The 20 Best HBO Shows of All Time, Ranked

(2008-2014)
When Alan Ball brought Charlene Harris’ “The Southern Vampire Mysteries” to life for the cabler, it was a glossy and innovative take on the vampire genre that promised camp, occasional gore, bloodthirsty romance, and a gothic mystery at the center of it all. Anna Paquin seemed destined to play leading lady Sookie Stackhouse, while fans everywhere fell in love with Alexander Skarsgård, Stephen Moyer, Sam Trammell, Carrie Preston, Ryan Kwanten and Nelsan Ellis.

Later, this would be the series to make a household name out of Joe Manganiello and introduce viewers to Deborah Ann Woll. Unfortunately, as the seasons continued there was less mystery and more scenes oversaturated with sex, which by Season 3 turned into misogyny and triggering scenes of rape. The show never quite recovered and although it retained its loyal viewers until the very end, it’s that first standout year and “True Blood’s” overall innovation that earns it a spot on this list.

(2014-present)
In its inaugural season, “True Detective” was a true juggernaut in every sense of the word. It brought Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson together for a non-linear murder investigation that kept viewers on the edge of their seats. Great camera work (including director Cary Joji Fukunaga’s now-famous, six-minute tracking shot in Episode 4), a tight story from creator Nic Pizzolatto, and award-worthy performances by the leads made it a compelling and ground-breaking watch.

Unfortunately, the first season created such high expectations that it was impossible to follow up. The anthology series stumbled comparatively in its second season and only recovered to a fraction of its initial success in Season 3, which is why it isn’t ranked higher on this list. Now, HBO is developing a fourth season and working with new writers to find the right take, but it’s hard to imagine the franchise reclaiming anywhere near the same level of its original success.

(2017-2019)
There was no shortage of star power involved in this take on the Liane Moriarty novel, both behind the scenes and on-camera. In the first season, David E. Kelley, Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman brought together an ensemble of women to examine motherhood, female friendships and the power of forgiveness, while also touching upon tough subjects like abuse and infidelity.

It was an ambitious project only ever intended to play as a limited series, but between the strong fan reactions, the show’s success come awards season, and HBO’s willingness to double down, the team (including Shailene Woodley, Zoë Kravitz and Laura Dern) reunited to continue the story with a second season — and they recruited Meryl Streep for an integral role. While the installment wasn’t as critically acclaimed as the original, it still led to plenty of water cooler discussions, including the now-oft asked question, will there be a Season 3?

(2009-2013)
You don’t have to love baseball to appreciate the comedy behind this Danny McBride series, in which the co-creator also stars as Kenny Powers, a burnt-out MLB pitcher who returns to his hometown to teach gym. The unexpected jokes, coupled with Kenny’s better-than-thou attitude, made for all kinds of random laughs and jaw-dropping moments, and proved McBride’s sheer commitment to character, if nothing else.

Sure, at its heart, the series also examined hero worship and the cost that glory and fame takes on the soul, but the comedy never ventured too far into serious territory and preferred to dole out larger-than-life characters and situational comedy instead. Add in a cast including Katy Mixon, Steve Little and Elizabeth De Razzo, and this one was everything you’d expect from a Gary Sanchez production.

(2014-2017)
The Damon Lindelof-run series brought Tom Perrotta’s apocalyptic tome to life with intimate stories set against a sweeping event, in which 2% of the world’s population suddenly disappeared without explanation. Three years later “The Leftovers” followed those who were left behind in a small New York community (actors Justin Theroux, Amy Brenneman, Liv Tyler, Ann Dowd and Carrie Coon among them), trying to piece back together their lives.

It was a dark but nuanced take on grief, isolation and trauma — one that didn’t shy away from violence or hard content. However, a slow start meant that it took a while for those narratives to unfold. Perhaps for that reason the series never caught fire the way those who stuck it out assumed it always would. Which is a shame because many proponents confirm the series just got better and better with each episode.

(2012-2017)
Lena Dunham’s debut series definitely established her as a voice of her generation, despite the ire her character’s now unforgettable comment drew at the time from critics. The series, which followed four friends navigating their early 20s in New York, captured that strange time in a person’s life when they are surrounded by hope, unafraid to make terrible decisions and not yet self-aware enough to know when they’re being selfish as hell.

During its run, many lauded Dunham’s unflinching narratives and creative decisions, while strong performances from co-stars Allison Williams, Jemima Kirke and Zosia Mamet kept viewers invested in the unique, mold-breaking characters. Add in equally interesting male characters played by Adam Driver, Andrew Rannells, Alex Karpovsky and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and the colorful comedy easily earns a spot on this list.

(2019)
This alternative take on the masked vigilante characters from Damon Lindelof was a loaded project from start to finish. It wasn’t just that it was a tour de force for lead Regina King, or that the series (which took place in an alternative history where such vigilantes were treated like outlaws), was full of adrenaline-filled action and tense turns. It was the sheer ambition, as the show tackled a lot in just nine short episodes, including multiple timelines and tough subject matter.

“Watchmen” also provided a major cultural touchstone when it incorporated the tragic events of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre into one of the pilot’s storylines, opening the eyes of many Americans to an important and until-now buried time in the country’s blood-stained past.

(2018-present)
It may be pre-emptive to include a dramatic series that’s only on its third season on this list. However in the first two seasons of “Succession,” creator Jesse Armstrong established a strong cast of characters that have made a big impact with critics and viewers alike (prompting a fourth-season renewal in the process).

The two-year break between Seasons 2 and 3 due to the pandemic only made the show better, as creatives honed in on what worked (its grandiose in-fighting and brilliantly flawed characters you love to hate), while continuing to deliver some of the most dysfunctional family dynamics ever featured on television.

(2014-2019)
Mike Judge leaned heavily into certain tropes when he created these software developers trying to make it big in Silicon Valley. But as the episodes continued, their cartoonish ways worked thanks to the subtle character nuances and distinct personalities, which doled out quirky and heightened laughs. Throughout its six-season run the show was forced to pivot both on-screen and off due to actor exits, the untimely death of actor Christopher Evan Welch and the very nature of the emerging tech world that the show covered. Still, it did it all in a way that appealed to all kinds of viewers, even those who were less than tech savvy.

Sure, by the show’s final season it had almost become a parody of itself as the writers pushed farther and father, but committed performances by Thomas Middleditch, Josh Brener, Martin Starr, Kumail Nanjiani and Amanda Crew eventually brought it all home by the closing episode.

(1997-2003)
Before there was “Orange Is The New Black” or “Prison Break” there was this jail-centered drama, a gritty and dark series that revolved around the inmates and staff at the Oswald State Penitentiary. J.K. Simmons, Ernie Hudson, Dean Winters, Terry Kinney, Rita Moreno and Harold Perrineau were just some of the actors creator Tom Fontana recruited to play various roles over the show’s six seasons, delivering gut-punching storylines that were too gruesome to showcase on regular broadcast TV.

That drew some criticism, of course, but tough realism was the point of the show, opening the door for many more shocking (and gritty, gruesome and harsh) scenes on cable to come in subsequent years and on future TV shows.

(2010-2014)
Viewers were transported back to the Roaring Twenties in Terrence Winter’s anticipated prohibition drama featuring an array of gangsters, politicians and other colorful characters fighting for power in Atlantic City. The Steve Buscemi-led drama was an entire mood, from the cinematography, to the sharp dialogue, to the costumes, to the setting itself.

While some weren’t as hot on the slower pace as the seasons progressed, it remained a character study that retained onscreen talent like Kelly Macdonald, Michael Shannon and Michael K. Williams. In the end it earned rave reviews from critics and took home 20 Primetime Emmys over its five-season run, solidifying its place as one of the cabler’s best dramas.

(1998-2004)
When creator Darren Star brought Candace Bushnell’s quartet of memorable characters to life onscreen it was certainly a different time. The idea of “older” women on the hunt for love while retaining their lifelong friendships was a novel one, pushing boundaries when ageism and a female’s point of view on sex hadn’t quite been explored or pushed to the extent it has now. As a result, women (and men) everywhere flocked towards Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha, with many proclaiming themselves to be one of the women (or a mix of them) in real life.

Add in two big-screen films and an upcoming revival TV series, and “SATC” was also one of the most successful series on the cabler from a financial perspective. Sure, the behind-the-scenes drama between stars Sarah Jessica Parker and Kim Cattrall has since taken over headlines, but the franchise appears to remain as strong as ever.

(2011-2019)
The story of George R.R. Martin exiting the TV writing game in order to pen a novel that defied tired conventions was a noble one. And, as it turned out, it was also a full-circle one. When HBO debuted this series, based on Martin’s “A Song of Fire and Ice,” its unflinching narratives shocked anyone expecting to see the good guys win. And while the story itself had some big ups and downs over the subsequent seasons, there’s no denying “GOT” was a smash series with big ratings that created stars out of its actors and a fat bottom line.

No matter how viewers feel about the ending, there’s also no denying HBO is eager to once again capture what many execs describe as lightning in a bottle, what with all of the spinoffs and prequels in development.

(2000-present)
Larry David’s wry humor is on full display in this heightened take on his life. Some consider the observational series an extension of “Seinfeld,” but more than that it’s a playground where David’s celebrity friends can come and play. The loose dialogue and storylines are bolstered with raw improv and relatable reactions, so even if you’re not a fan of the guy at the centre of it all, viewers can find humor in the way others perceive him.

Anchoring the action is a strong supporting cast of fictional characters played by regulars including Jeff Garlin, J.B. Smoove, Susie Essman and Cheryl Hines, plus an array of guest stars each season — some new, some recurring. More than a decade of seasons in and the show remains a solid player for the cabler, making it one of the best of the bunch.

(2002-2008)
David Simon’s unique, journalistic take on the Baltimore drug scene was considered essential viewing back when it debuted, with each season tackling a different faucet of life in the area: law enforcement, schools, media, government and the seaport system. Through it all the same steady cast of regulars remained, giving viewers the likes of Omar Little (Michael K. Williams), Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West) and Bunk Moreland (Wendell Pierce), among others.

The project was as much a social commentary as it was a compelling drama based on real life (Simon did work the
“Baltimore Sun” city news desk for several years, after all), but it seems like only later, in the era of binge-watching, that viewers have really latched onto the series and the game-changing structure and characters that it offered.

(2016-2021)
Now credited as the series that launched Issa Rae’s career, “Insecure” was the next step for the creative and her fans following Rae’s web series and her subsequent novel, “The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl.” The series followed Rae’s character, Issa, her friend Molly (Yvonne Orji) and an array of other characters as they navigated life, love and careers. The show is all about finding comedy in the everyday, awkward situations, while also examining modern-day life in Los Angeles.

While the series highlights the importance of bringing diverse voices to television, it’s also an authentic and therefore often relatable portrayal of issues facing real women today, heightened with experimental and memorable scenes. And yes, that includes Rae’s now-famous Mirror Moments.

(2004-2006)
The early cancelation of this period drama was tragic for the viewers and critics that expounded its praises, but the fact that players behind the scenes couldn’t agree on terms for a fourth season also solidified “Deadwood’s” place as a near-perfect series among the same crowd. (Even after the subsequent movie more than a decade later.)

Timothy Olyphant, Ian McShane and Molly Parker were just some of the notable actors that brought the outlaw settlement at the center of the series to life, presenting misfit (and often larger-than-life) characters that existed in the era of the richest gold strike in American history. During its short run the series brought home many Creative Arts Emmys and was lauded for its ability to make viewers care about even the most reprehensible of characters.

(2001-2005)
Creator Alan Ball tackled mortality, death and the ways Americans deal with such topics head-on in this dysfunctional family drama. The show was set against the backdrop of a family-owned funeral home, but it really honed in on the Fisher family and their existential and emotional struggles. Those were brought to life by a top-notch cast including (but not limited to) Michael C. Hall, Peter Krause, Frances Conroy and Lauren Ambrose.

The show easily caught on with audiences and is still lauded for its ground-breaking depiction of gay characters. It was nominated for dozens of Emmys, ultimately taking home nine. To this day a series highlight is that incredible, seven-minute series finale montage, in which the leads appropriately and finally came to terms with their own mortality.

(2012-2019)
When Julia Louis-Dreyfus and show creator Armando Iannucci introduced viewers to Selina Meyer, America’s first female Vice President, they set out to make a political comedy with a heightened reality and larger-than-life characters — complete with their expletives and backdoor fuckery. The fresh take, coupled with Louis-Dreyfus’ sheer commitment to the character, easily won over viewers, critics and Emmy voters.

By the time the series wrapped the show had pushed its boundaries as far as it could, and with the real political landscape becoming more cartoonish than the show itself, the crew ended things on their own terms. In the end, “Veep” walked away with 17 Emmys (Dreyfus won the lead comedy actress statue every year but one that the show was on), proving that even female characters don’t always need to be likable to be 100% watchable.

(1999-2007)
It’s impossible not to name the New Jersey mob series at the top of this list given how widely it’s credited with putting HBO on the map. Creator David Chase turned mob tropes on their head with this inside-baseball take, in which Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini, in what is considered his greatest role) deals with professional and personal stresses that begin to affect his mental health.

During its run, the series gave viewers some of the most memorable counseling sessions around, but it also paved the way for several of television’s greatest anti-heroes (Walter White, Don Draper) to come. It’s also impossible not to discuss the series without mentioning the memorable and controversial ending, which, to this day, remains hotly debated.