a different place with a different crime to unravel. The case at the center of each of their stories tends to reflect the challenges they face in their personal lives, forcing them into some pretty unconventional detective work. The show starts off strong with a stellar first season starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson.
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One day, 140 million people disappear off the face of the earth. But earth continues, and the people left behind have to grapple with a massive loss that can’t be explained. The show’s protagonist is Kevin Garvey (Justin Theroux), a police officer trying to maintain some sense of normalcy even as his family falls apart—and more and more people are joining a cult of non-speakers who promote their own theories about where everyone has gone.
Co-created by comedy producer Mike Judge, who worked as a Silicon Valley engineer in the 1980s, this series is about computer programmer Richard and his buds as one of their powerful search algorithms gets noticed in Silicon Valley. The series spoofs the culture of the tech industry, and the misadventures of some ordinary guys sucked into a massive bidding war.
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Thony De La Rosa was once a surgeon, but after a move to Las Vegas for the health of her son, she ends up working as a cleaning service worker. After accidentally witnessing a crime committed by a mob syndicate, Thony gets offered a job cleaning up their murders and applying her training as a doctor within their organization—for a lot of money.
A group of moms in a wealthy community meets around their children’s private school, and finds they have a lot in common when a violent incident threatens to expose everyone’s secrets. Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Zoë Kravitz, Laura Dern, and Shailene Woodley make up the all-star cast.
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In this thoughtful comedy, Simon and Kareme are two friends from Englewood, Chicago who are working to come up with their next business venture shortly after graduating from community college.
The title refers to the American Gilded Age, a time when the world was changing rapidly and industry was king. Set in 1882, the show follows naive Marian Brook as she moves to New York City to live with her aunts Agnes van Rhijn (Christine Baranski) and Ada Brook (Cynthia Nixon), following the death of her father. She meets Peggy Scott, an aspiring writer with a difficult family of her own. Both of them must make hard decisions about how to face the new world.
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This documentary-style comedy follows teachers in an underserved middle school in Philadelphia who are trying their best to give their students what the Board of Ed won’t shell out for. There’s also the ongoing romantic tension between creator Quinta Brunson's character Janine and her co-worker Gregory, played by Tyler James Williams, for people who want an additional will-they-won’t they plot.
Created by comedian Danny McBride, this comedy follows celebrity televangelist Eli Gemstone, who is trying to keep his demanding family together while managing their megachurch, the golden cow keeping them all afloat.
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