HBO has built its reputation on delivering some of the most recognizable TV of all time. The network has been home to culture-defining hits, including The Sopranos, Game of Thrones, Band of Brothers, and more. What often gets overlooked is that HBO isn’t just limited to its big moneymakers that bring in millions of views.

From the beginning, the network has backed ambitious projects with strong visions, and that still hasn’t changed. Unfortunately, many of these are overshadowed by bigger releases, but that doesn’t take away from their genius. Here is a list of some great yet underrated HBO shows you probably haven’t seen but absolutely need to.

10

‘Sharp Objects’ (2018)

Image via HBO

Sharp Objects features Amy Adams in her finest role as Camille, a reporter battling alcoholism who returns to her small Missouri hometown to cover the murders of two young girls. However, to do so, she has to finally confront a past that she has been running away from her entire adult life. The show might feel like a procedural crime drama at first, but Sharp Objects, based on Gillian Flynn’s novel, is a devastating portrayal of complex mother-daughter relationships. The narrative cuts between the past and the present and takes its time to take the audience through the protagonist’s history, and the pain that she wants to keep avoiding.

This slow-burn approach, combined with fleeting flashbacks and abrupt visual cuts, might feel jarring in the beginning, but the pacing immerses its audience in the suffocation of Camille’s life. The shocking twist in the finale is the highlight of the show and brings everything full circle without a traditional clean resolution. For anyone who wants a murder mystery that goes beyond a one-note investigation, Sharp Objects is the perfect binge-watch.

9

‘The Outsider’ (2020)

Image via HBO

The Outsider is an underrated masterpiece based on Stephen King’s 2018 novel. The HBO miniseries begins as a procedural and follows detective Ralph Anderson (Ben Mendelsohn) as he investigates the brutal murder of a young boy. Here’s where things get interesting. The early episodes of the show lean into realism with methodological timelines, witness accounts, and forensic details. There’s a sense of certainty about the narrative, which is why it feels so jarring when the rug is suddenly pulled from under the audience.

Unlike many other Stephen King adaptations, the series forces its characters and the audience to slowly question everything they know. We eventually find out about an unseen entity that preys on grief and trauma. Some characters cling desperately to logic, while others start to accept that reality might not be what they thought. This tension keeps viewers on the edge of their seats till the very end. By the time The Outsider fully embraces its supernatural elements, the fear feels earned, and thus, way more real.

8

‘The Plot Against America’ (2020)

Image via HBO

The Plot Against America is one of the hardest-hitting miniseries of all time. The show, based on Philip Roth’s 2004 novel, imagines an alternate version of American history in which famed aviator Charles Lindbergh defeats Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1940 presidential election and steers the country toward isolationism, authoritarianism, and borderline fascism. Rather than telling this story through politicians or military leaders, the series grounds everything in the everyday life of a working-class Jewish family, the Levins, in Newark, New Jersey.

This makes Lindbergh’s rise feel personal, with a fictional government program like “Just Folks” promising opportunity while subtly targeting Jewish families. The series is both fascinating and eye-opening to watch in how it shows a slow normalization of intolerance. The pacing is deliberately slow to let the audience sit with discomfort and realize how corruption started taking root within American institutions in this alternate version of history. On one hand, there is this national crisis, but the Levins’ story grounds all of this in the very intimate struggles of a small family. The Plot Against America is HBO’s version of a historical thought experiment, and it’s more than worth watching.

7

‘The Other Two’ (2019–2023)

Image via HBO Max

The Other Two is a hilariously satirical portrayal of modern internet fame. The show follows siblings Brooke (Heléne Yorke) and Cary (Drew Tarver), whose lives take a turn when their 13-year-old brother Chase (Case Walker) becomes a viral pop star overnight. However, as Chase enjoys his newfound fame, Brooke and Cary struggle with their self-worth. The plot starts with a bunch of crazy situations that lead to Chase’s big break. Soon after, Brooke starts working as his assistant while Cary navigates the trials and tribulations of being a struggling actor.

Unlike many other shows, The Other Two doesn’t present internet fame and pop culture as shallow. Instead, the sitcom attempts to show what happens when one’s career rises and falls based on algorithms and relentless online scrutiny. Other than all the sharp commentary, though, the comedy is laugh-out-loud funny and features a pretty realistic portrayal of family dynamics. This is a show that isn’t scared to present its characters as messy and even unlikable at times, but that’s the whole point.

6

‘My Brilliant Friend’ (2018–2024)

Image via HBO

HBO’s heartwarming adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s celebrated Neapolitan novel doesn’t get nearly as much appreciation as it deserves. The show tells the story of a lifelong friendship between two women, Elena “Lenù” Greco (Elisa Del Genio, Margherita Mazzucco, and Alba Rohrwacher) and Raffaella “Lila” Cerullo (Ludovica Nasti, Gaia Girace, and Irene Maiorino), beginning in post–World War II Naples and unfolding across decades of social, emotional, and political change. The plot begins with a hook that you just can’t ignore after an older Lenù learns that Lila has vanished without a trace, something Lila had spoken about doing for years. That’s when Lenù begins writing their shared history that starts from their first meeting in 950s Naples in a poor, violent neighborhood shaped by poverty, patriarchy, and limited opportunity.

Over its four seasons, My Brilliant Friend traces how their relationship evolves as the women grow older, enter romantic relationships, confront class mobility, and navigate a society that consistently limits their choices. Even when they are physically apart, Lenù and Lila’s lives remain intertwined, and their friendship is obviously the heart of the show. My Brilliant Friend is one of the most realistic HBO shows and genuinely feels like a replay of someone’s lived memories. It’s immersive without feeling too indulgent, and that’s the mark of a great story.

5

‘Getting On’ (2013–2015)

Image via HBO

Getting On is one of HBO’s most daring comedies because it refuses to be an easy watch. The show is set inside the Billy Barnes Extended Care Unit of a chronically underfunded California hospital, and the series focuses on the daily grind of caring for elderly patients who are often dying slowly, painfully, and without dignity. This isn’t Grey’s Anatomy with its medical breakthroughs and heroic saves. Getting On exists in an uncomfortable space between routine paperwork and the emotional exhaustion of these caretakers. Each episode revolves around mundane crises like hospice eligibility, understating, and patients whose suffering stretches for weeks. However, all these small conflicts keep adding up into something much more impactful.

The humor here is dry and almost always uncomfortable. However, the show understands that in real life, you can’t separate tragedy from the naturally human instinct of coping with laughter, even in the darkest of times. That’s not to say that the sitcom treats its patients as the punchlines. The medical comedy TV show actually comes from understanding the bureaucratic systems they have to exist in, along with the contradictions and moral compromises surrounding their care. The show is brutally honest about how good intentions can erode over time, so it might not be everyone’s cup of tea. For anyone who appreciates the absurdity of life, this is the perfect watch.

4

‘We Are Who We Are’ (2020)

Image via HBO

Luca Guadagnino just hits different. His work has always been about creating the right mood, and We Are Who We Are is the perfect example of that. The show is set on a fictional U.S. military base in Chioggia, Italy, and follows two American teenagers, Fraser Wilson (Jack Dylan Grazer) and Caitlin “Harper” Poythress (Jordan Kristine Seamón), as they navigate friendship, desire, and self-discovery in the summer and fall of 2016. The contrast between Fraser, who arrives on the base with his two mothers, and Caitlin, who has lived on the base for years, is the highlight of the show for me.

Their bond feels organic and is given a lot of time to breathe. In fact, many episodes of the series linger on conversations that go absolutely nowhere, and that might be frustrating for some. However, Guadagnino’s We Are Who We Are actually argues that everything doesn’t need a motive, because confusion is a defining part of adolescence. Guadagnino turns this military compound into its own world with a soundtrack that mirrors the show’s dream-like quality. We Are Who We Are is one of the most realistic portrayals of teenagers because it doesn’t try to fit them into boxes. Instead, it embraces the messiness of these years.

3

‘Station Eleven’ (2021–2022)

Image via HBO Max

Apocalyptic dramas are often flashy with no real substance, but not Station Eleven. The series is set in the aftermath of a devastating flu pandemic that wipes out most of the world’s population. The story doesn’t explore the mechanics of this tragedy, but focuses on what happens to the ones who survive. Station Eleven begins on the night civilization starts to collapse when famous actor Arthur Leander (Gael García Bernal) suddenly dies onstage during a Chicago production of King Lear. That leads to Jeevan Chaudhary (Himesh Patel), a man in the audience who ends up taking responsibility for Kirsten Raymonde (Matilda Lawler), a young child actor left alone as chaos ensues. The two barricade themselves in an apartment and become each other’s family during this dark time.

The story then jumps forward twenty years. Kirsten is now an adult (Mackenzie Davis) and a key member of the Traveling Symphony, a nomadic group of actors and musicians who travel between small settlements performing Shakespeare. However, they have to deal with threats from violent groups that see culture and memory as dangerous. Station Eleven is more of a character study than an action-driven survival story. It grounds something as major as the apocalypse in plausible human choices rather than some grand disaster. The show is a slow-burning one that demands patience from its audience, but the payoffs always land.

2

‘I May Destroy You’ (2022)

Image via HBO

I May Destroy You is not an easy show to watch, but that shouldn’t discourage anyone from experiencing it. The series, created, written, and co-directed by Michaela Coel, stars her as Arabella Essiedu, a young London writer riding the wave of sudden literary success when her life is derailed by an assault. The story doesn’t focus on the shock value of an incident like this. Instead, its brilliance lies in how perfectly it captures the aftermath. Arabella doesn’t become a victim or some symbol of strength. In fact, the writing insists on her remaining a full person who is funny, impulsive, and even selfish at times.

Her healing arc isn’t perfect, but that’s the point. Recovery from something like this is never a linear process, and closure isn’t always guaranteed. Coel trusts her audience to accept that discomfort as part of life. The show features dark humor as a reflection of how people cope by oversharing, spiraling, and pretending to be fine through the worst moments of their lives. The audience doesn’t get catharsis in the traditional sense, but the honesty of the story is what keeps you wanting more.

1

‘The Leftovers’ (2014–2017)

Image via HBO

The Leftovers is another supernatural drama that deserves way more recognition than it has gotten. The series, created by Damon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta and adapted from Perrotta’s novel, begins with a hook that can reel anyone in. This is a world where 2% of the world’s population has suddenly vanished in an instant without any warning or explanation. The story is set in the town of Mapleton, three years after what has been termed the Sudden Departure, and centers on police chief Kevin Garvey (Justin Theroux) and Nora Durst (Carrie Coon), a woman who lost her entire family in the event.

However, around them, the world is seeing the formation of cult-like belief systems as people try to cling to rituals, science, faith, or even madness to explain this strange global event. The Leftovers abandons the typical mystery beats and focuses more on what people might do when meaning itself collapses. Each season deepens the scope of the show without ever losing its emotional grounding. The Leftovers fully commits to ambiguity, but the kind that is bound to fascinate anyone.

Advertisement

The Leftovers

Advertisement

Release Date

2014 – 2017-00-00

Advertisement

Showrunner

Damon Lindelof

Advertisement

Writers

Damon Lindelof, Tom Perrotta

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement