The 45 Best Shows on Max (aka HBO Max) Right Now (May 2025)

It may not have the shine it once did, but Max (previously HBO Max) is still home to some of the best TV shows of the past 25 years, from The Sopranos and The Wire to Game of Thrones and The Leftovers. Whether you’re a longtime fan of the “it’s not TV” cable network or a Max newbie trying to figure out where to start, the shows below should give you plenty upon which to feast your eyes.

Looking for more recommendations? Head to WIRED’s guide to the best TV shows on Netflix, the best TV shows on Amazon Prime, the best TV shows on Disney+, and the best TV shows on Hulu.

The Rehearsal

Good luck trying to explain what The Rehearsal is to anyone who isn’t familiar with Nathan Fielder’s mastery of uncomfortable comedy. What begins as a series in which the awkward star/comedian attempts to help people prepare for big moments in life by rehearsing them until they get it right quickly turns into a bizarre social experiment in which Fielder himself becomes one of the key players. The less you know about it ahead of time, the better. Just be aware that you’ll be encountering people who responded to a Craigslist ad to take part in season 1, and that the second season sees Fielder stepping in to create a wild role-playing environment to improve communication between pilots, with the hope of preventing plane crashes. It also might make you worry about exactly who is commandeering your next flight.

Conan O’Brien Must Go

Conan O’Brien is at his zaniest in this offshoot of his popular podcast, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend. Whereas the popular audio series features O’Brien chatting with his fellow celebrities, this globe-trotting series sees the former late-night host surprising everyday people he has featured on said podcast. But it doubles as a kind of travel series, as he uses the time in these far-off places (which, in the first season, included Norway, Thailand, Argentina, and Ireland) to immerse himself in the food, traditions, and culture of his chosen destinations. Season 2, which debuted on May 8, sees O’Brien visit New Zealand, Austria, and Spain over three episodes. It’s a short season, to be sure, but a third season is already confirmed.

The Last of Us

The Last of Us managed to succeed where Netflix’s Resident Evil (which was canceled after one season) and other live-action TV shows based on video games failed—by being really, really good. Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) and the video game’s original director, Neil Druckmann, cocreated the postapocalyptic drama, in which one grizzled survivor is tasked with smuggling a smart-mouthed teenager who could be the key to finding a cure for the fungal infection-fueled pandemic that has turned most of America into zombie-like creatures. Props to everyone for generating so much interest in the (very real and parasitic) Cordyceps fungus—because fungi nerds like TV too.

The Gilded Age

While it hasn’t made quite the splash that Downton Abbey did, Julian Fellowes’ latest period piece is just as decadent—and really came into its own with its second season. In this case, the drama moves stateside to document the struggle between New York City’s old-money aristocrats and the vulgar new-money types attempting to infiltrate their social circles. There’s also plenty of the Upstairs, Downstairs–type drama that Fellowes is known for, with the servants who cater to Manhattan’s elite playing a big part of the story too. Somewhere in the middle of it all is Marian Brook, a young woman attempting to navigate a world she only belongs to by proxy. Christine Baranski, Carrie Coon, and Cynthia Nixon lead a stellar cast. Season 3 will premiere on June 22.

Hacks

Jean Smart has always been a legend, so it’s only appropriate that she plays a legend in Hacks. The Max series debuted in 2021—not long after the streaming platform itself dropped—and became one of its first major hits. Four seasons in, the show follows the evolution of the relationship between world-renowned Las Vegas entertainer Deborah Vance (Smart) and Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder), a cynical young writer who is on the outs with Hollywood following a bad-take tweet that went viral. What begins as a reluctant “mentorship” slowly transforms into a loving and respectful friendship in which both women realize they have something to learn from the other. The show has won a slew of awards, including nine Emmys (three of them for Smart), with Season 4 having just arrived on April 10.

The Righteous Gemstones

The Righteous Gemstones is Danny McBride’s latest effort to put forth a group of highly unlikeable people and find a way to make you like them even less but still want to keep watching. In this case, it’s a family of televangelists whose real god is greed and power. McBride assembled an all-star cast that includes John Goodman as the family’s patriarch, Adam DeVine and Edi Patterson as his fellow Gemstone children, and national treasure Walton Goggins as Uncle Baby Billy Freeman—a child-star-turned-grifter who has given the series some of its most memorable quotes and moments. (Can you say Baby Billy’s Bible Bonkers?) The series’ fourth and final season, which added Megan Mullally and Seann William Scott to the mix, concluded on May 4. All episodes are airing now.

When No One Sees Us

Max’s first Spanish-produced series, adapted from Sergio Sarria’s novel of the same name, is a smart, slow-burning crime drama. US Army special agent Magaly Castillo (Mariela Garriga) is sent to a base in Morón de la Frontera, Spain, to look into the strange disappearance of a soldier. Not far away, Civil Guard sergeant Lucía Gutiérrez (Maribel Verdú) is investigating a suicide that has ritualistic elements of harakiri. Eventually, their investigations begin to overlap, and the two work together—despite protocol and politics—to understand what is happening around them.

Celtics City

In 2024, the Boston Celtics did their city proud when they ended the team’s 16-year drought by nabbing the NBA Championship. It was a reminder to sports fans, and the world at large, why the winningest team in NBA history is also the most storied, going back more than 70 years. This nine-episode docuseries, executive produced by Bill Simmons, traces the history of the franchise and the challenges players have faced both on and off the court. Most specifically: How Boston’s reputation as a racist city has impacted the team, including a reluctance on the part of Black players to want to sign on with the Celts. While it’s a series made for sports fans, it’s just as much a historical docuseries that will resonate with the state of the world in 2025.

The White Lotus

While it was originally imagined as a one-off limited series from the brilliantly screwed-up mind (in a good way) of Mike White—who cocreated the sadly overlooked Enlightenment with Laura Dern, another HBO show you should check out—The White Lotus has since morphed into a full-on, five-star franchise that just wrapped up its wild third season. The series dives below the surface of the seemingly fabulous lives of deep-pocketed guests who can afford to stay at one of the ultra-luxe resorts of the title’s locations (first Hawaii, then Sicily, followed by Thailand), and the people who trip over themselves to serve their every need. Somewhere in between, murder always seems to end up on the menu. The newest season proved to be deliciously addictive, with Walton Goggins, Carrie Coon, Parker Posey, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Michelle Monaghan, Leslie Bibb, and Aimee Lou Wood among the delightfully dysfunctional guests—plus a surprise cameo from Sam Rockwell as a wild character who won’t soon be forgotten. While fans of the series lamented the loss of Jennifer Coolidge as a recurring cast member, writer/actor Natasha Rothwell did her former would-be business partner proud (and Coolidge’s lying husband dirty) by reprising her role as Belinda Lindsey, the spa manager fans met (and rooted for) in Season 1. A fourth season has already been greenlit, but production won’t begin until 2026—meaning it could be 2027 before viewers see the next season of The White Lotus, wherever in the world the show goes.

The Pitt

First things first: Yes, The Pitt is a medical drama that reunites ER star Noah Wyle with executive producer John Wells. But that’s really where the similarities to that iconic NBC series end. Really, The Pitt has more in common with 24. Set in an underfunded hospital in Pittsburgh, the series plays out over 15 hours in real time as patients come and go (in some cases, shuffling off this mortal coil); medical students and interns learn the truth about their chosen profession; and seasoned doctors and hospital administrators butt heads over the nature of the US health care system. It’s an engaging watch that moves at a breakneck speed while offering a somber reality about medicine in a post-pandemic world. Season 1 was a near-perfect season of television, and a second season—which will follow the same real-time format and take place over Fourth of July weekend—is already in production, with a planned January 2026 premiere.

Somebody Somewhere

Sam (the amazing Bridget Everett) is a forty-something woman who has lost her way. After returning to her hometown of Manhattan, Kansas, to care for her dying sister, she is left broken and floundering following her sister’s death. Unsure of who she is, what she is doing, or where she fits in, she slowly starts to find her place thanks to Joel (Jeff Hiller), a coworker and former classmate. With his friendship and support, and reconnecting with her love of singing, Sam starts to learn that we don’t need to have the answers to know when something feels “right.” The Peabody Award–winning series is one of the best things to happen to TV audiences in a long time—and a reminder that “acceptance” is in the mind of the beholder. All three seasons are now streaming.

Dune: Prophecy

Max is going all in on Frank Herbert’s Dune. In addition to Denis Villeneuve’s two recent Dune movies—which are both streaming here—there’s now Dune: Prophecy. Based on Brian Herbert (son of Frank) and Kevin J. Anderson’s prequel trilogy novels, the series is set 10,000 years before the events witnessed in the Dune films. In this world, it’s the women who rule as two sisters (Emily Watson and Olivia Williams) work to establish the secretive Bene Gesserit sisterhood, who have developed the power to ensure that all future members will be built to stand as powerful leaders. Comparisons to The Handmaid’s Tale are inevitable. There’s more to come: The series was renewed for a second season just days before its season 1 finale.

Like Water for Chocolate

Foodies and romance lovers alike will enjoy this latest adaptation of Laura Esquivel’s seminal 1989 novel. Set during the Mexican Revolution, it tells the story of Tita de la Garza (Azul Guaita) and Pedro Múzquiz (Andres Baida)—a young couple in love. Tita’s cruel mother, Mamá Elena (Irene Azuela), insists that her daughter will take care of her until her death, and thus refuses to consent when Pedro asks for Tita’s hand. Instead, he ends up marrying Tita’s sister Gertrudis (Andrea Chaparro) in an attempt to remain a part of Tita’s life, which only makes their circumstances more agonizing. Tita’s love does not exactly go unrequited: She expresses it in the food she cooks, which is felt by everyone who tastes it. (This is much less silly than it sounds.) A second, and final, season is currently in production.

The Sex Lives of College Girls

Mindy Kaling cocreated this Max series, which puts a new spin on the teenage sex comedy—one in which the women are fully in charge. Nerdy Kimberly (Pauline Chalamet, yes, Timothée’s sister), aspiring professional funny person Bela (Amrit Kaur), snotty Upper East Sider Leighton (Reneé Rapp), and soccer star/senator’s daughter Whitney (Alyah Chanelle Scott) are four college freshmen randomly thrown together as suitemates. But as they get to know each other, and themselves, their forced cohabitation develops into a true bond—one in which there’s no such thing as TMI and a “naked party” is just one way to unwind after a long week. Season 3—which saw Rapp depart the series and new roomie Kacey (Gracie Lawrence) take over her space in the quad—wrapped in January. On March 18, it was announced that the series has been canceled.

The Franchise

Armando Iannucci has never met a world he didn’t want to skewer (see: In the Thick of It, Veep, Avenue 5). In the case of The Franchise, which Iannucci co-created with Sam Mendes and Jon Brown, it’s the ridiculousness of superhero movies—and, more specifically, superhero cinematic universes—that is ripe for mockery. Daniel Kumar (Himesh Patel) is the first assistant director on