The greatest shows and movies on HBO Max bring high-quality streaming entertainment directly into your living room. HBO Max is our top pick among the finest streaming services because of its extensive library of fantastic content taken from WarnerMedia archives, and prestige programs from HBO. Its own edgy originals.
The top HBO Max episodes and movies cater to a wide range of tastes. HBO dramas such as Succession, animated comedy, feel-good reality series, compelling documentaries, and stand-up specials are all available. They also have original programming, like the Emmy-nominated comedy Hacks as Well as the Flight Attendant. And more are added every month.
It’s a lot, even though the HBO Max apps still require a lot of work. So, instead of getting lost in the library.
What will you see here?
Rothaniel
Jerrod Carmichael has spent most of his decade-long career as a comedian and actor flying beneath the radar. His NBC comedy The Carmichael Show was discontinued after three seasons due to a lack of success. But, owing to a Saturday Night Live hosting role and his current HBO comedy special. Rothaniel, he’s coming into the mainstream culture collective consciousness.
Carmichael and director Bo Burnham have built an almost unbearably close-set that promotes live audience engagement. While also reveals a long-held secret about the comedian’s personal life: he’s homosexual. He wrestles with this reality, as well as the reactions of his friends and family. As a result, he delivers a strong, humorous, and at times devastating performance that has become an instant comedy classic.
The Gilded Age
Julian Fellowes, the creator of Downton Abbey, places this latest period drama in the title’s luxurious era, 1880s New York. New money is flooding the city, but old money looks down on it. Agnes van Rhijn, a snooty socialite, is leading the latter’s campaign against grabbing mushrooms (Christine Baranski). The entrance of new neighbors. Filthy rich entrepreneur George Russell (Morgan Spector) and his ambitious wife Bertha threaten her well-defined global order (Carrie Coon).
Marian Brook, Agnes’ orphaned niece, enters this social struggle (Louisa Jacobson). She may be descended from old money. But she and her companion, budding Black writer Peggy Scott (Denée Benton), have goals that do not fit into the existing system.
Peacemaker
The DCEU is following in the footsteps of Disney Plus by releasing a spinoff series based on James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. While there were many great misfit villains to select from in the film. It should come as no surprise that WWE champion John Cena’s Peacemaker received the call to expand the DC Universe to HBO Max.
The series follows Peacemaker as he moves from the hospital. Where we last saw him to a life in which he continues to work with Amanda Waller’s agents (yep, Steve Agee and Jennifer Holland are back for this round). The Peacemaker series will also continue the Marvel-on-Disney Plus trend of revealing more about these characters’ personal lives. Meet Peacemaker’s father, a curmudgeon (played by Robert Patrick) who has little regard for his son.
Station Eleven
The idea of the new limited series Station Eleven may appear to be inspired by the current pandemic. But the program is really based on Emily St. John Mandel’s extraordinarily prophetic 2014 novel. A devastating disease wipes off 99 percent of the Earth’s population, eradicating civilization know we know it.
After twenty years, a roaming group performs Shakespeare’s works for tiny communities of survivors. Even though the world is in ruins, the Traveling Symphony group, which includes Kirsten (Mackenzie Davis), is dedicated to spreading theatre, music, and culture. They are, however, still grappling with what has occurred to them and to society. It’s all so vividly, excruciatingly identical to the present time. Can art make sense of disaster? Station Eleven makes an attempt and succeeds.
Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts
HBO Max appears to be a specialist in emotional cast reunions. With the Friends reunion, the streamer had everyone laugh and weep; now, they’re doing the same with the Harry Potter film franchise. To commemorate the 20th anniversary of The Sorcerer’s Stone’s 2001 debut. The program brings together cast members and director Chris Columbus to discuss the enchantment of their magical film franchise. (J.K. Rowling, FYI, also appears.) Of course, seeing the three protagonists — Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint — together again is the main appeal. They’ve all kept working, so it’s not unexpected that they’ve all grown up. But it’s heartwarming to watch the affection, camaraderie, and real joy they have for one another.
Succession
In the third season of Succession. The primary example of the category “Rich people who are intriguing in their horribleness,” the lifestyles of the affluent and the Roys are once again on the show (see also: The White Lotus). All of the Roys are terrible, yet I adore each and every one of them. The plot resumes up just where it left off, with Kendall putting his father under the corporate bus for the cruise line problems. Of course, this implies war, with Logan and Kendall each seeking to rally the soldiers, i.e. their family members, to their cause. Shiv and Roman, as usual, have their own goals. The new episodes feature some new faces, including Alexander Skarsgard and Adrien Brody.
Starstruck
Take Notting Hill and center it on a Fleabag-style hot mess, and you get this endearing romantic comedy. Jessie (Rose Matafeo) is a twenty-something New Zealander residing in London and works odd jobs such as nanny and movie clerk. She encounters a gorgeous stranger on New Year’s Eve who turns out to be movie star Tom Kapoor (Nikesh Patel). Their one-night encounter develops into much more, despite misunderstandings and challenges.
The White Lotus
Mike White returns to HBO with a new satirical comedy centred at a lush, luxurious resort, a decade after he made Enlightened for the network. On the surface, everything appears to be paradise, but darker things are going on behind the scenes. Arnomd (Murray Bartlett) and his weird staff welcome a fresh batch of unusual visitors, played by a dream ensemble that includes Jennifer Coolidge, Connie Britton, Steve Zahn, Jake Lacy, and Alexandra Daddario. We can’t wait for White Lotus season 2 because it’s the perfect vehicle for the creator’s distinctive combination of humour and drama, realism and eccentricity.
Hacks
The Jean Smart renaissance has here, and we’re embracing it. On Mare of Easttown, kate steals every scene she’s in, even from Kate Winslet (more on that show below). In Hacks, one of the finest HBO Max series, she plays elderly comic Deborah Vance, whose Vegas residency needs a makeover. Her agency sends Ava (Hannah Einbinder), a millennial comedy writer, to assist her to generate jokes, but the two women quickly clash. Their sarcastic banter and acid repartee, though, might be the inspiration they both require for their professions.
Mare of Easttown
If you like Broadchurch, Mare of Easttown will be just up your alley. Kate Winslet plays Detective Mare Sheehan, who is researching the murder of a teen mother, with a great Pennsylvania accent. Because everyone in the region knows or is linked to everyone else, the case appears to involve everyone in her circle. Mare’s personal life is also in turmoil. There’s nothing surprising or novel here, simply well-written and executed material that will keep you engaged every Sunday night.
Made for Love
Cristin Milioti appeared in one of the greatest episodes of Black Mirror, USS Callister, and her new HBO Max comedy has a similar mood and premise. She plays Hazel, a woman who escapes her tech millionaire hubby Byron Gogol (Billy Magnussen) after discovering he’s implanted his newest technological device in her mind. It effectively creates a “net for two,” allowing couples to communicate (and monitor) their every thought and sensation. That’s right, it’s all messed up. Hazel flees, returning home to her absent father (Ray Romano), but escape is difficult because Byron can read her mind.
The Flight Attendant
In this darkly comic thriller, Kaley Cuoco takes on the role of Cassie Bowden, a hard-partying flight attendant. On a journey to Bangkok, she meets Alex Sokolov (Michiel Huisman), a gorgeous first-class passenger, and ultimately ended up spending a night with him. Cassie, who is hungover, panics and flees when she discovers he was slain on the bed next to her. This gets Jessica in hot water with police enforcement as well as shady business figures.
Lovecraft Country
The HBO horror series is executive produced by Jordan Peele and J. J. Abrams, so you can bet the ghostly horrors will be intense. Lovecraft Country, like its HBO brother Watchmen, is a racial criticism. The program is set in the segregated Jim Crow era of the 1950s in the United States, and the characters fight a variety of creatures, both otherworldly and racist humans.
The plot of Lovecraft Country revolves around Atticus Freeman (Jonathan Majors), who sets off on a road trip with his friend Letitia (Jurnee Smollett) and his Uncle George (Courtney B. Vance) to look for his missing father. They come across vampire-like monsters and scary officers along the way. The programme strikes a balance between a fantasy story and the (still) hazardous reality of becoming Black.
Euphoria
Say it with us: Emmy winner Zendaya. The rising star is the youngest recipient of the Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series award, having defeated Jennifer Aniston, Laura Linney, and Olivia Colman. She accomplished this with her genuine, nuanced, and sensitive depiction of Rue, a recovering heroin addict who comes home from rehab to try to negotiate “normal” high school life. She develops a friendship with a new girl Jules (Hunter Schafer), and their rocky relationship is set against a backdrop of sex, drugs, bullying, assault, and identity concerns.
Friends
Nobody told us life would be this way. It hasn’t been our day, week, or month, and it hasn’t been our year either. Because of the epidemic, you may not be able to see your friends, but we can all see Friends. When the beloved sitcom left Netflix at the end of 2020, everyone wept and gnashed their teeth. It is now the focal point of HBO Max’s content. Every Thanksgiving episode and “PIVOT!” relive Ross and Rachel’s first kiss (and terrible “break”). These Friends will be there for us during our quarantine.
Game of Thrones
Winter is on its way. Winter has already come and gone on HBO over the course of eight years. But now is a great moment to see it for the first time if you’re new to HBO Max, or to rewatch it if you’ve been a lifelong HBO user. Even if you haven’t seen the show, you’ve definitely heard a lot about it – Game of Thrones is one of the final bastions of monoculture. Millions of spectators couldn’t get enough of the deadly fights for the Iron Throne, Daenerys Targaryen’s dragons, how the Lannisters pay their debts, and House Stark’s horrific disasters. Even total newcomers are likely to have heard about the sad ending. Still, if you concentrate on the well-told, well-made, and well-acted voyage, you’ll have a good time.
Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
You don’t have to know how to do the Carlton to understand that it’s not uncommon to fall in love with a program as much as America did with The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Will Smith (as the character of the same name) is a too-funky-fresh youngster who grew up in West Philadelphia until his mother became concerned when he got into a fight and sent him off to live with his auntie (Viv) and uncle (Phil) in the posh Bel Air district of Los Angeles.
The show found humor in examining class contrasts and Will’s fish-out-of-water scenario as he charms his way through prep school and various upper-class possibilities throughout the season. While the series is largely funny, you’ll cry when Will wonders, “Why doesn’t he want me?”
The O.C.
If you haven’t already begun watching this guilty-pleasure adolescent soap, now is an excellent time to start. Despite everyone’s particular drama, when bad boy Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie) is taken in by the Cohen family, he’s a touch too rough around the edges for the situation. Ryan immediately befriends Seth Cohen (Adam Brody), who is far too quick-witted for his own good, and the two become malcontents to a large extent.
The males rapidly have girl problems with Marisa Cooper (Mischa Barton) and Summer Roberts (Rachel Bilson), whose antics frequently dominate the show and become memes for their generation. The series is led by Peter Gallagher as “Sandy” Cohen, the patriarch who also serves as the series’ moral compass. And you’ll keep pressing Play on new episodes to hear the melodious Ghost Planets tune “California,” one of the finest opening themes.
Doctor Who
Doctor Who offers everything you might want in a lockdown binge: adventure, sci-fi, and suspense. Aliens. Humour. Monsters. History. Romance. British accents are used. And HBO Max offers 12 seasons of Doctor Who awesomeness (from the contemporary day revival), so you can sit back with a cup of tea and watch the Doctor’s adventures for hours.
Each of the five Doctors from the revival period (Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant, Matt Smith, Peter Capaldi, and Jodie Whittaker) brings their own spin to the character. The program can be quite stupid at times, but it is also extremely brilliant and inventive. More than that, it’s upbeat and humanistic – consolation food at a time the world desperately requires it.
Chernobyl
If you missed viewing the prize miniseries when it initially aired, now is the moment to belt up your grown-up trousers. Not only is Chernobyl one of the best HBO Max shows, but it’s also a timely work of extraordinary art that speaks to what’s going on in the world right now. Chernobyl is a really tragic tale of calamity and tragedy, exacerbated by higher-ups’ appalling negligence, government officials’ hesitance and save-face methods, and a political system controlled by egos, deceit, and secrecy. Yes, we all want to escape with thoughtless entertainment, but it’s also vital to utilize history to evaluate current events.
Conclusion
HBO Max’s greatest strength is its extensive and diverse TV and movie repertoire, which includes programming for both adults and children. It offered 10,000 hours of content to watch when it first launched, including everything on HBO as well as a selection of high-profile TV programs including Friends, The Big Bang Theory, Rick and Morty, and South Park. HBO cable subscribers who haven’t tried the streaming service yet aren’t losing out on a lot of original programming. Only a few new Max Original series will not premiere on HBO, and most of them will fall short of the critical and economic success of their HBO equivalents. The most noteworthy Max exclusives are the reboots of Gossip Girl and Sex and the City.
