HBO Max was one of the most popular streaming services in the world due to both the volume and the quality of the shows and movies on the platform. You’ve probably noticed when you log into HBO Max that the platform has been replaced by Max. What does this mean? WarnerMedia and Discovery have merged all of their content into one convenient location. You can still enjoy all of the shows like Succession and The Sopranos that were available on HBO Max, and this new streaming service also includes the kinds of reality shows that were available on Discovery+. Essentially, the libraries of the two services have been merged.
Whatever kind of show you’re looking for, you’re likely to find it on Max. From iconic dramas to some of the funniest comedies ever created, every show on this list is a must-watch, whether it’s 30 years old or just came out this year. Here are the best Max shows.
The Wire (2002)
5 Seasons
Genre
Crime, Drama
Cast
Dominic West, Lance Reddick, Sonja Sohn
Created by
David Simon
Arguably the greatest show in the history of TV generally, not just HBO, The Wire tells the story of the Baltimore drug trade from a wide array of different perspectives. The series famously takes on a variety of different perspectives, from the school system to the police department to the drug dealers themselves, to provide a humanist portrait of how the system is failing everybody. It’s a brilliant, incisive series that reminds us that people are what matters most. It’s a stinging indictment of everything, and that’s the whole point.
Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000)
11 Seasons
Genre
Comedy
Cast
Larry David, Jeff Garlin, Susie Essman
Created by
Larry David
A side-splitting comedy to add to your collection, Curb Your Enthusiasm is a Larry David masterpiece that is both absurd and rooted in the normal annoyances of everyday life. Wonderfully satirizing and exaggerating his own life, Larry David attempts to weave through small inconveniences but continues to get hung up on the details, causing an episode-length set of problems for him and his friends. Curb has been going for well over a decade, and it’s one of the best HBO shows.
The White Lotus (2021)
2 Seasons
Genre
Comedy, Drama, Mystery
Cast
Theo James, F. Murray Abraham, Jennifer Coolidge
Created by
Mike White
Both a high-strung mystery and a pretty great comedy, The White Lotus is a show that will make you want to scream if you’ve ever worked in the service industry before. The show takes its name from a fictional, expensive destination resort chain with locations in Hawaii and Italy where only the richest people go, and where, if money is never an issue, multitudes of other issues are either created out of boredom or sheer arrogance.
Barry (2018)
4 Seasons
Genre
Comedy, Crime
Cast
Bill Hader, Stephen Root, Henry Winkler
Created by
Bill Hader, Alec Berg
An excellent but undefinable mix of genres, Barry is a story of a depressed hitman who discovers his passion for acting after being sent to Hollywood to find his latest “mark.” Featuring Bill Hader as the hitman and Henry Winkler as his acting coach, the show draws frequent and hilarious parallels between the world of acting and Barry’s actual job. As the show evolved, it only continued to get more experimental and earned even more acclaim, as a result.
The Rehearsal (2022)
1 Season
Genre
Comedy, Documentary
Cast
Nathan Fielder
Created by
Nathan Fielder
One of the more surreal limited series to ever grace Max, The Rehearsal is a documentary series that follows Nathan Fielder as he attempts to rehearse actual situations from life so that he is prepared when they happen for real. While the show starts out with a fairly light, funny premise, it eventually becomes a rumination on what it means to go through life not knowing what comes next and how impossible it ultimately is to prepare for whatever might be coming.
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (2014)
10 Seasons
Genre
Talk, Comedy, News
Cast
John Oliver
Created by
John Oliver
One of the most hard-hitting sources for what’s actually going on in the world today, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver is highly informative and thorough, even as Oliver is careful to balance his topics out with a panoply of jokes. Oliver’s polemics have only gotten sharper with each passing year, and while it’s a bit annoying that he just keeps winning the Emmy, it’s hard to argue that he doesn’t sort of deserve it.
Watchmen (2019)
1 Season
Genre
Crime, Drama, Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Cast
Regina King, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jeremy Irons
Created by
Damon Lindelof
Set in an alternate history and based on the graphic novel of the same name, Watchmen is a show with plenty of ideas on its mind that is also the perfect complement to the graphic novel story it takes its inspiration from. Anchored by an unbelievably good performance from Regina King, and featuring an ending that neatly ties the entire story together, Watchmen is one of the great HBO series ever produced.
The Larry Sanders Show (1992)
6 Seasons
Genre
Comedy
Cast
Garry Shandling, Jeffrey Tambor, Wallace Langham
Created by
Dennis Klein, Garry Shandling
Truly one-of-a-kind, The Larry Sanders Show followed the behind-the-scenes happenings of a late-night talk show. Due to its endlessly witty and crisp writing, the show is an absolutely hilarious perspective on how these shows run that still feels fresh today. Featuring an ensemble of all-time great comedic talents, few series have had a bigger impact on what comedy is than The Larry Sanders Show.
Hacks (2021)
2 Seasons
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Cast
Jean Smart, Hannah Einbinder, Carl Clemons-Hopkins
Created by
Jen Statsky, Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs
When a young and inexperienced comedy writer happens upon the once-incredible Las Vegas comedian Deborah Vance (Jean Smart), a twisted and dysfunctional mentorship begins to form and fester. Hacks is as cleverly written as it is dark, detailing the highs and lows of the entertainment industry and all the push and pull it takes to make it whether you’re in the spotlight or not.
Chernobyl (2019)
1 Season
Genre
Drama
Cast
Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgård, Emily Watson
Created by
Craig Mazin
Chernobyl tells the story of the brave men and women who fought to extinguish the disastrous 1986 nuclear accident, as well as the irresponsible and arrogant men who made it happen. Besides having some fantastic characters backed by some incredible performances, the story told in Chernobyl is an important reminder about the pervasive power of the truth, even when every attempt is made to obfuscate it.
Band of Brothers (2001)
1 Season
Genre
Drama, War & Politics
Cast
Damian Lewis, Donnie Wahlberg, Eion Bailey
A show known in part because it managed to cast so many stars before they were stars, Band of Brothers is like an incredible — and accurate — war movie that just keeps going. Following the American 101st Airborne Division through their missions in WWII, “Easy Company” goes through hardships and loss as we follow their story, and see interviews with the actual soldiers who were a part of those missions.
Succession (2018)
4 Seasons
Genre
Drama
Cast
Nicholas Braun, Brian Cox, Kieran Culkin
Created by
Jesse Armstrong
It’s hard to summarize what Succession is about without it feeling contrived or trite in nature. The greatness of this dark comedy is in the minutiae of a conversation, a zipping one-liner that cuts razor-sharp wounds in your psyche, or the pity you feel for the rich people on screen who should be infinitely happy, yet aren’t. The Roy family has generational wealth and generational trauma; the fact that the latter often outweighs the former is what makes the show so absolutely compelling. After four seasons, Succession has proven to be one of the best shows on HBO Max.
The Sopranos (1999)
6 Seasons
Genre
Drama
Cast
James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Jamie-Lynn Sigler
Created by
David Chase
The Sopranos first aired its pilot almost a quarter of a century ago, but the show that brought the world the misery and the mishaps of Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) and his business and family associates is still a story many people can relate to. With the mob as the backdrop to something much deeper, Tony’s juggling act of being a gangster and a father is often secondary in the story to the questions around Tony’s mental health and the way toxic masculinity absolutely ruined a generation of men.
The Last of Us (2023)
1 Season
Genre
Drama
Cast
Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey
Created by
Craig Mazin, Neil Druckmann
Video game adaptations basically never work, which is part of the reason so many people were apprehensive about The Last of Us. In spite of all of those concerns, though, this show, which follows a young girl and an older smuggler as they travel across the country 20 years after an apocalyptic virus decimated humanity, delivered on everything fans of the show wanted. Telling the story of the first game, The Last of Us is a story about found family, survival, and the greater good, and it’s anchored by two incredible performances from Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal.
Game of Thrones (2011)
8 Seasons
Genre
Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Drama, Action & Adventure
Cast
Peter Dinklage, Kit Harington, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
Created by
David Benioff, D.B. Weiss
Fans may not have been thrilled with the way Game of Thrones ended, but it’s hard to deny that the show had an immense cultural impact. Telling a fantastical story that involves ice zombies, dragons, and tons of palace intrigue, Game of Thrones at its best knew how to balance its fascinating world with intricate, idiosyncratic characters who were often smart and always unpredictable. Featuring an ensemble cast giving some of the best performances in TV history, as well as some stunning set pieces, Game of Thrones is the kind of sprawling fantasy saga we don’t get enough of, even if it wasn’t perfect.
Station Eleven (2021)
1 Season
Genre
Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Mystery
Cast
Mackenzie Davis, Himesh Patel, Matilda Lawler
Created by
Patrick Somerville
Adapted from a novel of the same name, Station Eleven tells the story of the aftermath of a global pandemic that wipes out most of humanity. It was released in the middle of an actual pandemic, and so was understandably pretty brutal viewing for some people. If you can make it through the COVID-19 parallels, though, Station Eleven is a beautiful show about what it means to survive in a world where everything has changed. Featuring a riveting performance from Mackenzie Davis and a broad ensemble cast, Station Eleven is one of the best and most underseen limited series Max has ever released.
The Leftovers (2014)
3 Seasons
Genre
Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Drama
Cast
Justin Theroux, Amy Brenneman, Christopher Eccleston
Created by
Tom Perrotta, Damon Lindelof
Although it was critically acclaimed throughout its three-season run, The Leftovers never got the love it deserved from awards voters or the public. The show, which imagines a world in which 2% of the population just disappeared, and the other 98% are left to cope with their loss, is a beautiful show about unimaginable grief and the impossibility of ever truly moving on. Featuring standout performances from Justin Theroux, Carrie Coon, and the rest of its sprawling ensemble, The Leftovers is a beautiful, weird show about living with loss.
True Detective (2014)
4 Seasons
Genre
Drama
Cast
Jodie Foster, Kali Reis, Fiona Shaw
Created by
Issa López, Nic Pizzolatto
It’s been a full decade since the first season of True Detective premiered, and every other prestige crime show is still trying to imitate it. This anthology series follows a different investigation in every season, and while those seasons vary in quality, all of them are fascinating for one reason or another. Because the show is an anthology, it’s also able to draw in incredible talents who may not be willing to commit to a longer-running show. From Matthew McConaughey to Jodie Foster, True Detective has more than enough wattage to make it worth watching for their performances alone.
Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV (2024)
1 Season
Genre
Documentary, Crime
This documentary series became an instant phenomenon when it hit Max, telling the stories of various former child actors who had worked at Nickelodeon and been abused in a wide variety of ways. Quiet on Set may not be surprising to anyone who has been following the MeToo revelations of recent years, but that doesn’t make the stories that unfold over the course of the series any less heartbreaking. If any documentary is going to convince you that child acting should be highly regulated, it’s going to be Quiet on Set.
Deadwood (2004)
3 Seasons
Genre
Western, Crime, Drama
Cast
Timothy Olyphant, Ian McShane, Molly Parker
Created by
David Milch
One of the most undersung masterpieces of the golden era of prestige TV, Deadwood is set in the town of Deadwood in the days of the Old West, when there were no laws except the ones a man could enforce. As cliched as that description may sound, Deadwood managed to make some of the most compelling drama in TV history out of its combination of real and imagined characters from the history of the West. Although it didn’t get a chance to end on its own terms, Deadwood‘s three-season run is every bit as great as any of HBO’s all-time great series.
What shows are coming to Max in May?
May 1
- Guy’s Grocery Games, Season 35 (Food Network)
- My 600-lb Life: Where Are They Now? (TLC)
May 2
- Hacks, Season 3 (Max Original)
- Selena + Restaurant, Season 1 (Food Network)
- Six Is Not A Crowd (Felices Los 6), Season 1 (Max Original)
May 3
- Batwheels, Season 2B (Cartoon Network)
- Stop Making Sense (A24 2023 Re-Release)
- Teen Titans Go!, Season 8 (Cartoon Network)
- Zillow Gone Wild, Season 1 (HGTV)
May 4
- America’s Backyard Gold, Season 1 (Discovery Channel)
May 5
- People Magazine Killer Investigates, Season 1 (ID)
May 6
- Mini Beat Power Rockers, S4B
- Next Baking Master: Paris, Season 1 (Food Network)
- Yellowstone Wardens, Season 4 (Animal Planet)
May 7
- Mecum Full Throttle: Houston TX 2024 (Motor Trend)
- Outdaughtered, Season 10 (TLC)
May 8
- In Pursuit with John Walsh, Season 5 (ID)
- Stupid Pet Tricks, Season 1 (TBS)
May 12
- Expedition From Hell: The Lost Tapes (Discovery Channel)
- Naked and Afraid XL, Season 10 (Discovery Channel)
May 13
- SMILING FRIENDS, Season 2 (Adult Swim)
- Summer Baking Championship, Season 2 (Food Network)
May 14
- Doubling Down with the Derricos, Season 5 (TLC)
May 15
- Botched Bariatrics, Season 1 (TLC)
- Ghost Adventures, Season 28 (Discovery Channel)
May 16
- Murder in the Heartland (ID)
May 17
- My Lottery Dream Home, Season 15 (Discovery Channel)
May 18
- Design Down Under, Season 2 (Magnolia Network)
May 19
- Ciao House, Season 2 (Food Network)
May 20
- Space Shuttle Columbia: The Final Flight, Limited Series (CNN Original Series)
May 21
- Elephants vs. Man with Nick Paton Walsh (CNN Original)
- Hell on Earth: The Verónica Case (La Mano En El Fuego) (Max Original)
May 22
- Moonshiners: Master Distiller (Discovery Channel)
May 23
- Last Chance Garage, Season 1 (Motor Trend)
- Romário: The Guy (Romário: O Cara), Season 1 (Max Original)
- Texas Metal’s Loud and Lifted, Season 2 (Motor Trend)
May 24
- Caught: Wild and Weird America (Discovery Channel)
- Diary of an Old Home, Season 4 (Magnolia Network)
May 25
- Mysteries of the Abandoned: Hidden America (Discovery Channel)
May 27
- 90 Day Fiancé: UK, Season 3
- Two Guys Garage, Season 23 (Motor Trend)
May 29
- Homicide Hunter: American Detective, Season 4 (ID)
- Traces of Love (Evidências Do Amor) (Max Original)
May 30
- Outchef’d, Season 3 (Food Network)
May 31
- Gold Rush: Parker’s Trail, Season 3 (Discovery Channel)
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