What are the best shows on HBO?

[Dolemite]

As mentioned, you can't really go wrong on HBO. The best TV of the last 20 years has come mostly from HBO and AMC.

Personally, I think Band of Brothers is the greatest thing to ever grace a TV screen. It's a must experience.

Agreed. I conepletely and utterly loathe anything that Matthew Schwimmer has been in (especially Friends) but he was completely and utterly amazing in BOB. He played the basic training drill instructor to perfection.

 

[Player big P]

I've been rewatching The Sopranos lately, and the best part of having already seen it is that I know exactly what I can fast forward through or skip completely.

 

[les Habs]

Tough to go wrong with HBO. Definitely throw a plug in for Deadwood here though. Best show HBO has done to this day. The Wire is also up there, but Deadwood is still tops.

 

[Shareefruck]

To say that Schwimmer surprisingly didn't hurt Band of Brothers and did a solid job is one thing, but calling his performance in it utterly amazing is a stretch, IMO. I thought it was just a so-so/serviceable effort that isn't infuriating but also did kind of take me out of it a bit.

 

[Miamipuck]

In my opinion Deadwood is far and away the best show HBO has ever done. It's not for everyone I will admit. I have seen each episode countless times and it never gets old. The acting and writing is second to none imo. In fact, all of the actors from Deadwood, save a few, have had extensive work on other really good shows, which is very telling.

The Wire is a distant 2nd. It would have been much closer but the 5th season was not even close to the quality of the prior 4 and downgraded the series in my opinion.

I get shit for this, but I think the Sopranos is without a doubt the single most over rated show in TV history. There were some seasons that just bored me to tears. But to each their own, that's why we have opinions.

Edit: Band of Brothers is a must watch. It's more of a mini series than an actual series. As such, I will say it's up there with the best things produced on any network. It has everything for everyone, it even brings in the real guys, who are mostly not around/living any longer, (god rest their souls)........it was wonderful and it is right up there with Deadwood as far as quality goes.

 

[member 51464]

I had an expiring Best Buy gift certificate many years ago and bought both Rome and Deadwood on DVD. They remain unopened on my shelf.

 

[Shareefruck]

For some reason, Band of Brothers still doesn't totally work for me. It's well made and admirable, but I don't have it very high up, personally. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's almost like some self-insisting Spielberg-isms seem to creep into it or something, even though he didn't direct it.

 

[Player big P]

I had an expiring Best Buy gift certificate many years ago and bought both Rome and Deadwood on DVD. They remain unopened on my shelf.

Those are easily two of the best shows HBO has ever put out. The first season of Rome is as perfect a series of television as there's ever been.

 

[peate]

Deadwood and Rome both get a big thumbs up from me.

The Sopranos had its ups and downs but overall, it was good.

I never got into The Wire, saw the pilot and thought, is that it? Maybe I'll go back later. Band of Brothers was also very good. There are so many quality shows on HBO, it's hard to choose among them. Veep is also worth a mention, won lots of awards, so is Silicon Valley.

Other I enjoy: Westworld, True Detective, Boardwalk Empire, and the Mini Series Big Little Lies was a beautifully put together story with great actors.

Game of Thrones however will go down as the uncontested #1 HBO show due to its big budget production and commercial success. It's also a damn fun show to watch and get lost in.

 

[ArchAngel55]

The Wire
John Adams
Band of Brothers
Spawn

 

[aufheben]

No particular order...

In Treatment - Gonna go off the board with this first one, as everyone more or less agrees on the same 3-5 HBO shows that are almost universally head and shoulders above anything else out there, but I don't think I've ever seen this show mentioned once on HF. I could listen to Gabriel Byrne talk for hours. He plays a middle-aged psychologist who sees several patients each season, originally aired five-night-a-week series. Yep, this show is literally people coming to Gabriel Byrne for therapy, almost never showing us the world outside of his home office. There's some really nice character development, and unsurprisingly plenty of emotion. If being a fly on the wall during therapy sessions is something that interests you, or just psychology in general, you will really like this. The only downside to this show is that Gabriel Byrne can't be my actual therapist.

The Wire - Best writing...ever. Not sure what to say about this show that hasn't already been said a million times; really unbelievable, although I do know some people find it boring and can't get into it. Edit: Yes I even see a poster a few posts above who didn't really get into it either.

The Sopranos - Still awesome writing but IMO more enjoyable than The Wire. Acting, soundtrack, and cinematography all through the roof. Hilarious. Tbh even though it's a drama...this might be the funniest show I've ever seen. Not gonna post how many times I've watched this all the way through because it is really just embarrassing.

Six Feet Under - Brutal (in a good way), very funny, tremendous acting. Really just a 10/10. While this is as great as any other show, (especially if you're a fan of realism), it has a unique ability to really piece right through you, and the gravity of the subject matter makes this a bit more of an infrequent watch for me compared to other shows listed. Six Feet Under creates a relationship between the characters and the viewers that is unlikely anything else I've seen.

True Detective (S1) - Almost intoxicating to watch, the only catch IMO is that it's just one season.

Game of Thrones - It's Game of Thrones.

 

[Datsyukian Deke]

Last show I enjoyed on HBO was John Adams, very well done, indeed.

 

[Brodeur]

If anybody enjoyed The Jinx, there's another set of episodes forthcoming. The first one aired last night, but was a mix of a recap plus coverage about him being arrested the day before the previous "season finale."

I had mostly forgotten everything, although the name of his Texas lawyer was burned in my memory.

 

[HanSolo]

I know it's an old thread but it's crazy to me it got to three pages without a single mention of Veep.

 

[AlaBlueShirt]

Succession, Fargo, and White lotus hotel couple that came to mind outside of the ones that have been mentioned here so far.

 

[Richard]

Deadwood and Rome both get a big thumbs up from me.

The Sopranos had its ups and downs but overall, it was good.

I never got into The Wire, saw the pilot and thought, is that it? Maybe I'll go back later. Band of Brothers was also very good. There are so many quality shows on HBO, it's hard to choose among them. Veep is also worth a mention, won lots of awards, so is Silicon Valley.

Other I enjoy: Westworld, True Detective, Boardwalk Empire, and the Mini Series Big Little Lies was a beautifully put together story with great actors.

Game of Thrones however will go down as the uncontested #1 HBO show due to its big budget production and commercial success. It's also a damn fun show to watch and get lost in.

Deadwood is the best show HBO has ever done - the writing is superb but what so impressive is the dialogue. It is lyrical and positively Shakespearean - I've never heard the C word used so splendidly. The monologues are riveting - seriously, go back to listen to Al hoot and swear and holler. Amazing. Deadwood was unfortunately canceled due to HBO's short sightedness but they did greenlight a movie which was also very, very good taken together with the work of the series (not really a stand alone movie though).

The Wire is the second-best thing that HBO has ever produced - listen take the pilot and the first two or three episodes and give it I chance, I know you'll be like WHAT is so good about this? But, trust me, binge a whole season. It's a rare show that is better with a second viewing. The characters arrive as they are for the entirety of the show in episode 1. You'll be like shit that's McNaulty..... It's an extremely slow burn and it drops your off right in the middle of it and expects you, the audience, to be able to keep up and pay attention. Little things pop out and then are never referenced again (in much less gotcha moments than the Sopranos for example).

Game of thrones, till season 5, was extremely good, tied with the two above. Thrones suffered when the dialogue was not ripped directly from the novels (forecasting the utter crash of quality of seasons 6+). Some Thrones scenes pop, others fizzle. The dialogue can be on the level of Deadwood or utterly pedestrian and juvenile.

The Wire and Deadwood stand above anything else HBO has produced, with the Sopranos probably coming a distant 3rd (contrary to the public, I loved the ending while not enjoying the last mega-season as much as the early ones). Boardwalk Empire had a GREAT pilot and was hitting its stride in season 2, then they killed of Jimmy, who was carrying the show. It never recovered. (I like Steve Buscemi but he was never interesting enough to carry the show as Nucky, the character never really popped.) I'll offer the Last of Us as a very good contender for number 4, and I think had one of the best first seasons of any HBO show with the exception of Deadwood and possibly Thrones (with its latter episodes becoming worse in quality, which do not bode well for season 2.....).

 

[SimGrindcore]

My all time favorites are:
Chernobyl
True Detective (season 1 and 3)
Game of Thrones
House of the Dragon
Band of Brothers
The Pacific

Honorable mentions:
True Blood
Deadwood
The Last of Us

Shows I watched but was "meh" to "OK":
True Detective (season 2 and 4)
Rome
Vinyl
The Plot Against America
Boardwalk Empire

Shows yet to watch:
John Adams
Sillicon Valley
Westworld
The Time Traveler's Wife (I liked to movie)
The Idol (The Weeknd fan here)
Watchmen

 

[DaaaaB's]

Succession, Fargo, and White lotus hotel couple that came to mind outside of the ones that have been mentioned here so far.

Fargo is great but it's not an HBO show.

 

[The Marquis]

Carnivale needs more love.

So good, and sadly too shortlived. Anybody who likes a little art in their HBO style TV, Carnivale is for you. Beautifully shot, extraordinary characters and an engaging story.

Also, The Last of Us is some great TV. It's a bit different than other HBO shows, but still great.

Aside from that recommendation, everybody else has probably already touched on, but my opinions, since I'm sorta bored at the moment:

The Sopranos is listed by many as the greatest TV show ever for a reason. It's that good.
The Wire is great, but has one pretty weak season and it's early on and was tough for me to get through.
True Detective Season 1 is amazing. Season 2 is fine, and I thought was good to start, but lost me by the end.
Game of Thrones is classic fantasy TV. If you like Fantasy as a TV or movie genre, it's about as good as it actually gets, despite the flaws of the later seasons (Season 6 was good, people forget and lump it in with the last two, which while entertaining, aren't particularly "good")
House of the Dragon seems good so far, I dig it.
Oz was a good show, but got a little redundant as it progressed. Still worth a watch, no question.
Six Feet Under was brilliant TV for it's time and holds up today
His Dark Materials is a really great show if you want to avoid the gratuitous sex and violence of every last one of the other shows on HBO. I actually really enjoyed this show. Very different.
The Righteous Gemstones is pretty damn funny. Not for everybody for sure, including me, but I laughed a lot before getting bored of the story itself.

I don't do political or business office shows at all, so I haven't seen a bunch of the well respected shows in those worlds. I also haven't seen Deadwood, which seems right down my alley, but damn... just listing all of these above makes me feel like I need to get out more.

 

[Unholy Diver]

I haven't watched many but I did enjoy these ones


Life's too Short
The Last of Us
Eastbound and Down
The Righteous Gemstones
Chernobyl

 

[Bruins4Lifer]

The Leftovers
Deadwood
The Wire
The Sopranos

I've watched most of HBO's highly acclaimed shows, and those are the 4 best dramas that stand above the rest to me.

 

[frisco]

HBO All-Time (in order)
The Pacific
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Sex And The City
Band Of Brothers
Winnin' Time
Sharp Objects

My Best-Carey

 

[Babe Ruth]

Tales from the Crypt was a good HBO series..

But, The Sopranos is probably my favorite.
I also liked Curb Your Enthusiasm, and the old anthology 'Ray Bradbury Theater', that started on HBO. I've only had HBO sporadically, so probably missed some good shows over the years.

 

[Deadpool8812]

For comedies, Eastbound and Down