The 10 best HBO shows of all time, ranked

All television production networks are equal, but some are more equal than others. In modern history, there has been no brand, provider, or even streaming service that is as synonymous with small-screen greatness as HBO. While the cable network has been operational since as far back as the early '70s, there is no doubt the company’s greatness has been defined by the last 30 years, over which time it spearheaded television’s ascent to prestige entertainment and has consistently churned out series that have embodied the medium at its absolute best.

Such is the plethora of outstanding shows HBO has produced that masterpieces like Rome, Oz, and Curb Your Enthusiasm are just some of the triumphant gems that haven’t made the list. The series that have are truly embedded among the greatest TV shows of all time. With everything from fantasy epics to crime thrillers, satirical comedies, and war dramas included, HBO’s best series display not only the creative brilliance of the network but the stunning variety of their stories as well.

'Veep' (2012–2019)

Hot off the back of his success with the British comedy series The Thick of It, political satirist Armando Iannucci pivoted across the pond to scorch the landscape of American politics with his trademark acidic wit and cynicism in the form of Veep. Narrowly edging out Curb Your Enthusiasm as the best comedy series produced by HBO, it follows former senator Selina Meyer (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) as she is given the opportunity to serve as the Vice President and uses the position to fulfill her own political ambitions while juggling day-to-day obstacles in her professional and personal life.

Gaining momentum, gravitas, and grandeur throughout its seven-season run, Veep excels as an acidic depiction of political figures. With its profanity-laden, razor-sharp dialogue and its assembly of egocentric and wickedly immoral characters, it strips all notions of heroism and humanity from governance to present a confronting and hostile image of those in power. Laced with a sense of biting realism, Veep stands tall among the greatest political series television has ever seen and remains a cathartic, albeit shocking, skewering of American politics.

'Game of Thrones' (2011–2019)

While many, even seven years on from its conclusion, lament the ending of Game of Thrones, there is no denying that the hit fantasy series is the greatest feat of production and scale the small screen has ever seen. Based on George R. R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” novel series, it quickly became renowned for its devastating plot twists and unpredictable storytelling as it focuses on a savage war for power between five noble families in the mythical realm of Westeros.

At its peak, Game of Thrones was irrefutably the most astonishing series television had ever seen, a faultless marriage of masterful writing, impressive performances, and breathtaking production design that transfixed millions around the world. Even with the series stumbling somewhat in its final season, it remains an iconic triumph of storytelling ambition and production might. Its spin-off series, House of the DragonandA Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, have been similarly impressive highlights for HBO as well.

'Six Feet Under' (2001–2006)

Among the most criminally underrated series HBO has produced, Six Feet Under delivers a poignant balance of philosophical, character-driven drama and biting black comedy as it follows the highly dysfunctional Fisher family as they come together to manage their late father’s funeral home. With each of the main characters embarking on their own journeys of identity, belonging, and existentialism, the five-season series provides a masterful and contemplative exploration of the intricacies of the human condition in the face of mortality.

Bolstered by its inflections of spiritual surrealism and the scope it finds in containing several main characters, it allows for a uniquely piercing and profoundly intriguing descent into ideas of morality that only gets better the longer it runs. With its series finale heralded by many who have seen it as one of the greatest conclusions in television history, Six Feet Under is a hidden gem of HBO drama that pulls no punches in its thematic might while still delivering a rewarding and emotionally captivating story of human turmoil.

'Deadwood' (2004–2006)

Western drama has long been a staple of television, spanning as far back as the late 1940s with iconic titles like Hopalong Cassidy and The Lone Ranger. In the 21st century, the small screen has seen no greater example of the genre than Deadwood, which follows the residents of the eponymous town as a mining boom in the 1870s brings masses of people to the settlement in search of riches.

Buoyed by its brilliant dialogue, exceptional ensemble cast, and thorough exploration of society and order in a town where law enforcement is overwhelmed and crime runs rampant, Deadwood holds a ruthless allure as it explores Western drama at its most visceral, profanely poetic, and morally ambiguous. While its abrupt cancellation does strip it of a rewarding and holistic finale, it still stands as a masterclass in immersive storytelling and continues to endure as one of HBO’s most enrapturing titles.

'Succession' (2018–2023)

Among the greatest series from any production network in the past decade, Succession is a masterpiece of skewering satire, one that sets its sights on power and wealth in the modern world with infectiously addictive results. Skirting the line between black comedy and high-octane thrills, it unfolds as the aging Logan Roy (Brian Cox) signals his intent to step down as the CEO and chairperson of Waystar RoyCo, a global multimedia conglomerate, thus creating a ferocious power struggle between his three children as they strive to best position themselves as the optimal successor.

Defined by its frenetic pacing, vulgar dialogue, and the violent shifts in fortune and favor that the characters endure, Succession is a captivating dissection of status, inheritance, and elitist culture that intricately weaves its tale of rivalry and power with complex observations on trauma and morality. Complimented by its incredible ensemble cast and ceaselessly outstanding writing, Succession’s four-season stretch marks a modern marvel of television drama that remains utterly brilliant from beginning to end.

'The Leftovers' (2014–2017)

Not only HBO’s most underappreciated series so far, but one of the most criminally underrated titles of 21st-century television as well, The Leftovers is an absorbing masterpiece of high-concept drama and character-driven narrative anchored by the depth of its writing and the perfection of its cast. On October 14, 2011, two percent of the world’s population inexplicably vanished in an event that is known as the “Sudden Departure.” Three years later, the world is left reeling with remorse, memory, and grief as some in society try to maintain a sense of normality while others insist on remembering the vanquished.

As hypnotic as it is unique, The Leftovers doesn’t approach its story with a sense of dystopian tension or unraveling mystery, but with an air of weighted, lingering drama as it follows the journeys of deeply flawed and wounded characters. Its ability to make viewers empathize with characters is remarkable, and the trust it places in the audience to embrace its languid tempo of human vulnerability, impossible morality, and the search for purpose is easy to reward. Cerebral, challenging, and completely immersive, it stands as the best long-running season HBO produced in the 2010s, and it’s a shame it hasn’t been regarded as such by more people.

'Chernobyl' (2019)

One of the greatest miniseries ever made, Chernobyl is a masterclass of atmospheric dread and historical drama that revolves around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster of 1986. Epic in scope, its five-episode run covers the night of the reactor meltdown and the immediate aftermath suffered by first responders, the rigorous efforts to organize and execute a containment strategy, and the eventual political fallout that befell the Soviet Union on the world stage.

The brilliance of Chernobyl is that it excels on two different fronts. As an all-encompassing historical drama, it is as frightful as it is enrapturing, showcasing the astonishing scale of the operation to contain the radioactive damage in a manner that is entirely absorbing. However, it also soars as a ferocious indictment on political deception, with the series’ later episodes making pointed observations on the Soviet Union’s efforts to shelter the true nature of the incident from the rest of the world and the price it paid when the facts were unveiled. It is regarded by many to be the greatest piece of television drama in the past decade, and it is certain to endure for many years to come as a defining triumph of the medium.

'Band of Brothers' (2001)

From one masterpiece of miniseries drama to another, Band of Brothers has stood the test of time for 25 years now to solidify itself as one of the best and most ageless series the format has ever seen. Also standing as the greatest depiction of war ever put to the small screen, it follows the soldiers of Easy Company, an American Airborne division, through their campaign in the European Theater of WWII, beginning with their rigorous training regime and their airdrop in Normandy on the eve of D-Day, through the many battles they fought in, and to their presence in Germany as the war draws to a close.

Driven by the rich authenticity of its production, it delivers a harrowing descent into the brutality and chaos of war, but its emotional punch is firmly rooted in the investment it makes in the journeys the soldiers endure and the bonds and camaraderie they form. Its basis on real soldiers—many of whom appear and give testimonial interviews throughout the series—only adds to its gravitas, making Band of Brothers one of the most enriching and rewarding series ever made, even if it is often a challenging viewing experience.

'The Sopranos' (1999–2007)

In many ways, HBO is the flagship of television’s rise to becoming a prestige form of drama in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Not dissimilarly, The Sopranos is something of a defining spearhead of the network’s rampant rise to becoming one of the most respected brands in modern entertainment. A truly revolutionary masterpiece, it follows New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) as he begins seeing a therapist in secret to help him navigate the increasingly complex imbalance in his violent professional life and tumultuous family environment.

Its serialized approach to long-running drama broke new ground for the format, with the series’ continuous story over the course of six seasons not only standing as a masterpiece of intense, character-focused complexity but as a pioneer of modern television as well. Astonishing from beginning to finish, it continues to be heralded as a defining achievement of the medium due to its litany of note-perfect performances, razor-sharp writing, and commanding control over narrative tone. If anyone were to herald it as being the greatest series HBO has ever produced, or even the best series of all time, it would be difficult to argue.

'The Wire' (2002–2008)

Not just a viscerally intense and painfully realistic crime series, but an all-encompassing epic dissecting the failings of societal institutions in modern America as well, The Wire is the best, most timeless, and most important show to have ever been produced. Starting relatively small, its first season explores both the inner workings of street-level drug dealers and the police work of officers trying to mount a case against them, but it quickly grows from there. Ensuing seasons examine everything from the hierarchy of the drug trade and a violent transition of power to the chain of command of the Baltimore Police Department, the swaying priorities of City Hall, and the systemic rot that affects everything from public schooling to journalism as well.

Grounded by the detail and authenticity that former crime reporter David Simon and veteran police detective Ed Burns bring to the series as co-creators, The Wire eschews notions of heroism and villainy in favor of delving into the moral complexity of the world it examines. It is never anything short of profoundly nuanced and contemplative, especially as it treats Baltimore itself as a central character and critiques the efficiency and pitfalls of the city’s institutions while acknowledging the humanity and hopes of those who populate them. Immense, heartbreaking, and ceaselessly poignant, The Wire is the pinnacle of television drama at its most urgent and captivating.