We live in something of a golden age of entertainment. As consumers, we have access to unprecedented amounts of movies and television thanks to streaming services and cable and this is particularly true for television. There are so many great television shows that one can choose from when they sit down to watch, be it for just an episode or a full-fledged binge. But, while it’s pretty common for television fans to dig into back catalogs to watch older favorites or catch up on shows maybe they missed from the past, there are also more recent series that deserve attention as well — and HBO has several great ones.
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Between HBO and HBO Max, there are some great, more recent television series that everyone should check out. These shows cover a range of genres meaning there’s high quality shows that appeal to everyone. For the purposes of this list, we’re not including a couple of big ones — specifically The Last of Us and The Penguin because those two shows are pretty huge. Instead, these seven are some great ones that you might have simply missed or hadn’t gotten around to yet but totally should be because they’re solid.
7) Chernobyl
With it coming up on six years since this show aired, it’s probably pushing the “recent” qualifier just a little bit. However, not only is the show incredibly well done, but the event whose story it tells marks its 40th anniversary next year making it a timely watch as well. HBO’s Chernobyl was a miniseries that has just one season of 5 episodes, but it is a powerful watch. A dripping retelling of the explosion at the number 4 reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in 1986 from its initial stages to cleanup and aftermath, the Craig Mazin-written series features terrifying detail and approaches the horrifying history with dignity and respect.
The series takes one history’s most terrifying and least understood incidents and makes this modern-day real-life horror incredibly human. Mazin has since gone on to some amazing work with The Last of Us, but you definitely need to check out Chernobyl, too.
6) Scavengers Reign
This list wouldn’t be complete without some animation because there are genuinely some great animated series out there and if you’re going to watch one under the HBO umbrella, make it Scavengers Reign. The adult animated series based on the short film Scavengers, Scavengers Reign only got one season, which is unfortunate because it’s truly a gorgeous series. The story follows the survivors of the damaged cargo ship Demeter 227 who are stranded on the alien planet Vesta that is beautiful, but full of danger. The survivors must explore the wild alien world and, in doing so, the different groups encounter various conflicts, including interpersonal ones.
Scavengers Reign is not only a very beautiful piece of animation — truly, each and every scene could be its own standalone art — but it’s also a good story as well. It’s a great watch for any sci-fi fan, even if animation isn’t your thing.
5) The Pitt
The Pitt might just be one of HBO’s best new shows. While the Noah Wyle-starring series is a medical drama and those aren’t exactly uncommon, The Pitt stands out for its approach, by offering up a real-time storytelling approach to the shift emergency room staff at the fictional Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center — each episode covers one hour of the 15-hour work shift and each season (of which there is only one so far) has 15 episodes. It balances not just the medical stories of the hospital, but the actual challenges healthcare workers face.
What’s truly great about The Pitt is that this the show isn’t afraid to leave some questions unanswered and isn’t terribly bogged down with other elements of more dramatic storylines. Yes, each character does have their own story, but don’t think of this as a medical soap opera. Also, the series has already been renewed for a second season so if you get hooked, you’re in luck: there’s more to come.
4) The Gilded Age
The Gilded Age is a little bit of an unexpected series. It was originally announced for NBC in 2018, bur ended up moving to HBO in 2019 before it premiered in 2022. The series, which has been critically well-received, just ended its third season this summer and is set to come back for a fourth. It is set during the Gilded Age in New York City, the boom years of the 1880s, and follows the city’s rigid social scene and various figures within it — particularly conflicts between new money and old money. While the series is a period piece, many viewers have noted interesting thematic overlap with more contemporary issues, particular subjects including the rise of organized labor.
The show has also been something of a social media hit as people dig into not only the individual character stories, but the histories of the real people who inspired them. It’s a fascinating series that might take a little bit to get into but is totally worth it (and we really want more Gladys in season four.)
3) Peacemaker
Even if superhero television isn’t your thing, Peacemaker is one HBO show you need to watch. Not only is it one of the best superhero shows ever made, it’s also an absolutely fantastic comedy series. The series stars John Cena as Peacemaker, aka Christopher Smith, a hero of sorts with sort of an askew moral compass and a complicated background who is trying to save the world and be a better person at the same time. He’s also working with a team of similar misfits and the whole thing just comes together brilliantly.
What’s absolutely great here is that Peacemaker takes everything that is bonkers and bananas about comics and dials it up to 11 but also makes it human. Season 1 saw the team take on a kind of alien invasion while Season 2 has seen the introduction of an alternate universe that has a stunning twist and while there are plenty of insane moments and laughs to be had in both seasons, there are a lot of haunting, truly emotional moments as well, all handled with some of the best performances in television. And we haven’t even mentioned the title dance sequences.
2) The Chair Company
The newest entry on the list, The Chair Company is something of a rare series: it’s a comedy thriller. From I Think You Should Leave’s Tim Robinson and Zach Kanin, the series has kind of a bizarre premise in that it tells the story of William Ronald Trosper (Robinson), a man who after an embarrassing moment where the chair he sits down on collapses underneath him on stage during a presentation, starts investigating an elaborate conspiracy, going further and further down the conspiracy rabbit hole in the process.
The series has already been renewed for a second season and what’s especially brilliant about it is that it’s both weird and a little awkward with its humor, but it is also a genuine and engaging mystery. You start to actually question if William might really be onto something. It’s a surprisingly engaging series.
1) The Righteous Gemstones
What happens when you take a crime comedy and mix it up with religious satire? You get The Righteous Gemstones and one of HBO’s best series in recent years. The four-season series follows the Gemstones, a family of South Carolina-based televangelists and megachurch pastors led by Eli Gemstone (John Goodman). He’s surrounded by his immature adult children, Jesse (Danny McBride), Judy (Edi Patterson), and Kelvin (Adam DeVine) who are all vying to be the heir to the empire. There are also a variety of wild and cynical supporting characters, including a minister who was a former satanist and the family accountant who frequently has to cover up scandals. Oh, and then there’s Walter Goggins as Baby Billy Freeman, Eli’s brother-in-law, former child star, habitual liar, and leader of the family’s shopping mall-based church who might just be the best character of the first season.
The show is hilarious and also thoughtful at the same time, with wild performances as it takes on some of the weirder aspects of the televangelism empire. You’ve got everything from Christian timeshares, the aforementioned shopping mall churches and family infighting and that’s just scratching the surface. This one’s not to be missed.
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