These five HBO original TV shows deserve way more attention than they ever got. The catalog of HBO original TV shows is filled with some of the greatest TV shows of all time. The Sopranos, The Wire, Band of Brothers, and much, much more can be found on the network synonymous with prestige TV.
It’s not just older shows that inflate the average Rotten Tomatoes score of HBO, either. The White Lotus, Task, and The Gilded Age are some of the most acclaimed series on television right now. You could choose a series at random on HBO Max, and you’d likely land on something stellar.
With so much great television, it’s easy for some things to get lost. There are so many fantastic TV shows on HBO Max that most people probably haven’t even heard of. They come in all genres, are filled with award-winning actors, and earn widespread acclaim, and they need to be celebrated way more often.
The Franchise (2024)
I think if more people had known about The Franchise, the comedy satire would not have been canceled after one season. The British series, produced by Jon Brown, Armando Iannucci, and Sam Mendes, is a searing takedown of the current movie industry, particularly regarding superhero movies.
The Franchise takes place on the movie set of a blockbuster superhero film, focusing mostly on Daniel Kumar (Himesh Patel), an overworked assistant director who is trying to retain his love of cinema while having to decide things like which hero cape would be easier to animate. It’s wickedly smart and uncomfortably honest at times.
Getting On (2013-2015)
Getting On is an American adaptation of the British series of the same name, and is set in the Billy Barnes Extended Care Unit of a down-on-its-luck medical center in Long Beach, California. The ensemble workplace comedy follows the day-to-day lives of the nurses and doctors stuck there with heart, respect, and a lot of laughs.
Getting On does not shy away from the more unpleasant parts of hospital life, both the bureaucratic kinds as well as the medical kinds. It’s the type of comedy show people often complain we don’t get enough of anymore, one filled start to finish with laughs, but with enough heart and story to keep you invested.
Perry Mason (2020-2023)
Based on Erle Stanley Gardner’s character of the same name, who had another famous series in the 1960s, HBO’s Perry Mason stars Matthew Rhys as the famous lawyer. Season 1 goes back even further Mason’s life, however, showing his time as a private investigator before he became a full-fledged lawyer.
It’s a gripping series, not least because of Rhys’ nuanced portrayal of a man struggling to hold himself together and defend those trapped in an unfair justice system. The visuals and production of the series are absolutely beautiful and perfectly stylish, capturing the noir and the era in equal measure.
Treme (2010-2013)
Treme is a criminally underseen show that explores a crucial aspect of American culture that never gets its due. The series is set in Tremé, a neighborhood of New Orleans, just a few months after Hurricane Katrina. The series details the lives of the many people there attempting to rebuild after the devastation.
Forget Princess and the Frog and True Detective season 1; if you want to learn about Louisiana and New Orleans culture, check out Treme. It’s a wonderfully conceived show that is filled to the brim with exciting and unusual characters, dense plotlines, and adherence to showing the real New Orleans.
Somebody Somewhere (2022-2024)
Somebody Somewhere
- Release Date
-
2022 – 2024-00-00
- Network
-
HBO Max
- Writers
-
Hannah Bos, Paul Thureen, Patricia Breen
Somebody Somewhere is a brilliant, emotional, tear-jerking, painfully honest comedy starring Bridget Everett as Sam Miller, who has moved back to her Midwest hometown to care for her dying sister. After she passes in the pilot, Sam is left to face life in a place she’s intimately familiar with, much to her frustration.
Few TV shows, including those that can be found on HBO, manage to capture humanity so succinctly as Somebody Somewhere. It’s a graceful, sweet story filled with clever writing, hilarious jokes, and moments of emotion that hit you like a truck until you start laughing again, just like real life.
