HBO Max may not have the shine it once did, but the streaming service (previously just Max) is still home to some of the best TV shows of the past 25 years, from The Sopranos and The Wire to Game of Thrones and The Leftovers.
Whether you’re a longtime fan of the “it’s not TV” cable network or an HBO Max newbie trying to figure out where to start, the shows below should give you plenty upon which to feast your eyes.
Looking for more recommendations? Head to WIRED’s guide to the best TV shows on Netflix, the best TV shows on Amazon Prime, the best TV shows on Disney+, and the best TV shows on Hulu.
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I Love LA
It has been just five years since Rachel Sennott broke out in Emma Seligman’s dark comedy Shiva Baby, and she is not squandering any opportunity. With I Love LA, Sennott is in charge as the creator, writer, and star of this LA-set Hollywood comedy. Maia (Sennott) is an aspiring talent manager who, on her 27th birthday, manages to gather the courage to ask her boss Alyssa (Leighton Meester) for a promotion. While the answer is no, Maia tells her friends and boyfriend (Josh Hutcherson) otherwise, then hatches a plan to take her career to the next level with the help of her friends.
The Seduction
Marquise de Merteuil (Anamaria Vartolomei) is ready for payback after having her heart broken—and humiliated—by Vicomte de Valmont (Vincent Lacoste), aka Valmont. So she sets about becoming Paris’ premier courtesan. HBO’s new French language period drama is a sexy, sumptuous series that serves as a prequel to Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ Les Liaisons Dangereuses.
It: Welcome to Derry
It director Andy Muschietti returns to the place where Stephen King’s clown killer was born in this ’60s-set prequel series that doles out Pennywise’s origins in hour-long doses. Bill Skarsgård is also back as both the sewer-dwelling horror icon and an executive producer on the show, which mixes the terror that fans have come to expect from the movies with well-executed period details. All of which amounts to an unexpected take on the genre—and one that should have coulrophobes running for the door.
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