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In the golden age of streaming (yes, we’re calling it that), there is no shortage of binge-worthy content. And because our TV screens are saturated with so many amazing shows, it’s easy for a few to fall through the cracks. In the case of HBO, we all know the classics like The Sopranos, Sex and the City, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Game of Thrones. However, there are a ton of other shows currently available on Max that for one reason or another flew under the mainstream radar. Here, an ode to the HBO shows that you may have forgotten. Who knows, perhaps one of these series might inspire your next series TV binge sesh!
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1
“High Maintenance” (2016-2020)
Maybe one of the most underrated sitcoms of the 2010s, High Maintenance was a sweet, silly and sometimes surreal comedy-drama following “The Guy” (Ben Sinclair) as he made cannabis deliveries around New York City. After gaining attention as a web series on Vimeo, it was picked up by HBO for four seasons.
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2
“2 Dope Queens” (2016-2018)
Adapted from a hit podcast of the same name, 2 Dope Queens was an uproariously fun show starring comedians Jessica Williams and Phoebe Robinson. Along with their natural chemistry and funny interactions, the show also featured celebrity guests like Daniel Radcliffe, Uzo Aduba, and Titus Burgess.
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3
“Random Acts of Flyness” (2018-2022)
If you think you’ve watched every great sketch comedy show out there, think again. Since its Mr. Show days, HBO has nurtured some great sketch programs, including Random Acts of Flyness, a two-season explosion of creativity from the mind of Terence Nance.
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4
“Eastbound & Down” (2009-2013)
Before Danny McBride made and starred in The Righteous Gemstones, he co-created and starred in this sports comedy about a washed-up professional baseball player who has to take a job as a physical education teacher at his former middle school.
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5
“Landscapers” (2021)
We all love Olivia Colman, right? Check out this dark comedy crime miniseries which stars Colman and David Thewlis as a mild-mannered couple who commit a murder that goes undiscovered for years.
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6
“Flight of the Conchords” (2007-2009)
If you missed this extremely silly and tragically short-lived musical comedy show, starring Jemaine Clement and Bret Mckenzie, you’re in for a treat. The duo plays a fictionalized version of their real-life band as they try to get famous in New York City. Funny character moments and hilarious musical sequences are the show’s highlights.
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7
“The Plot Against America” (2020)
HBO has some of the best miniseries of all time, from Chernobyl to Band of Brothers. But with so many, a few inevitably get lost in the shuffle. This alternative history miniseries from the acclaimed creator of The Wire, David Simon, and his writing partner Ed Burns, is a solid adaptation of the Philip Roth novel that explores an alternative version of 1940s America, in which Charles Lindbergh wins the presidential race against FDR, leading to rising antisemitism and fascism across the country.
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8
“The Comeback” (2005, 2014)
In the hilarious cult-comedy, Lisa Kudrow stars as Valerie Cherish, a former sitcom actress making her grand return to network television as reality show cameras capture her various Hollywood encounters, behind-the-scenes blunders and cringeworthy antics.
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9
“Family Tree” (2013)
The documentary-style show (from mockumentary mastermind Christopher Guest) followed Tom Chadwick (Chris O’Dowd) as he embarked on a journey to learn more about his family lineage. The critical reviews on the series were mixed, and it only managed one season.
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10
“Camping” (2018)
The eight-episode series chronicled a group of friends as they go camping for the weekend. And, naturally, drama between the core cast of characters ensues because what else is there to do in the wilderness but face your inner demons? The series, which was based on a British show of the same name, featured an interesting cast including Jennifer Garner, David Tennant, Juliette Lewis, Nicole Richie and Busy Philips, to name a few.
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11
“Togetherness” (2015 - 2016)
The Duplass brothers, Mark and Jay, brought their brand of relatable dramedy to HBO with Togetherness, a series that focused on marriages and friendships. And while the show found light success in the awards circuit, it ended after just two seasons.
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12
“Hung” (2009 - 2011)
This series pretty much had it all. A suburban patriarch struggling as he attempts to pick up the pieces of his shattered life? Check. That same struggling suburban patriarch turning to male prostitution? Oh yeah, there’s that too.
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13
“Getting On” (2013 - 2015)
For three seasons, Getting On followed the lives of the staff members working at a hospital in Long Beach, California. Laurie Metcalf (The Conners), Alex Borstein (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), Niecy Nash (Reno 911) and Mel Rodriquez (The Last Man on Earth) led the entire operation.
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14
“Hello Ladies” (2013 - 2014)
When you have an Englishman who moves to Los Angeles and is looking for love, you get a series of comedic missteps, but you also get Hello Ladies, which was created by and starring Stephen Merchant, the co-writer of the original British version of The Office.
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15
“The Brink” (2015)
The 10-episode comedy followed a foreign service officer (Jack Black) and a United States Secretary of State (Tim Robbins) as they made an attempt to tackle a political crisis in Pakistan. However the antics didn’t garner enough fanfare to warrant a second season.
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16
“Ballers” (2015 - 2019)
If you don’t quite remember the fact that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson starred in an HBO comedy series about the big business of the NFL for five (yes, five!) seasons, that’s because during the series run he was busy, oh, ya know, being a global movie star – lending his talents to one box office hit after another, including San Andreas, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and the Fast & Furious franchise to name a few.
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17
“Room 104” (2017 - 2020)
The quirky anthology series centered around a drab motel room, room 104 to be exact (get it?), and the bizarre variety of characters who stayed in it. Episodes ranged from comedy to drama, while others leaned into the sci-fi genre. You never quite knew who would show up in room 104 next.
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18
“Looking” (2014 - 2015)
Following the breakout success of Girls, HBO decided to try their hands portraying another “coming-of-age but in your 20s” tale, only this time is was centered around a group of gay friends living in San Francisco. The series was canceled after just two seasons, but the show did garner enough of a following to warrant a movie to wrap-up storylines.
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19
“Divorce” (2016 - 2019)
It’s hard to follow-up Sex and the City, but Sarah Jessica Parker made her best effort when she returned to the very network that made her a star in HBO’s Divorce. The series, which chronicled the drawn-out divorce between Frances (Parker) and Robert (Thomas Haden Church), failed to make much of an impact.
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20
“The Ricky Gervais Show” (2010 - 2012)
The Ricky Gervais Show was an animated series, probably a bit ahead of its time, based on Gervais’s podcast of the same name. This podcast-turned-show concept sounds more like something you’d expect now vs. back then.
