The Best Shows on HBO Right Now (January 2021)

Created and Directed by John Wilson

Starring John Wilson

American filmmaker John Wilson sticks his camera into the unseen in this enlightening miniseries. How To with John Wilson is unlike anything I’ve ever seen; is it satire? Performance art? Narrative storytelling? Who knows! Maybe that’s why it works.

Created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, Based on A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin

Starring Emilia Clarke, Kit Harrington, Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Sophie Turner, and Maisie Williams

Oh Game of Thrones how I loved thee. Through seven seasons, Game of Thrones achieved some cloud-peaking highs and some deep-sea lows as it explored a chess game of shifting loyalties, brutal backstabs, and lots and lots of love. But through it all, I found myself glued to the TV screen on Sunday nights desperate to see how it would all come together.

Then season eight happened. Needless to say, fans and critics were left underwhelmed. Game of Thrones breathed new life into the fantasy genre, but sadly, by the end its lungs were extinguished by ice amidst the fire.

The Best Shows on HBO Right Now

The Undoing (2020)

Created by David E. Kelly, Based on You Should Have Known by Jean Hanff Korelitz, Directed by Susan Bier

Starring Hugh Grant, Nicole Kidman, Edgar Ramirez, Noah Jupe, and Donald Sutherland

Hugh Grant and Nicole Kidman star in this HBO mini-series about a couple who are thrown for a loop when one of them is accused of murder. The Undoing broke HBO viewership records – becoming the first HBO series to gain viewers every week.

Director Susan Brier received a lot of acclaim for her work on the series; as did David E. Kelley, one of the premiere television legal writers working today.

Created by Darren Starr, Based on Sex and the City by Candace Bushnell

Starring Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Catrall, Kristin Davis, and Cynthia Nixon

Sex and the City made HBO more popular than many at the time thought possible. Through its six-season run, Sex and the City was nominated for 54 Emmy Awards, and won seven.

The influence of Sex and the City on sitcoms and popular culture can’t be quantified. Sarah Jessica Parker does a great job of carrying the series in the role of Carrie Bradshaw – an imperfect protagonist looking for love in the big city.

Created by Richard Price and Steven Zaillian, Based on Criminal Justice by Peter Moffat

Starring Riz Ahmed, John Turturro, Bill Camp, and Michael K. Williams

There are plenty of great mini-series on HBO, but The Night Of may very well be the best of them all. The Night Of follows the story of a young man named Naz who’s arrested on suspicion of murder. Did he do it? We don’t know, at least at first we don’t. By framing the story in this way, writers Steven Zallian and Richard Price really enrapture us into the film-world.

The Night Of never dumbs itself down for the viewer which results in an engrossing portrait of the criminal justice system in America.

Created by Damon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta, Based on The Leftovers by Tom Perrotta

Starring Justin Theroux, Carrie Coon, Amy Brenneman, and Christopher Eccleston

The Leftovers asks the question: what if 2% of the world’s population disappeared? The first season of The Leftovers was okay. It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t great either. Oftentimes, when a show struggles to find its footing, it just kind of meanders along the same path until it eventually fades into obscurity. That’s not what happened with The Leftovers.

After season one, Damon Lindelof and the writers went back to the drawing board and reinvented The Leftovers. And thank God that they did, because the next two seasons of the show are some of the greatest television ever made. The Leftovers raises many of the same themes that Lindelof explored with his previous show Lost, but does so in an even more nuanced and profound way.

Justin Theroux gives a career performance in the role of Kevin Garvey, a Christ-like figure caught in the storm of a cosmological rapture.

Created by David Simon

Starring Dominic West, John Doman, Idris Elba, Frankie Faison, and Larry Gilliard Jr.

The setting of The Wire may be relatively small but the scope of its story is near-endless. David Simon created The Wire after years of being a police reporter. Perhaps that’s one reason why the show seems so much more grounded and believable than its contemporaries do.

The Wire is widely hailed as one of the great epic drama series of the 21st century for the ways in which it depicts police and gang life.

Created by Paolo Sorrentino

Starring Jude Law, John Malkovich, Diane Keaton, and Silvio Orlando

Technically The Young Pope and The New Pope are different shows. How,  you ask? I couldn’t tell you. The New Pope follows the events of The Young Pope but it’s about a new Pope… or is it?

It’s all semantics but this much I can tell you: The [insert adjective here] Pope is great. All of the episodes are directed by renowned Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino and he adds his signature visual flair throughout. Few shows in recent history are better looking than Sorrentino’s visual treatise on the Catholic Church.

Created by David Chase

Starring James Gandolfini, Lorraine Braco, Edie Falco, and Michael Imperioli

The late, great James Gandolfini stars as the titular Tony Soprano – a violent mob-boss who also has a sensitive side. Few shows on television are celebrated more than The Sopranos, evident by the show’s 21 Emmy Award wins.

Without The Sopranos, HBO would’ve never become the juggernaut service it is today. Perhaps no show on HBO is more iconic than David Chase’s mafia masterpiece The Sopranos.

The Best Shows on HBO Right Now

Lovecraft Country (2020--)

Developed by Misha Green, Based on Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff

Starring Jurnee Smollett, Jonathan Majors, Aunjanue Ellis, Courtney B. Vance, and Michael K. Williams

Lovecraft Country takes the enigmatic stories of H.P. Lovecraft and flips them on their head. The show follows a black man as he travels across a “Jim Crow” United States whilst searching for his missing father. On his journey, the man encounters monsters both natural and supernatural.

Perhaps the greatest strength of Lovecraft Country is its audacious visuals; at times scenic, at times horrific. This is also a show of reclamation and the history we gloss over – monsters, mayhem, misery and all.

Created by Larry David

Starring Larry David, Jeff Garlin, Cheryl Hines, Susie Essman, and J. B. Smoove

Okay, who can hate Larry David? Well besides all the characters in Curb Your Enthusiasm that is. Larry David, AKA TV’s most opinionated personality, decided to jump in front of the camera with Curb rather than stick to the pen and paper he used to co-create Seinfeld.

And what a good thing he did. For the past 20 years, Curb Your Enthusiasm has been one of the best comedy shows on television. A tenth season aired in 2020 and showed that there’s no signs of David slowing down.

Created by Damon Lindelof, Based on Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons

Starring Regina King, Tim Blake Nelson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jeremy Irons, and Don Johnson

The original Watchmen graphic novel from Alan Moore is one of the most revered graphic novels in the world. In 2009, Watchmen was adapted as a film by Zack Snyder and it received strong reviews from critics. However, many fans of the original comics weren’t as quick to praise the movie.

Enter 2019’s Watchmen HBO series – a bold reimagining of the universe from Damon Lindelof (Lost, The Leftovers). Perhaps the best thing about the show is that nobody really knew what it was going to be about, nor when it was going to take place in the film-world. HBO’s Watchmen was certainly a surprise, but in all the best ways.

Directed by Andrew Jarecki

Featuring Andrew Jarecki and Robert Durst

Has there ever been anything more crazy than The Jinx? Okay, I know it’s a hyperbole to ask that, but seriously The Jinx is about as insane as filmmaking gets. Andrew Jarecki directs the series as he seeks to unravel the mystery of Robert Durst, a wealthy socialite who’s been linked to several high-profile murder cases.

What follows is a descent into the depths of Durst’s mind. It’s chilling, disturbing, yet engrossing to watch. Oh, and it just so happened to conclude with one of the most unforgettable endings in television history.

Any and every documentary ethics class should study Andrew Jarecki’s masterpiece The Jinx.

Created by David Milch

Starring Timothy Olyphant, Ian McShane, and Molly Parker

Deadwood is about a series of fictionalized events that took place in the old west settlement of the same name. Despite being one of HBO’s most acclaimed dramas, the story of Deadwood was never concluded – that is until the release of Deadwood: The Movie in 2019.

Deadwood ran for three seasons in its initial run on HBO and won eight Emmy Awards. Several of the show’s Emmy awards were given for production design in costuming, hairstyling, and non-prosthetic makeup.

Created by Alec Berg and Bill Hader

Starring Bill Hader, Stephen Root, Sarah Goldberg, Glenn Fleshler, Anthony Carrigan, and Henry Winkler

Barry follows traumatized war-vet ‘Barry Block’ as he transitions from a lethal hitman to an actor. At times Barry is downright tragic, at other times it’s joyous and playful. But if one thing is certain, it’s that Barry is one of the best shows on HBO right now.

During his years on Saturday Night Live, Bill Hader established himself as one of the premiere talents working in comedy. Hader parlayed his name-cache into several feature film roles from 2013-2018.

Created by Issa Rae and Larry Wilmore

Starring Issa Rae, Jay Ellis, and Yvonne Orji

Co-creator, writer, and star Issa Rae absolutely knocked it out of the park with Insecure – a show that takes a deep dive into the contemporary setting of Los Angeles.

Insecure strikes a great balance between comedy and drama while showing us the life of its two main characters, Issa and Molly. Insecure is further aided by some excellent cinematography and production design.

Insecure has garnered tons of critical acclaim through its four season run, including an AFI award for Best TV Program of the Year (2018).

Created by Tom Fontana

Starring Lee Tergensen, Ernie Hudson, Terry Kinney, Harold Perrineau, and J. K. Simmons

Oz is the show that started it all for HBO dramas. This uber-graphic series brings us into “Emerald City,” a carefully constructed new section of a fictional prison system.

Oz is a graphic show that isn’t afraid to delve into some deep discussions on religion, crime, martyrdom, redemption, and sexuality. The complex commentary that Oz makes on the prison system is just as pertinent now as it was in 1997.

Based on John Adams by David McCullough

Starring Paul Giamatti, Laura Linney, Stephen Dillane, David Morse, and Tom Wilkinson

Widely regarded as one of the most historically accurate shows ever made, HBO’s John Adams is a great lesson in reconstructing period detail. Everything from wardrobing to set dressing to hair and makeup is masterclass.

Paul Giamatti stars in the title role as the man who would become the second President of the United States. The miniseries follows over 50 years in the life of Adams from the Boston Massacre in 1770 to his death in 1826.

Created by Alan Ball

Starring Peter Krause, Michael C. Hall, Frances Conroy, Lauren Ambrose, and Freddy Rodriguez

What is family? What does it mean to walk in the footsteps of those who came before us? How do we begin to make sense of death? These are the questions at the heart of Six Feet Under – a familial drama of life and death in Los Angeles.

Six Feet Under has developed a major cult following in the fifteen years since it ended in large part due to some great performances from Peter Krause, Michael C. Hall, Frances Conroy, and Lauren Ambrose.

Created by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, Based on Stephen A. Ambrose’s Band of Brothers

Starring Damian Lewis, Ron Livingston, Scott Grimes, and Donnie Whalberg

The HBO epic Band of Brothers is a harrowing recreation of the Easy Company’s journey across battles in World War II; a visceral insight into the horrors of war and the bonds of fraternity that are built because of them.

With a massive ensemble cast, Band of Brothers truly displays the giant scope of war. Several WWII vets were brought in to consult on Band of Brothers which has largely been credited as a major reason for the show’s historical accuracy.

The Best Shows on HBO Right Now

The Flight Attendant (2020--)

Developed by Steve Yockey, Based on The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian

Starring Kaley Cuoco, Michiel Huisman, Zosia Mamet, and T.R. Knight

The Flight Attendant is a fast-paced, globe-trotting thriller that shifts tones on a whim. Kaley Cuoco stars in the series as a reckless flight attendant whose life is turned upside down when she becomes implicated in a murder.