The Best Shows on Max Right Now (October 2024) (2024)

Good shows on HBO are plentiful — even great ones aren't hard to come by. The platform has earned its prestige TV distinction, and its streaming service has the luxury of housing classic favorites like Friends alongside more recent Emmy-winning masterpieces like Succession and The White Lotus. There's a lot of excellent content to choose from: Here's our list of the best shows on HBO Max to help you get started.

For more recommendations, check out our list of the best movies on HBO, the best drama movies on HBO, and the best horror movies on HBO.

Editor's note: This article was updated October 2024 to include The Franchise.

‘The Franchise’ (2024 - Present)

Rotten Tomatoes: 71% | IMDb: 6.3/10

The Franchise

Comedy

Release Date

October 6, 2024

Cast

Billy Magnussen , Jessica Hynes , Darren Goldstein , Lolly Adefope , Isaac Powell , Daniel Brühl , Richard E. Grant

Showrunner

Jon Brown

A hotly-discussed antidote for superhero fatigue, The Franchise follows a team of filmmakers stuck inside the ever-circling loop of a big-budget franchise. With the world insistent on this being the future of cinema, can the group convince themselves of the hype or admit defeat against the malevolent modern movie machine? Starring the likes of Himesh Patel, Jessica Hynes, Aya Cash, and many more, The Franchise is a breath of fresh air against the very landscape it so bitingly portrays. A satire of the modern movie industry, The Franchise might feel alienating at first to those not used to the inner workings of the business, but the fast-paced comedy will quickly lure you in and keep you hooked. - Jake Hodges

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‘My Brilliant Friend’ (2018 - 2024)

Rotten Tomatoes: 97% | IMDb: 8.6/10

My Brilliant Friend

Drama

Release Date

November 18, 2018

Creator

Saverio Costanzo

Cast

Gaia Girace , Margherita Mazzucco

This coming-of-age teen drama, adapted by Saverio Constanzo and based on the first four novels of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels, follows Margherita Mazzucco’s Elena, an elderly woman whose life is turned upside down when her best friend leaves without a trace. Looking for solace, Elena decides to take to her computer and write their life together. As can happen with series in a foreign language, My Brilliant Friend has frustratingly gone under the radar, but its touching tale of love and nostalgia makes for an unforgettable journey. This series has 97% on Rotten Tomatoes for a reason and is one of the most underrated shows on Max right now. - Jake Hodges

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‘Wise Guy: David Chase and the Sopranos’ (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes: 100% | IMDb: 8.4/10

Wise Guy: David Chase and the Sopranos (2024)

Documentary

Release Date

September 6, 2024

Cast

David Chase

Boasting a 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating, this HBO original documentary follows the making of and surrounding cultural shifts caused by the iconic TV series The Sopranos. Featuring first-hand accounts and interviews from those closest to the show, creator and showrunner David Chase leads a fascinating look at both the iconic series and the television industry in general. Chase’s life is also explored, giving a deeper look at the experience that led the genius to create one of the best television series of all time. - Jake Hodges

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‘The Penguin’ (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes: 93%

The Penguin

Crime

Drama

Release Date

September 19, 2024

Cast

Colin Farrell , Cristin Milioti , Rhenzy Feliz , Michael Kelly , Shohreh Aghdashloo , Deirdre O'Connell , Clancy Brown , James Madio , Scott Cohen , Michael Zegen , Carmen Ejogo , Theo Rossi

Colin Farrell’s transformative performance as Oswald Cobblepot in 2022’s The Batman made for one of the best secondary antagonists in superhero cinema history. Now, and rightfully so, he is receiving his own series set straight after the events of the aforementioned film. With Gotham City flooded, Cobblepot (The Penguin) looks to take advantage and start molding the criminal underworld in his image. Inspired by crime series such as The Sopranos, The Penguin is a gritty crime drama disguised as a big-budget superhero series. Full of dark twists, the show holds your attention from its first episode and never lets go, making for an experience that both dutifully sets up the upcoming Batman sequel without wasting any of its own time - Jake Hodges

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‘Chimp Crazy’ (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes: 95% | IMDb: 7.3/10

Chimp Crazy

Documentary

Release Date

August 18, 2024

Cast

Tonia Haddix

This mind-boggling docuseries, directed and produced by Eric Goode, tells the bonkers tale of former nurse-turned-exotic animal broker Tonia Haddix. After keeping many animals in captivity, Tonia falls in love with a chimpanzee called Tonka, with her doting affection soon catching the attention of PETA. Chimp Crazy could’ve easily sided with either of the two oppositions in this documentary, but Goode and co. neatly portray both sides of the story as any great docuseries should. Allowing the audience to make their own mind up, Chimp Crazy blends emotional anecdotes with cold, hard facts, making for a viewing experience that feels both mind-blowing and educationally rewarding. - Jake Hodges

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‘Margarita’ (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes: 100% | IMDb: 6.8/10

Margarita

Genre

Teen, Comedy, Drama

Debut Date

September 2, 2024

This Argentine-Uruguayan series, which is itself a spin-off of the telenovela Floricienta that ran for two seasons in the mid-noughties, follows the titular Margarita (Mora Bianchi) as she stumbles across a magical place that houses the answers to the many mysteries of her life. Floricienta was a certified worldwide hit, with this spin-off already benefiting from a dedicated core fanbase. By mixing the comedy, drama, and fantasy genres, the series takes on the mantle of its predecessor by bringing exciting and immersive stories to a young audience. Impressively, the first season consists of 40 episodes in total, meaning there’s plenty to keep any potential viewer entertained. - Jake Hodges

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‘Hard Knocks’ (2001 - Present)

IMDb: 8.4/10

Hard Knocks

Documentary

Reality

Release Date

August 6, 2024

Cast

Liev Schreiber

Produced by NFL Films and HBO, Hard Knocks is a long-running reality sports documentary series first broadcast in 2001. Each season of the show follows a National Football League (NFL) team as they prepare for the upcoming football season, going deep into the professional and personal lives of the players, coaches, and staff. Since 2021, the series has also featured a second season the same year that follows another team during the NFL regular season. In 2024, the show expanded to its largest scale yet, covering the New York Giants in the off-season, the Chicago Bears during training camp, and the entire AFC North division during the regular season. Over the years, Hard Knocks has become quite popular with football fans. Though individual seasons have faced criticism, the show’s overall response has been quite positive, as it gives fans a behind-the-scenes look at the personal journeys of their favorite icons.

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‘In Treatment’ (2008 - 2021)

Rotten Tomatoes: 90% | IMDb: 8.3/10

In Treatment

Drama

Release Date

January 28, 2008

Creator

Rodrigo García

Cast

Uzo Aduba , Alison Pill , Sherri Saum , Mia Wasikowska , Embeth Davidtz

Created by Rodrigo Garcia and based on Hagai Levi, Ori Sivan, and Nir Bergman’s Israeli series, In Treatment follows the life of Baltimore psychotherapist Paul Weston (Gabriel Byrne). After starting to question his own ability, Paul seeks out his old mentor, someone he hasn’t seen in a decade, with hopes of rekindling his psychotherapy fire. A sharp, slick series with a penchant for detail, In Treatment never lets go of its dramatic intrigue from the very first episode right through to the finale 13 years later. Across 130 episodes, the show won two Primetime Emmys (among many other awards), although plenty within the fanbase will label that a harsh underachievement for a series of this quality. - Jake Hodges

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‘Industry’ (2020 - Present)

Rotten Tomatoes: 90% | IMDb: 7.2/10

Industry

Drama

Release Date

November 9, 2020

Cast

Marisa Abela , Kit Harington , Myha'la Herrold , Harry Lawtey , David Jonsson , Ken Leung , Conor MacNeill , Freya Mavor , Alex Alomar Akpobome

Created by Mickey Down and Konrad Kay, Industry is a British-American drama series that follows a group of young finance graduates in London working at Pierpoint & Co, a prestigious investment bank, where they find themselves caught in an intense no-holds-barred competition to stay afloat. Set in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, Industry gives an inside look at the high-pressure world of high finance, the cut-throat competition within the industry’s biggest firms, and its impact on professionals. The series features a large ensemble cast with Marisa Abela, Myha'la Herrold, Harry Lawtey, David Jonsson, and Ken Leung as the main characters. Kit Harington, Sarah Goldberg, and Fady Elsayed joined the cast for the third season. Industry premiered in November 2020 and has had three seasons so far, all critically acclaimed. The show has received great praise for its social critique, crisp narrative, and excellent performances, with a slick and sharp storytelling style that’s often compared to shows like Succession and Billions.

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‘Entourage’ (2004 - 2011)

Rotten Tomatoes: 65% | IMDb: 8.4/10

Entourage

Comedy

Drama

Release Date

July 18, 2004

Cast

Kevin Connolly , Adrian Grenier , Kevin Dillon , Jerry Ferrara , Jeremy Piven , Debi Mazar , Perrey Reeves , Rex Lee , Rhys Coiro , Gary Cole , Emmanuelle Chriqui , Scott Caan

Creator(s)

Doug Ellin

This HBO classic created by Doug Ellin follows Vince Chase (Adrian Grenier), a budding young acting star who heads to Hollywood to soak up his newfound fame. However, he didn’t travel alone, bringing along his titular entourage — with the gang getting into all sorts of mischief that will lead to many a professional problem for Chase. Highly quotable and perfect for binge-watching, Entourage is mightily addictive. From the water-tight scripts to a central group of friends who have endless chemistry, the show ebbs and flows between different comedic styles without ever losing its identity. An awards darling, the show earned a remarkable six Primetime Emmys across eight seasons, with some suggesting that number should be considerably higher. - Jake Hodges

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‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ (1990 - 1996)

Rotten Tomatoes: 79% | IMDb: 8.3/10

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

Comedy

Release Date

September 10, 1990

Cast

Will Smith , James Avery , Tatyana Ali , Joseph Marcell , alfonso ribeiro , Karyn Parsons , Daphne Reid

The series that put Will Smith on the map, this sitcom follows Smith as the titular Fresh Prince, also called Will Smith, an unruly teen who is sent to live with his strict and wealthy Aunt and Uncle in Bel-Air. Under the guidance of his Uncle, Phil (James Avery), Will learns to grow from a boy into a man, with the series flowing between classic sitcom gags to genuinely heartfelt drama. With so many quotable moments it is impossible to recite them all, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is just as brilliant today as it was in the ‘90s. A mask of quick wit hides a terrifically intelligent spine, with the growth of each character into their final form some of the most endearing arcs in sitcom history. Just make sure you’re prepared to have that iconic theme song stuck in your head forever. - Jake Hodges

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‘Kite Man: Hell Yeah!’ (2024 - Present)

Rotten Tomatoes: 89% | IMDb: 7.5/10

Kite Man: Hell Yeah!

Animation

Action

Adventure

Release Date

2024-00-00

Cast

Kaley Cuoco , Matt Oberg , Cathy Ang

Out of all the possible characters who could have earned their own Harley Quinn spin-off, no doubt the last person anyone would've ever imagined is Kite Man (Matt Oberg), the wayward, D-list ex-fiance of Poison Ivy (Lake Bell) — and yet it's happened, in a manner so perfect we couldn't have written it better ourselves. Kite Man: Hell Yeah!, which hails from the OG Harley Quinn team of Dean Lorey, Patrick Schumacker, and Justin Halpern, follows our favorite hopeless supervillain Kite Man as he attempts to take his relationship with Golden Glider (Stephanie Hsu) to the next level by saving their favorite Gotham dive bar, Noonan's, from going under. What better way to do that than by coughing up the cash themselves? It turns out that running a bar in the shadow of Lex Luthor's (Lance Reddick) Legion of Doom is a little easier said than done, especially since the duo has to hire a whole new staff to keep the lights on, but if anyone can push through a seemingly insurmountable job with a lot of optimism and a whole lot more "hell yeah"s, it's our guy Kite Man. - Carly Lane

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‘Band of Brothers’ (2001)

Rotten Tomatoes: 94% | IMDb: 9.4/10

Band of Brothers

Action

Drama

Release Date

September 9, 2001

Cast

Damian Lewis , Donnie Wahlberg , Eion Bailey , Ron Livingston , Matthew Settle , Michael Cudlitz , Neal McDonough , Scott Grimes

This widely acclaimed miniseries from 2001 follows the harrowing journey of "E" Easy Company, 506th Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division during the Second World War. From their days in training to the bloody final days of the war, Band of Brothers depicts the ups and downs of their road to physical victory and emotional loss. Considered by many to be the greatest depiction of war ever put on the small screen, Band of Brothers is a visceral, overwhelming experience that pushed boundaries upon its initial release. A winner of six Primetime Emmys, the series is an emotional rollercoaster that is both faithful to its source material as well as ambitious in its style. Gritty, heartfelt, and deftly designed, Band of Brothers is one of the shows everyone must see once in their lifetime. - Jake Hodges

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'Landscapers' (2021)

Rotten Tomatoes: 98% | IMDb: 7.0/10

Landscapers

Genre

Comedy, Crime, Drama

Debut Date

December 6, 2021

Created and written by Ed Sinclair and directed by Will Sharpe, Landscapers is a true crime dark comedy-drama miniseries. The four-episode show is based on the real-life 1998 murders of William and Patricia Wycherley by their daughter Susan and her husband Christopher — a crime that wasn’t unearthed until 2012. Olivia Colman and David Thewlis star as the couple behind the murders, revealing how they came to commit the crime and cover it up for over a decade. Besides Colman and Thewlis, the series also stars Kate O'Flynn, Dipo Ola, Daniel Rigby, Samuel Anderson, Felicity Montagu, and David Hayman. Landscapers received widespread critical acclaim at the time of its release thanks to its performances and inventive storytelling. Colman and Thewlis, in particular, have received great praise for their grounded roles, which anchor this unbelievable story that’s absurd in all the right ways. Landscapers is dark, tragic, strangely humorous, and wildly entertaining — a true crime show that embraces the full oddity of “truth.”

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'John Adams' (2008)

Rotten Tomatoes: 82% | IMDb: 8.4/10

John Adams

History

Release Date

March 16, 2008

Cast

Paul Giamatti , Laura Linney , Mamie Gummer , David Morse , Rufus Sewell , Sarah Polley , Tom Wilkinson , Danny Huston

Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning biography by David McCullough, John Adams follows the ups, downs, and in-betweens of the life of the Founding Father John Adams (Paul Giamatti). The series begins with the Boston Massacre of 1770 and follows his rise through the political ranks all the way until his untimely death in 1826. There is no way of describing John Adams other than a masterpiece. A severely underrated miniseries from the noughties, the show was both publicly and critically acclaimed upon its arrival, thanks in no small part to Giamatti delivering one of his best performances as the titular Founding Father. A poignant, captivating show, John Adams went on to win a staggering 13 Primetime Emmys for just seven episodes. - Jake Hodges

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'Six Schizophrenic Brothers' (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes: 62% | IMDb: 7.2/10

Six Schizophrenic Brothers

Genre

Documentary

Debut Date

June 10, 2024

This captivating documentary follows the life of an average family, which, from the outside, seems as normal as any other all-American unit. However, the truth behind the twelve Galvin siblings is that an incredible six of them have schizophrenia, leaving the family broken and desperate for change. Not just an intriguing central study, Six Schizophrenic Brothers is also a powerful character examination, with the emphasis put on them as people and not simply as objects of fascination. There is no intention to provide answers to the terribly common problem of mental health affecting family units, but instead, its purpose is to raise awareness, with this documentary likely to find a home in the hearts of millions who can relate. - Jake Hodges

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'Fantasmas' (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes: 96% | IMDb: 6.6/10

Fantasmas

Comedy

Release Date

June 7, 2024

Cast

Julio Torres , Emma Stone , Steve Buscemi , Paul Dano

Created by and starring Julio Torres, Fantasmas follows the actor as himself, directly following the loss of his golden oyster earring. Having to hunt it down in a bustling New York City, Julio encounters all manner of idiosyncratic people along the way. A wonderfully unique and refreshing series, Fantasmas is a surrealistic piece of artistic expression borne from the mind of a true creative. Brimming full of unforgettable characters and neat quirks, the show is also a visual delight, with cinematographer Sam Levy taking Julio’s avant-garde mission statement and finding its harmonic aesthetic. Unlike anything else of Max, Fantasmas is for those bored of the same formulaic series. - Jake Hodges

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'Ren Faire' (2024)

Rotten Tomatoes: 100% | IMDb: 6.7/10

Ren Faire

When the ailing king of America's largest renaissance festival declares his retirement, an epic power struggle ensues between an actor, a former elephant trainer, and a kettle-corn kingpin to claim his throne.

Genre

Documentary

Debut Date

June 2, 2024

This Max docu-series follows a fight for power triggered by the retirement of the king of America's largest Renaissance festival, King George Coulam. After vacating his throne to focus on romance, the fight is on between three of his biggest allies to claim a seat at the head of the table. The impressive power of the documentary medium is on full display in Ren Faire, with the levels to which the trio are willing to go to win the throne nothing short of a classic Greek or Shakespearean tragedy. Not just a fascinating tale, Ren Faire is also an aesthetic delight, with the cinematography worthy of plenty of admiration. A tale unlike any other, Ren Faire is one of the best new docu-series available on streaming. - Jake Hodges

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'My Adventures with Superman' (2023 - Present)

Rotten Tomatoes: 98% | IMDb: 7.7/10

My Adventures With Superman

Animation

Superhero

Action

Adventure

Release Date

July 6, 2023

Cast

Jack Quaid , Alice Lee , Ishmel Sahid , kari wahlgren

This animated addition to the Superman story follows a young Clark Kent, voiced by Jack Quaid, as he slowly builds his new identity as a superhero. With Metropolis under his watchful eye, Kent is able to fight off any physical opponent — that is until he meets any young person’s greatest foe: their own coming-of-age. A wonderful blend of teen angst and great superhero animation, My Adventures with Superman is both a terrific ode to the legacy of one of media’s greatest heroes and a refreshing addition to modern television. Aesthetically delightful and oozing charisma, there’s no wonder this series so quickly returned for a second season. - Jake Hodges

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'The Big Bang Theory' (2007 - 2019)

Rotten Tomatoes: 81% | IMDb: 8.1/10

The Big Bang Theory

Comedy

Release Date

September 24, 2007

Creator

Chuck Lorre, Bill Prady

Cast

Johnny Galecki , Jim Parsons , Kaley Cuoco , Simon Helberg , Kunal Nayyar , Melissa Rauch , Mayim Bialik , Kevin Sussman

Before there was Young Sheldon, there was The Big Bang Theory, one of the 21st century’s most-watched sitcoms. The series follows a group of typically nerdy friends, headlined by roommates Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Leonard (Johnny Galecki), as they navigate the social stigma and romantic embarrassment that comes with working in science and loving video games. However, all that is about to change when Kaley Cuoco’s Penny moves in across the hall. For better or for worse, The Big Bang Theory’s impact on modern television cannot be understated, with the show’s plethora of memorable characters imprinting catchphrases and funny moments into millions of minds. A winner of 10 Primetime Emmys, all aspects of this series are beloved by its dedicated fanbase, from the intricate central relationships to the iconic theme song. - Jake Hodges

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