At Tom’s Guide, we think HBO Max’s best shows go a long way to making it the best streaming service right now. For example, I was easily able to make a list of five of my favorite HBO Max shows without even calling it a classic HBO show. Yes, The Sopranos are great – but everyone knows The Sopranos are great.
Yes, we regularly update a roundup of it – All One of the best shows on HBO Max. But this tour is a team effort, and it’s rather lengthy. And speaking of experience, I know that sometimes people want a more personal and easily digestible menu.
This is how this list was drawn. I took a look at the series section of HBO Max and then crossed out all of the Euphorias, Houses of Dragons and Westworlds because it’s so obvious. Then I thought about the shows I remember watching for the first time. Programs that became live talk after they aired — and shows that I don’t think got enough attention.
So, I’ve chosen a bunch of shows that I think show a fair amount of what I love about HBO Max. This installment includes one great drama, a pair of sitcoms that bring life to parody, and it’s the weirdest reality TV show I’ve ever seen.
And they’re not all “from” HBO Max: This installment features two versions of Max Originals, one import, an ABC series, and a recent HBO show. Each stamp has my personal consent.
Wellington Paranormal is a funny science fiction show under your radar
Wellington Paranormal takes the axiom that “anyone can get a part” of the Star Wars and Marvel Disney Plus shows and takes it to the strangest conclusion. Some may remember, and I don’t think there are many, officer Mike Minogue Kyle Minogue and officer Karen O’Leary O’Leary from the end of the great classic movie What We Do In The Shadows. But since that show has already been separated from its own American version, creators Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, and Paul Yates have decided on another series — one that remains in the original New Zealand language.
Personally, I like the Wellington Paranormal because it asks the question “what if it’s X-files, but with local clowns, in COPS style?” This strange equation is spread across four seasons of 22-minute snack-sized episodes, and each is a new treat. Sometimes the water demon is at large, then the cops meet eccentric farmers. And later, well, there’s a bird.
Type: science fiction/comedy
seasons: 4 (10 episodes)
watch it HBO Max (Opens in a new tab)
Abbott Elementary is a comic-style sitcom that will remind some of Modern Family or The Office. Except for Abbott Elementary School it does what most shows don’t: It takes place in an underfunded elementary school. Here, rookie educator Janine Tegues (model Quinta Bronson) is inexperienced and well-meaning for her own good. Her colleagues—most notably Melissa Chimenti (Lisa Ann Walter) and Barbara Howard (Cheryl Lee Ralph)—have no idea how to handle her serious energy, and often let her make mistakes.
With that, Janine has made friends at work, including Jacob (Chris Perfetti), a teacher whose students smear insults like stand-up comedy and is their audience. Then there’s the substitute teacher Gregory (Tyler James Williams), whom Janine seems to have feelings for.
All Abbott teachers will earn your respect, because they are just like us: they suffer under an inept boss. Ava Coleman (Janelle James), a manager who’s more focused on increasing her TikTok followers than raising school money – who doesn’t really understand what her teachers are doing. Ava redeems herself sometimes, but she’s an amazing piece of Abbott class.
Elementary Abbott might have gotten more conversations if it had been a Netflix show, or an original HBO Max show. Instead, it’s from ABC – and the radio shows don’t seem to be driving the conversation as much as they once were.
Type: comedy
seasons: 1 (13 episodes, Abbott Elementary’s second season currently streaming hollow (Opens in a new tab))
watch it HBO Max (Opens in a new tab)
Station Eleven is one of the best dramas of the past year
One of those perfect and so heartbreaking shows, I almost tear up just thinking about Station Eleven. Perhaps too early for some, Station Eleven arrived in December 2021 with a story about a version of our world ravaged by the flu. And no, that show wasn’t visual — but the 2014 book of the same name by Emily St. John Mandel on which it is based, was.
Station Eleven tells the stories of life before, during and after a pandemic, and how a mysterious disease changed already shattered lives. This may seem a very crude proposition to some, but there are more than a few things that should force you to persevere. First of all, Station Eleven is filled with magnetic shows that you will enjoy. Mackenzie Davis (Halt and Catch Fire, episode of Black Mirror’s San Junipero) leads the group as Kirsten, a woman who was just a child at the start of the pandemic.
Station Eleven also speaks, oddly enough, of a traveling group of actors who have performed plays by William Shakespeare. Through art, they try to reconstruct culture. During its ten remarkable episodes, Station Eleven shows how the people that young Kristen met during the beginning of the pandemic, as well as those they loved, have all changed their lives forever.
Station Eleven is a series about how we deal with grief, how relationships spoil and how fear erodes the mind. While it may be very dangerous at the moment, it’s the show we really need.
Type: drama
seasons: 1 (10 episodes)
watch it HBO Max (Opens in a new tab)
Rehearsal is the weirdest show ever – in the best way
Well, now that we’ve all got our feeling for Station Eleven, it’s time to head off in a completely different direction. The Rehearsal is the latest project of Canadian comedian/actor/writer/troublemaker Nathan Fielder, and finds the man behind Nathan For You from Comedy Central switches from crazy business advice to life coaching.
At the rehearsal, Felder finds people who are very nervous and worried about some upcoming conversation or life event. A guy has a confession he needs to make about a lie he was told on Trivia Night. Another guest deals with a discussion about inclusion in the will. Then there is Angela, who seems to want to get ready to start a family.
Then Felder (arguably) tries to help these people by preparing them for every possible outcome. Otherwise, how can you get the result you want if you don’t practice all the possibilities? Through rehearsals, you will begin to question everything, including everyone’s intentions. All while Nathan is the most awkward guy ever.
Type: reality / comedy
seasons: 1
watch it HBO Max (Opens in a new tab)
Our flag means death is a pirate show you shouldn’t do
The other Taika Waititi show on this list, Our Flag Means Death, is about an oxymoron on the high seas. Bored of aristocratic life, Stede Bonnet (Rhys Darby) coins the phrase “pirate man,” finds a crew and begins to fail.
This was until he meets Ed (Whitety), a pirate who has some actual experience under his beard. Speaking of, Ed is actually the famous pirate Blackbeard. While the other pirates look at Stede like a Cornish game chicken they should roast, Ed sees something in him. The two get along so well that you can tell something might be afoot.
Our flag Means Death, however, isn’t just about the potential romance of its stars. The crew of the good ship Revenge are a lovable bunch of strangers, and you’ll want to protect at least one of them. The cast even includes Game of Thrones’ Hodor himself, Christian Nairn.
Type: comedy drama
seasons: 1 (10 episodes, We Knew Mean Death Season 2 Confirmed)
watch it HBO Max (Opens in a new tab)
[ad_2]
