(Photo by Ian Watson/HBO Max)
The Best HBO Max Shows To Stream Now
Updated as of January 3, 2022
HBO Max launched in May 2020 with a handful of originals, including Anna Kendrick–starring series Love Life, reality competition programming Craftopia and Legendary (one for crafting fans, one for ballrooom voguers), kids’ programming Looney Tunes Cartoons and The Not-Too-Late Show with Elmo, and documentary film Off The Record.
More than a year later, the upstart streamer with the gold-plated HBO brand name boasts a deep well of content from the libraries of the brands bundled under the WarnerMedia division of AT&T, as well as licensed content like the complete collection of Studio Ghibli films, British import I Hate Suzie, and 700 episodes of iconic BBC series like Doctor Who, The Office, and Luther.
The latest additions to the service’s originals slate include British import rom-com series Starstruck and Jean Smart comedy Hacks, both shows with celebrated first seasons sitting at 100% Fresh on the Tomatometer, and other new releases including dark comedy Made for Love, teen drama Genera+ion, plus recent critical darlings like Certified Fresh miniseries It’s a Sin, celebrated Spanish import Veneno, and more.
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Below are all of the HBO Max originals series ranked by Tomatometer, including new-to-the-service series like Search Party, Harley Quinn, and Doom Patrol, late 2020 splashy releases The Flight Attendant and Raised By Wolves, and historical LGBTQ miniseries Equal. In order to be included series must have a Fresh score on the Tomatometer, which means series like reality competition The Bridge aren’t included — yet.
Keep checking back to find out which HBO Max originals are worth a watch. Plus, check out the other great HBO titles available on the service.
Looking for more great TV and streaming recommendations? Order our book, The Ultimate Binge Guide.
Recently Added: Station Eleven
#35
Adjusted Score: 69123%
Critics Consensus: It may work best for die-hards, but when it cuts out the noise and focuses on the connections Friends: The Reunion is as warm and comforting as a night in the café.
Synopsis: “Friends” stars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry, and David Schwimmer return to the iconic comedy’s...
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Synopsis: Overachieving high school students meet their greatest challenge in the form of a teacher who wants them to focus less...
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Synopsis: High school students explore modern sexuality, testing deeply entrenched beliefs about life, love and the nature of family in their...
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Synopsis: Two androids are tasked with raising human children on a mysterious virgin planet; as the human colony threatens to be...
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Synopsis: An account of the iconic 1960s Profumo affair, the British political scandal that originated with a brief relationship between a...
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Synopsis: Each season of "Love Life" follows a different person, jumping back and forth between timelines throughout all the diverse relationships...
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Synopsis: Host Elmo interviews celebrity guests along with his co-host, Cookie Monster....
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Synopsis: Actor Billy Porter narrates this four-part documentary series that pays tribute to the founders of the modern LGBTQ+ movement. Before...
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Synopsis: Lauren Riihimaki, aka LaurDIY, hosts a competition featuring 9 to 15-year-old crafters who use their imaginations to make inventive and...
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Synopsis: Following Amy Schumer as she struggles with her pregnancy in preparation for her comedy special....
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Synopsis: In the middle of the winter, scientists at an Antarctic research station stop communicating with the outside world....
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Synopsis: An examination of the UFO cult through the eyes of its former members and their loved ones; what starts with...
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Starring:
Synopsis: A cash-strapped couple living in West London decide to take in a lodger to ease some of their financial worries....
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Synopsis: Pulling from the underground ballroom community, voguing teams, called "Houses," compete in dance challenges and showcase fashions for chance to...
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Synopsis: Adult drama which delves inside the porn industry in modern Britain from the perspective of a woman who has been...
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Synopsis: A community in Sweden places its dreams of revitalization on the teenage shoulders of its junior ice hockey team; the...
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#19
Adjusted Score: 79907%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A woman is on the run after 10 years in a suffocating marriage to a tech billionaire, who has implanted...
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Synopsis: The newly single Harley Quinn sets off to make it on her own as the criminal queenpin in Gotham City....
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Synopsis: Suzie Pickles finds her life upended when her phone is hacked and compromising pictures of her surface online; she struggles...
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Synopsis: The disappearance of former college acquaintance Chantal leads several 20-somethings to get entangled in the mystery of how she went...
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Synopsis: Four roommates navigate their new freedom on the prestigious campus of Essex College....
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Adjusted Score: 104765%
Critics Consensus: Station Eleven rewards patient viewers with an insightful and thematically rich assertion that -- even in the post-apocalypse -- the show must go on.
Synopsis: A flight attendant's life gets turned upside down after she wakes up in a hotel room with a dead man...
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Synopsis: Ritchie, Colin and Roscoe leave home at 18 to begin new lives in 1981 London, but they find themselves challenged...
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Synopsis: Doom Patrol is a team of traumatized and downtrodden superheroes, each of whom has suffered a horrible accident that gave...
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Synopsis: Children's perspectives on some of today's most challenging issues: homelessness, parental incarceration, military caregiving, and climate displacement....
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Starring:
Synopsis: Aquaman finally becomes king of Atlantis, but he has a lot of learning to do; thankfully, his advisors Vulko, a...
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Synopsis: The comic uses sketches and vignettes to illustrate what it feels like to experience everyday situations -- including racial profiling,...
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Synopsis: The true life story of Spanish transgender singer and TV personality Cristina Ortiz Rodríguez, better known by the nickname "La...
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#5
Adjusted Score: 55265%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A couple faces various challenges as they transition from their 20s to their 30s....
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Synopsis: The story of Elizabeth Carmichael, who released a fuel-efficient vehicle during the 1970s gas crisis; as she wins over major...
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Starring:
Synopsis: A drunken New Year's Eve hook-up becomes far more complicated for Jessie when she discovers her one night stand is...
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Synopsis: A year after parting, Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) is riding high off the success of her standup special while Ava...
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