HBO has always been synonymous with prestige television. The network has built its reputation on ambitious storytelling that aims to provide more than just entertainment. There’s no denying that the classics, including The Sopranos and Band of Brothers, are in a league of their own, but the last 10 years have also marked a noticeable shift for HBO.

The network’s modern slate feels more daring, introspective, and willing to tell uncomfortable stories. In an era dominated by oversaturation and algorithm-driven content, HBO has doubled down on content that requires the audience to actively engage with it. Here is a list of the greatest HBO shows of the last 10 years that linger long after the credits roll.

12

‘Sharp Objects’ (2018)

Image via HBO

Sharp Objects might be a miniseries, but it leaves the kind of impact that many long-running shows fail to have. The psychological thriller follows the brilliant Amy Adams as Camille Preaker, a reporter who has recently been discharged from a psychiatric hospital. She is then tasked with investigating the strange murders of two young girls in her hometown of Wind Gap, Missouri. However, once Camille returns to her childhood home, she is forced to confront the personal trauma she has avoided for years.

The most interesting part of the show is how the protagonist’s own life intertwines with the case she is trying to solve. The narrative unfolds in an almost dream-like manner as it reveals information about Camille’s past in fragments. Her complex relationships with her controlling mother, Adora (Patricia Clarkson), and half-sister Amma (Eliza Scanlen) add another layer of intrigue to the whole story. Sharp Objects is the kind of show where every little thing feels intentional. It rewards the audience’s attention by delivering a climax that ties up every loose thread and delivers answers that are both shocking and inevitable at the same time.

11

‘Big Little Lies’ (2017–2026)

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Big Little Lies, based on Liane Moriarty’s novel of the same name, is a psychological thriller, domestic drama, and social commentary all rolled into one relentless narrative. The show is essentially a murder story told in reverse. It’s set in the wealthy seaside community of Monterey, California, and opens with a death at a school fundraiser. The story then rewinds to explore how five women’s lives slowly collide with the central mystery and uncovers the events leading up to it. However, Big Little Lies is much more than a conventional whodunit.

The identities of the killer and the victim are initially withheld, and that slow-burn approach ensures that the show hooks the audience in right off the bat. The ensemble cast includes Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Laura Dern, and Zoe Kravitz as the leads, all of whom deliver compelling performances. The plot unfolds through time jumps, interrogations, and unreliable perspectives, and serves as a character study for all these women who are complex and messy in their own ways. Big Little Lies asked uncomfortable questions about motherhood and trauma, and in doing so, it paved the way for more female-led dramas.

10

‘The White Lotus’ (2021–Present)

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The White Lotus is a delicious satire on power, privilege, and wealth. Each season of the anthology series, written and directed by Mike White, is set in a different White Lotus luxury resort and features a bunch of interesting characters to explore all kinds of power dynamics. Every installment unfolds over the course of a single week. So far, the stories have all opened with a death before rewinding to show how a brand-new group of guests and staff spiral toward the inevitable outcome. Rather than relying on traditional murder mystery mechanics, The White Lotus uses subtle microaggressions, miscommunications, and emotional cruelty to build its constant sense of tension.

The dynamics between the guests and the lesser-privileged staff of the resorts serve as some of the most memorable moments on the show, especially because of how the setting serves as a bubble where the rich barely face the consequences of their actions. The format of the show also keeps it from ever feeling stale, with every new season exploring similar themes, but from a completely different lens and in a completely different context. Visually, The White Lotus feels like pure escapism with its sunny skies, infinity pools, and grand interiors, but that only reinforces the idea that money can’t erase moral rot. The show strikes the perfect balance between dark humor and social commentary, and thrives on its unpredictability. All of this makes The White Lotus one of the most bingeable shows on HBO right now.

9

‘Mare of Easttown’ (2021)

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Mare of Easttown is a bleak, character-driven crime drama that follows a murder mystery, but quickly expands its emotional scope to deliver a story that stays with the audience long after the credits roll. The series, created by Brad Ingelsby, is set in a small Pennsylvania town where everyone knows each other, and no one ever truly escapes their past. The story centers on Marianne “Mare” Sheehan (Kate Winslet), a worn‑down detective who is grieving the suicide of her son, fighting to maintain custody of her grandson, and facing public resentment for failing to solve a year‑old missing persons case involving a local girl. The stakes are already high, but when teenage mother Erin McMenamin (Cailee Spaeny) is found murdered in the woods, Mare is put under intense pressure to deliver justice.

This leads her and her new partner, Detective Colin Zabel (Evan Peters), down a rabbit hole of secrets that keep getting worse. Every lead implicates someone close to Mare, which reinforces the idea that in a small town, solving a crime means betraying someone. The show complicates this mystery with shocking twists and red herrings to constantly keep the audience and Mare on edge. The protagonist operates in this morally gray area where she manipulates evidence and crosses legal lines to protect herself and whatever is left of her family. In doing all this, Mare of Easttown talks about how communities deal with tragedy and forces its characters to confront the painful truths they have spent years avoiding. The show easily stands out as one of the strongest HBO dramas of all time, one that isn’t exactly easy to watch, but is worth every second.

8

‘Barry’ (2018–2023)

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Barry begins as a small-scale crime drama, but expands into a story that uses dark comedy to interrogate violence and guilt. The series, created by and starring Bill Hader, follows Barry Berkman, a former Marine suffering from depression and emotional detachment, who now works as a contract killer. The story picks up when he is sent to Los Angeles for a job, but ends up wandering into an acting class led by Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler). The experience awakens something in Barry by offering the validation and purpose he has been looking for.

It allows him to truly believe that he can become someone new, but the catch is that the reality of his life is never too far behind. Barry’s handler, Monroe Fuches (Stephen Root), refuses to let him walk away from his work, which becomes the central conflict of the story. As Barry juggles auditions, personal relationships, and murder, his two lives begin to seep into each other in ways he is not okay with. As the story goes on, the tone of the show darkens and becomes increasingly uncomfortable. The series refuses to paint Barry as black or white, and that makes him feel real despite all the heightened drama unfolding around him.

7

‘House of the Dragon’ (2022–Present)

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House of the Dragon is a Game of Thrones spinoff that strips the fantasy spectacle of the original into something that feels way more brutal. The series adapts George R. R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, and narrows the scope of the story to explore inheritance and pride within the House of Targaryen. The show is set roughly 200 years before the events of the original series, at the height of the Targaryen rule.

Things pick up with King Viserys I Targaryen (Paddy Considine) naming his daughter Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock and Emma D’Arcy) as the successor to the Iron Throne. However, the decision defies centuries of patriarchal precedent and plants a seed of instability that festers slowly but surely. Things only grow more complex when Viserys remarries and produces male children with Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke). The plot unfolds over years, which allows relationships to evolve and resentments to really settle. At the same time, the series never frames its conflict in simple terms and shows how everyone is capable of cruelty within systems of power.

6

‘The Night Of’ (2016)

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The Night Of is a slow‑burn crime drama that uses a single murder case to expose the brutal workings of the American criminal justice system. The HBO limited series unfolds less like a traditional whodunit and more like a bureaucratic nightmare where truth becomes secondary to process. The story begins with Nasir “Naz” Khan (Riz Ahmed), a shy Pakistani‑American college student who borrows his father’s taxi for a night out in New York City. After meeting a mysterious young woman, Andrea Cornish (Sofia Black‑D’Elia), the two spend the evening together before Naz wakes up in her apartment to find her brutally murdered beside him, and that’s when his fate is pretty much sealed.

Soon enough, Naz is arrested and shoved into a system that isn’t interested in uncovering the truth. He is represented by small-time defense attorney Jack Stone (John Turturro), who becomes his only ally amidst all this chaos, but that, too, is not the most reliable one. The show doesn’t really rush toward a conclusion. Instead, it explores the devastating transformation Naz goes through in prison, where he is isolated, frightened, and eventually hardened. Every episode takes the investigation in a new direction while exploring the consequences Naz has to face for something he might not have even done. The Night Of avoids heated courtroom battles because it focuses on how tedious it really is for justice to be delivered. By the time the truth finally comes out, Naz is no longer the same person, and that’s exactly the statement the show is trying to make.

5

‘The Pitt’ (2025–Present)

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The Pitt is quickly earning a reputation for revitalizing the medical drama genre with its exhausting approach to storytelling in the ER. With each season set almost entirely within a single shift in the titular emergency room, the HBO series pulls no punches in how it immerses viewers into the chaos of modern healthcare. Expect overworked doctors and nurses making impossible decisions as they deal with overcrowding, the emotional toll of the job, and more.

The Pitt impressed fans and critics alike with its dedication to realism, both in its depiction of medical cases and the broken system that healthcare workers have to deal with on a daily basis. It’s a stressful TV series that keeps you hooked from start to finish, leaving you just as tired as its well-written characters, who remind fans that healthcare workers carry incredible burdens with them long after their shifts end.

4

‘Succession’ (2018–2023)

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Succession is a black comedy that satirizes the corporate world. Beneath that, though, it’s a messy, complex, and wild family drama at heart. The series, created by Jesse Armstrong, centers on the Roy family, owners of the multinational media conglomerate Waystar Royco. The story begins with patriarch Logan Roy’s (Brian Cox) declining health, triggering a succession crisis that he has no intention of actually resolving. His children, Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Siobhan “Shiv” (Sarah Snook), Roman (Kieran Culkin), and Connor (Alan Ruck), are all desperate to earn their father’s validation and the throne he sits on. This leads to a race where the siblings constantly swing between sabotaging each other and teaming up to try to sabotage their manipulative father.

The drama involves boardroom coups, hostile takeovers, media scandals, and political backroom deals, but all of this only serves as the backdrop for the show’s larger exploration of how parental neglect manifests in strange ways. Nothing in Succession feels permanent, and that gives the show a cyclical nature that compels the audience to keep watching. Despite all that, though, the series portrays its characters as fully-realized humans, shaped by the world they have grown up in. All of that is punctuated by the show’s devastating yet fitting finale that is still being talked about simply because of how brilliant it truly was.

3

‘Watchmen’ (2019)

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Watchmen reimagines Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ iconic graphic novel through the lens of American history, racial trauma, and power. The series, created by Damon Lindelof, is set decades after the original events, and opens with the historical violence of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, which immediately grounds the show in real-world atrocities. From there, the story shifts to an alternate-reality present day where masked law enforcement has become necessary following a wave of anti-police violence.

The narrative follows detective Angela Abar (Regina King), who is operating under the vigilante persona Sister Night. Angela’s work gradually pulls her into a larger conspiracy involving policing, memory, inherited trauma, and the unresolved consequences of the original Watchmen’s infamous ending. That’s when the line between her personal history and her work begins to blur. Watchmen takes a slow-burn approach to resolving its mystery, with tons of detours along the way. The show never presents anything as purely good or bad to show that power without accountability always reproduces some kind of harm.

Actor Adam Driver and his wife, Joanne Tucker, stepped out in style at the premiere of his new movie, “Paper Tiger,” at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday, May 16. The “Star Wars” actor stars in the film alongside his “Marriage Story” costar Scarlett Johansson and “Top Gun: Maverick” star Miles Teller.

Adam Driver and his wife, Joanne Tucker, attended the 79^th Cannes Film Festival to promote his new movie, “Paper Tiger,” directed by James Gray. The film focuses on the story of two brothers, played by Driver and Teller, who become entangled with the Russian mafia while pursuing the American dream.

Driver stepped out in a black suit and bowtie, while his wife wore a strapless black dress. Tucker wore her long blonde hair down, brushing it back to reveal silver dangling earrings. Driver was all smiles, occasionally waving to photographers on the Cannes red carpet while he posed for photos with his wife and Teller. Johansson was unfortunately absent from the film’s premiere due to a scheduling conflict.  

Inside The Couple’s Private Relationship

The “Marriage Story” actor and his wife are notoriously private. They met while attending Juilliard and co-founded the non-profit charity Arts in the Armed Forces in 2006. The organization’s goal is to bring artistic experiences to those in the U.S. military.

They tied the knot in 2013 and welcomed their first child, a son, in 2016. They welcomed their second child, a girl, in April 2023, although they have done their best to raise their growing family out of the spotlight.

Joanne Tucker Is Also An Actress

Although she is not as well-known in Hollywood circles, Tucker is also an actress who has appeared in a few different TV shows and movies over the years. She shared the screen with her husband in 2019’s “The Report” and even made an appearance in “Girls.”

She is also an avid runner and ran the 2019 TCS New York City Marathon to support the Arts in the Armed Forces. “It’s my favorite way to explore and get my bearings in a new place, and I’m passionate about it because it demands that your whole physical self participate,” she said in a quote on the AITAF Instagram page. “You can do it anywhere at no cost, and it provides dedicated time and space to think and reflect.”

Joanne Tucker Taught Adam Driver Some Important Life Lessons

Driver spent a little over two years serving in the Marine Corps before he was medically discharged due to a motorbike injury. During his first semester at Juilliard, he had a bit of trouble adjusting to his new environment.

“I made three people cry my first semester,” he told Broadway.com in 2009. “I was used to a very aggressive way of talking to people. I would consider it having a discussion, but I guess others didn’t see it that way!”

He revealed that Tucker helped him adjust to life in New York City, joking, “She taught me what Gouda cheese is. And that you shouldn’t talk with your mouth full and spit on the sidewalk.”

In a separate interview with The New Yorker, he explained that he was impressed with her when they first met because “she read a lot of books” and “knew a lot of sh-t.” He went on to say that, “She was very composed.”

Juilliard teacher Richard Feldman, who officiated their 2013 wedding, told the publication, “She doesn’t take any nonsense.”

Adam Driver Joked About Being A Father On ‘Saturday Night Live’

The “Star Wars” actor managed to keep the fact that he had welcomed a son a secret for the first four years of his life. He finally revealed that he had welcomed a child during his “Saturday Night Live” hosting appearance in 2020, saying, “I’m a husband. And a father. It’s in that order, though. I’ve been very clear with my son about that; he’s second in everything.”

After he welcomed his second child, he told host Mark Consuelos during an appearance on “Live with Kelly & Mark” that he wasn’t getting much sleep because of his then-8-month-old daughter, as per PEOPLE magazine.

“But I’m remembering this time that I have to enjoy it more. This first time, it went too fast, and I was so anxious for him to kind of develop so he could communicate and tell me what was wrong,” Driver said. “And now I’m more patient with her. I’m trying to enjoy it more.”

Although his children are still too young to hit the red carpet with him, Tucker has regularly appeared alongside her husband at everything from the Oscars to the Golden Globes. She has supported her husband at nearly all of his movie premieres and screenings, and it remains to be seen if his latest role in “Paper Tiger” will earn him yet another Academy Award nomination.

Seen as the spiritual ribbon-cutting of the 2026 summer box office, The Mandalorian and Grogu makes its hotly anticipated global theatrical debut on May 22. The feature-length continuation of the hugely successful The Mandalorian series, this marks the first theatrical release in the franchise since The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. The cast for the movie is stacked with talent, including Pedro Pascal as Din Djarin, Sigourney Weaver as Colonel Ward, Martin Scorsese as an Ardennian Fry Cook, Steve Blum as Zeb Orellios, and The Bear star Jeremy Allen White as Rotta the Hutt.

Anticipation is high for a film expected to break the billion-dollar boundary at the box office, even if recent entries in the Star Wars franchise have received a rocky reception. With some skepticism surrounding The Mandalorian and Grogu, it might be wise to ease yourself into the spirit of stories from a galaxy far, far away, and you can do that by enjoying recent projects by famous Star Wars alumni.

Released in North America in early 2026, We Bury the Dead is a zombie horror flick that flew under many people’s radars. The movie stars Daisy Ridley, who played Rey in the recent Star Wars sequels, starting with Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens. She is joined by the likes of Mark Coles Smith (Picnic at Hanging Rock) and Brenton Thwaites (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales) in the Zak Hilditch-directed gem that frustratingly grossed less than $5 million in a disappointing January box office run. A few months later, the zombie horror is bouncing back, officially ranking as one of the ten most-streamed movies on Hulu in the U.S., at the time of writing.

How Did Critics Respond to ‘We Bury the Dead’?

We Bury the Dead earned plenty of praise from critics following its debut way back in 2024 at the Adelaide Film Festival. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the movie holds a “Certified Fresh” 89% score from over 100 submissions, with critics praising Ridley’s gripping lead performance, the film’s clever premise, and some beautiful cinematography from DOP Steve Annis. We Bury the Dead was released in U.S. theaters in the same month as another zombie horror, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, which stole the limelight for fans of the genre.

We Bury the Dead is streaming on Hulu. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.

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Release Date

January 2, 2026

Runtime

95 minutes

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Director

Zak Hilditch

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Writers

Zak Hilditch

Producers

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Grant Sputore, Joshua Harris, Kelvin Munro, Mark Fasano, Ross M. Dinerstein

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Some crime movies are cool and hip and make you want to join in the fun, looking on with envy. This is definitely not in that category, because this one is all about making the absolute worst choices you can possibly imagine, while racing through the streets of New York with sweat pouring out of you. This isn’t a flashy movie and there’s nothing pretty to look at, it’s just anxiety wrapped inside suffering. We highly recommend it!

Good Time is streaming for free this month on Fawesome. Directed by Josh Safdie and Benny Safdie, the film follows Connie Nikas, a small-time crook who tries to get his brother out of jail after a botched bank robbery. Over one night that keeps getting worse and worse, Connie traipses through Queens looking for money, leverage, and any way to get out — leaving emotional damage everywhere he goes. And it barely lets you breathe. The whole thing is a panic attack with a plot, pushing Connie from one terrible situation into another. Every choice he makes is a bad one. In fact, Josh Safdie described it as a “heist movie on acid”.

The cast includes Robert Pattinson (The Batman, The Lighthouse) as Connie Nikas, Benny Safdie (Oppenheimer, The Odyssey) as Nick Nikas, Jennifer Jason Leigh (The Hateful Eight, Anomalisa) as Corey, Buddy Duress (Heaven Knows What, Person to Person) as Ray, Taliah Webster as Crystal, Barkhad Abdi (Captain Phillips, Blade Runner 2049) as Dash, and Necro (The Super) as Caliph.

Was ‘Good Time’ a Success?

Critically, it’s fair to say that Good Time was a smash hit. It currently holds a 91% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, with the consensus praising it as “a singularly distinctive crime drama” and highlighting Pattinson’s performance as a career best, at least up until that point. For those who like their review scores to be slightly more discerning, Metacritic scored it 80/100, which points to strong reviews overall. Financially, it did fine, but it wasn’t a huge hit. Good Time cost around $2 million to make and grossed about $4.1 million worldwide. But this is the kind of movie that wasn’t made to make a huge profit; it was a showcase for its star and directors and on that front, it was a home run.

Good Time is streaming for free this month on Fawesome.

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Release Date

August 11, 2017

Runtime

101minutes

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Director

Ben Safdie, Joshua Safdie

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Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Off Campus Season 1.If you’re looking for another hockey romance to sink your teeth into, then look no further than Prime Video’s latest binge drop, Off Campus. Based on Elle Kennedy‘s novel series of the same name, Season 1 has officially dropped on the streamer, and it’s about to become your new addiction. The series is set in the fictional Briar University, where hockey reigns supreme, and at the center of it are four star players: Garrett Graham (Belmont Cameli), John Logan (Antonio Cipriano), Dean Di Lauretis (Stephen Kalyn), and John Tucker (Jalen Thomas Brooks). As four of the best players and the hottest guys on campus, they are not only popular with the ladies but beloved by the school.

We sat down with Cipriano, Kalyn, and Brooks to talk about the sensational new series and what it takes to play in such a physically demanding role. The trio revealed their own experience playing hockey and what it was like training for such a rigorous sport, with some of them coming in with zero to little experience. The group talked about the secrets behind those plentiful shirtless scenes and what prep comes with it. Kalyn discussed Dean’s surprising storyline with Allie (Mika Abdalla) and what’s in store for them with Hunter (Charlie Evans) now in the mix. Cipriano teased a bit about Season 2 and what to expect with Logan’s story centered in that season. And Brooks, who also stars in The Pitt as Mateo, reveals what’s harder: playing hockey or spending a full shift working in The Pitt.

Stephen Kalyn, Jalen Thomas Brooks, and Antonio Cipriano Reveal Who Is the Best at Hockey in Their Group

“They were horrible at first, but now they’re pretty good.”

Image via Amazon Studios

COLLIDER: Guys, I love this show. I was a huge fan of the books when they first came out, and you guys play these characters amazingly. Obviously, all three of you play hockey players, and I have to ask you what the training was like to get on the ice. Did you have experience ice skating or playing hockey before this?

STEPHEN KALYN: I grew up in Toronto, Canada, and I played hockey my whole life since I was six years old, so this has been awesome. This is great. I get to act and play hockey with a bunch of cool dudes. Yeah, we did a two-week boot camp before, and actually, we did another one recently, and we’re going into another one, I think. They were horrible at first, but now they’re pretty good.

JALEN THOMAS BROOKS: We’re getting there, yeah.

KALYN: Okay, they weren’t horrible. Sorry.

BROOKS: No, we were horrible.

ANTONIO CIPRIANO: Terrible.

KALYN: Okay, alright.

BROOKS: [Laughs] You don’t have to be nice.

You’re all great in the show, so that’s what matters.

BROOKS: Shout out to Dave Tomlinson. We got trained by this Vancouver Canuck Hall of Famer, Dave Tomlinson. Shout out Dave!

KALYN: Dave, you’re a beauty.

Kalyn and Brooks Joke About the Prep It Takes for Those Shirtless Scenes

“I didn’t know about the shading and coloring.”

Image via Prime Video

Obviously, in a show like this, there are a lot of shirtless scenes, and I know for actors that can be very daunting, and prepping for that. Was it nerve-wracking for you guys to know that, “Okay, I’m going to have to work out like crazy leading up to some of these shoots, or was it like, “Okay, I can’t wait to do this?”

KALYN: I’ve always kind of stayed active my whole life, because I’ve always played sports, so it’s been a real part of my routine to stay active. Those days are kind of, especially like Dean, for some reason, always needs to have his shirt off quite a bit, so there are some days you’re a little hungry, for sure. But yeah, the makeup team does a great job giving us all a six-pack. What do you say, guys?

BROOKS: Absolutely! [Laughs] I didn’t know about the shading and coloring.

KALYN: I don’t know about any of that stuff.

BROOKS: On the day, you have all these markings on you, and then you see it on camera, and you’re like, “Whoa! I look like that?” Nah.

Kalyn Discusses Dean’s Story With Allie and That Major Hunter Twist in the Finale

“It’s a nice little breather for a second to kind of jump into something different.”

Image via Prime Video

Stephen, I want to ask you a little bit about Dean, because obviously, when I was going into this season for the first time, I had no idea that they were going to be mixing the stories together a little bit. What was it like for you finding out that you would be exploring Dean’s character a little bit more in this season that’s sort of mainly dedicated to Garrett and Hannah?

KALYN: I was so excited to do that part because we’re, I guess, a B-plotline, you’d call it, and so when we had our episode, it’s cool because you get, of course, everybody together, you get Hannah and Garrett, and then it kind of goes to Dean and Allie, and it kind of breaks away. Isn’t that the name of the episode?

BROOKS: “The Breakaway.”

KALYN: “The Breakaway.” Genius!

BROOKS: Good job.

KALYN: Thank you. And just to kind of separate from that and get a completely different scenario from Hannah and Garrett. It’s a nice little breather for a second to kind of jump into something different. So yeah, it was just really, really cool to do that.

Can you tease anything about his and Hunter’s relationship in the series? Because obviously, the way Season 1 ends, I was like, “Oh, okay. I did not expect this twist.” Can you talk about any of that relationship if you know anything at this point?

KALYLN: I think we had something to begin with, something to do with Dean’s sister, but I don’t know exactly what we’re going to be going with later on. But some sort of thing happened in the past, and we kind of moved from that, but I don’t know too much. We’re still waiting on some scripts.

I heard the scripts are ready from Louisa [Levy], so you’ll probably get them soon.

CIPRIANO: Can’t wait.

KALYN: I’ll be doing some reading after this, I guess.

Cipriano Discusses Logan’s Unrequited Crush and a Future Romance in Season 2

Image via Prime Video

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Antonio, Logan, in the books, very much has this crush on Hannah, which I think we see glimmers of in this season. Is that something that you’re interested in leaning more into and having this sort of unrequited love for this poor guy?

KALYN: I’m excited to see that.

CIPRIANO: Yeah. I mean, he yearns quite a bit. He almost doesn’t hide it enough in the season. But yeah, that is a big part of his arc. Getting over that is something that he’s struggling with in his love story later on. So, obviously, there’s going to be some more of, like, coming to terms with, “Okay, this is not okay,” and also, “What do you actually want?” And then, “Let’s actually find some real love here.” So, I’m excited for that at some point.

I’m looking forward to a storyline with Grace. I just reread that book the other day, and I was like, “Okay, this is going to be good.”

CIPRIANO: Yeah, that’s really sweet. Thank you.

Brooks Talks About What He’s Looking Forward To for Tucker and Which is Worse, The Pitt or the Ice

“These guys made hockey very, very easy.”

Image via Prime Video

Jalen, obviously, I really wish we got more into Tucker’s story this season because I feel like there’s so much time until his storyline, and I’m guessing there’s going to be a little bit more mixing and matching. But I’m curious, what are you looking forward to exploring the most, moving into Season 2? We get a little bit of his family dynamic in Season 1, but it’s just a touch of it.

BROOKS: So many things. I think just the time that Tucker has to find himself and to find what he likes and to find, of course, his position within the hockey team, growing up as a young man and just becoming the guy that is in his book. I’m really looking forward to exploring his fun side, seeing him let loose, becoming a family man, and living that college life. Then, when you get to his book and how that is, he’s got that switch-up. It’s going to be a very lovely thing because the audience would have grown with him and known where he’s coming from in a sense. So yeah, I’m excited for that.

So what would you say is harder for you, to learn all of this hockey and have to be on the ice all the time, or playing in The Pitt and having to deal with the intensity of that shoot, which I know is pretty intense?

BROOKS: Yeah, absolutely. Of course, hockey is a very physically demanding sport. Stuff on The Pitt is very mentally medical dialogue, the chaos, the anxiety of it all, and long days, a bunch of people on set.

I wouldn’t say one was harder than the other. These guys made hockey very, very easy. It became more of a fun thing. But then the day, I was more exhausted on this show physically than I was doing The Pitt, which is crazy. But, yeah, both have things that were easy, things that were difficult, but it’s very nice as an actor to have something tangible for each role where you’re like, “I have to learn this, and I have to learn that.” So it was a cool separation of the two. It’s like, “I go here to do medical. I go here to play hockey with the boys — and take my shirt off.” [Laughs]

Brooks, Kalyn, and Cipriano Reveal Their Ideal Songs for Their ‘Off Campus’ Characters

Image via Prime Video

So, just wrapping up, do you guys have a song or a playlist that you have for your characters to get into the mode of playing your character?

BROOKS: You did.

KALYN: I did, yeah. Oh, that’s right. I had a whole playlist of songs that really just gave me that confidence as soon as I walked out of the makeup chair. But the one at the top of my head would be “Girls, Girls, Girls” by Motley Crue. Yeah, that would be it.

BROOKS: That just makes so much sense.

KALYN: It makes sense. It’s like an anthem for him.

BROOKS: What was yours?

CIPRIANO: This has been getting me prepped for Season 2. I didn’t necessarily have one that was for Season 1, but in Season 2, as I’ve been just kind of prepping and working out and just being in my zone, in the headphones I’m listening to “Surrender” by Cheap Trick. I just feel like that’s kind of like… I’ve been listening to that in the auto shop while I’m working. That feels like Logan’s…

BROOKS: I wasn’t familiar with your game.

CIPRIANO: Yeah. That’s kind of where he’s at.

KALYLN: Oh, also “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” Def Leppard. “Pour some sugar on me!”

BROOKS: Of course, for me, it’s “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy.”

Amazing performance, by the way.

BROOKS: Thank you so much!

CIPRIANO: Really good performance.

BROOKS: That means a lot coming from you.

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Release Date

May 13, 2026

Network

Prime Video

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Directors

Silver Tree

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Over the course of the 2020s so far, cinema has given us plenty of excellent characters. Well-written, performed by some of the biggest stars in the industry, and wildly effective at whatever the story of their films requires them to do, these characters will likely go down in history as some of the best and most iconic of 21st-century cinema. Only a few of them, however, will be able to transcend that kind of category.

Indeed, throughout the last six years, the world has seen films with characters that may just end up becoming some of the most beloved in the history of cinema. From players in some of the biggest blockbusters of the 2020s, like Rocky from the recent Project Hail Mary, to action heroes from Oscar-winning indie films, like Everything Everywhere All At Once‘s Evelyn Wang, these are already some of the biggest icons of this decade’s cinema.

10

Rocky — ‘Project Hail Mary’ (2026)

Image via Amazon MGM Studios

With its theatrical run not even over yet as of the time of writing this article, Project Hail Mary is already one of the most acclaimed and highest-grossing hard science fiction movies of the 21st century. Based on Andy Weir‘s 2021 novel of the same name, it follows a school teacher who wakes up aboard a spacecraft with no memory of how he got there, and has to ally with an alien to regain his memory and save the universe.

It’s one of the most perfect sci-fi movies of the last five years, in no small measure thanks to its incredible character writing. Ryan Gosling‘s Ryland Grace is a fantastic protagonist, but it’s the alien Rocky (voiced by James Ortiz and played by a highly elaborate puppet) who steals the spotlight and quickly becomes the heart of the film. He’s funny, he’s visually delightful, he’s surprisingly endearing and complex for a non-verbal rock, and his dynamic with Grace is the emotional fuel that keeps Project Hail Mary going until the credits roll.

9

Anthony — ‘The Father’ (2020)

Image via Sony Pictures Classics

For obvious pandemic-related reasons, 2020 wasn’t exactly a highly prolific or profitable year for cinema. Nonetheless, the Seventh Art still provided us with plenty of movies that have become some of the most beloved of the decade, which certainly includes the British-French psychological drama The Father. Florian Zeller‘s directorial debut, based on his 2012 French stage play, follows an old man who refuses all assistance from his daughter while his mind begins to fail him as he ages.

It’s one of the best father-daughter movies in recent memory, and that’s largely thanks to how incredibly layered and well-realized a character Anthony (played by an Oscar-winning Anthony Hopkins) is. It’s his eyes that we experience this story through, and as his reality begins to crumble around him, so too does our understanding of him as a person. The character’s final moments are among the saddest (and best-acted) moments of any character from the last six years.

8

Roz — ‘The Wild Robot’ (2024)

Image via Universal Pictures

For a while, DreamWorks Animation’s output has been a bit of a mixed bag, but when the studio delivers, it can make some of the greatest animated films out there. Case in point: The Wild Robot, one of the studio’s best outings ever, based on Peter Brown‘s 2016 novel. It’s one of the best family movies of the last 15 years, about a sentient robot who becomes stranded on an island and has to raise an orphaned gosling while trying to fit in with the local wildlife.

The robot, Roz (voiced by Lupita Nyong’o in one of the best voice performances of the decade so far), can already be counted among DreamWorks’ most endearing protagonists. From the character’s design to her compassionate personality, her adorable relationship with her found family to the way she highlights the movie’s themes of motherhood and environmental harmony, everything about this animated masterpiece’s protagonist is virtually perfect.

7

Art the Clown — ‘Terrifier 2’ (2022) and ‘Terrifier 3’ (2024)

Image via Cineverse

We’re only a little over halfway through the decade, and we’ve already gotten some pretty scary horror movie villains. David Howard Thornton‘s Art the Clown, from Damien Leone‘s Terrifier franchise, actually originated all the way back in 2008, but it’s through his appearances in Terrifier 2 and Terrifier 3 that he’s become the new face of the slasher genre.

From Thornton’s pitch-perfect performance to the many ways in which Leone makes Art seem as mysterious and oddly amusing as he is horrifying, it’s no wonder that Art has become such a pop-cultural sensation. A couple of decades from now, fans of the genre will very likely look back at the 2020s and think of this terrifying clown as one of horror’s biggest modern icons, a slasher villain who refuses to ever play by the rules.

6

Paul Hunham — ‘The Holdovers’ (2023)

Image via Focus Features

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As soon as it was released in late October of 2023, Alexander Payne‘s The Holdovers almost immediately became a new certified Christmas classic. Set in a 1970s New England boarding school, the story follows a cantankerous history teacher who remains on campus during Christmas break to supervise a brainy but damaged troublemaker. Played by Paul Giamatti at his Oscar-nominated best, Professor Paul Hunham immediately joined the ranks of the best Christmas movie characters of all time.

As far as feel-good movies go, few find a balance between feel-goodness and deeply poignant bittersweetness quite as well as The Holdovers does. Even still, it’s one of the most heartwarming slice-of-life movies from recent years, with a character whose arc toward becoming a more protective and caring figure is an absolute delight. Never has the trope of the inspirational teacher been subverted quite this effectively.

5

Marcel — ‘Marcel the Shell With Shoes On’ (2021)

A24’s mockumentary dramedy Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is one of the best family movies of the decade so far, a follow-up to Dean Fleischer Camp and Jenny Slate‘s trilogy of stop-motion shorts from the 2010s. Its story follows a documentary filmmaker who decides to make his newest movie about a small shell he finds living in his Airbnb. The result is one of the sweetest, most beautifully life-affirming family films that indie Hollywood has ever produced.

It’s also one of the best low-budget fantasy movies ever made, and the reason it works so well is that its protagonist is so profoundly lovable. Marcel (voiced by Slate) is the type of character who doesn’t really need much of a transformative arc, because it’s how his “glass-half-full” approach to life impacts the audience that’s the whole point of the movie. Optimistic, resilient, innocent, and irresistibly cute from beginning to end, Marcel is the sort of wholesome character that people can’t get enough of.

4

Miles Morales — ‘Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse’ (2023)

Image via Sony Pictures Releasing

Miles Morales first appeared in Marvel Comics back in 2011, and he made his big-screen debut in Sony Animation’s surprise smash-hit Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse in 2018. Expectations were set sky-high, and somehow, Across the Spider-Verse managed to surpass them. This sequel follows Miles meeting a new team of Spider-People while traveling across the multiverse. But when the heroes clash over how to deal with a new threat, Miles finds himself at a crossroads.

The entirety of Across the Spider-Verse‘s narrative is a delectably meta study of the very concept of superheroes, as well as a deconstruction of the Spider-Man mythos, and it’s through Miles’ eyes that we experience such a complex narrative. We couldn’t have possibly gotten a better pair of eyes for that. Across the Spider-Verse is one of the most perfect animated movies of the last 10 years, largely because its protagonist’s arc of finding his own path is so immensely effective.

3

Evelyn Wang — ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ (2022)

Image via A24

A hyper-ambitious martial arts sci-fi comedy about multiversal travel? It’s not exactly the kind of premise that screams “prestige film,” but somehow, the Daniels‘s Everything Everywhere All At Once managed to make its way to tremendous financial success and a whopping seven Oscar victories, including Best Picture. It’s the story of Evelyn (played by an Oscar-winning Michelle Yeoh), a middle-aged Chinese immigrant who’s swept up into a multiversal adventure in which only she can save existence by exploring other universes and connecting with the lives she could have led.

This is one of the truest action movie masterpieces of the 2020s, and like any action movie masterpiece, the character writing is fantastic here. That leaves us with one of the decade’s strongest and most compelling protagonists. Evelyn is a vehicle for Everything Everywhere‘s meditations on family, existential dread, and the search for meaning, and her journey is a celebration of how kindness can save the world. As much of a badass action heroine as she is a deeply complex and emotionally engaging protagonist, Evelyn carries the weight of the film on her shoulders with ease.

2

Willa Ferguson — ‘One Battle After Another’ (2025)

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

Paul Thomas Anderson had been trying to claw his way to an Academy Award victory for years, and with 2025’s One Battle After Another, he finally obtained three. Many people’s favorite PTA masterpiece, One Battle follows Bob, an ex-revolutionary who has to try and rescue his daughter after an enemy of his old revolutionary cell resurfaces after 16 years. The result? One of the best crime thrillers of the last 10 years.

Bob’s daughter is Willa, played by breakout star Chase Infiniti. Subverting the usual trope of the child being the damsel-in-distress that must be rescued by her brave father, Willa is a powerhouse in her own right. Complex, resilient, and determined, she transcends the revolutionary ideals of her father’s generation and ends up rescuing herself throughout the entire story. Partly through PTA’s brilliant writing and partly through Infiniti’s exceptional performance, Willa becomes one of the most fascinating characters of any 21st-century film.

1

Paul Atreides — ‘Dune’ (2021) and ‘Dune: Part Two’ (2024)

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

Paul Atreides originated in Frank Herbert‘s Dune, one of the most important works of science fiction literature in history. It was believed to be impossible to make a Dune adaptation truly worthy of the source material’s legacy for years — until Denis Villeneuve came along. His Dune and Dune: Part Two brilliantly follow the story of Paul, a ducal heir who unites with the indigenous people of Arrakis to seek revenge against the conspirators who destroyed his family.

In creating two of the most perfect sci-fi movies of the 21st century, Villeneuve flawlessly understood what the character of Paul is all about: He’s not a hero, but rather a walking cautionary tale against blind faith in charismatic leaders who manipulate religion for political power. Played impeccably by Timothée Chalamet at his best, Villeneuve’s version of Paul is a delightfully complex anti-hero who’s as fun to watch as he is to analyze. These will go down in history as two of the greatest sci-fi films of the 21st century, and Paul Atreides will be right at the center of all that praise.

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Dune

Release Date

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September 15, 2021

Runtime

155 minutes

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Director

Denis Villeneuve

Writers

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Denis Villeneuve, Eric Roth, Jon Spaihts, Frank Herbert

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Dune: Part Two

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Release Date

February 27, 2024

Runtime

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167 minutes

Director

Denis Villeneuve

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Writers

Denis Villeneuve, Jon Spaihts, Frank Herbert

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Fantasy television has gifted audiences with countless magical worlds over the years, but only a rare few in the genre fully commit to building structured magical systems, detailed mythology, political tensions, and believable internal logic. Often referred to as “hard fantasy,” those rare few shows tend to take their fantastical worlds quite seriously, grounding even the most outlandish supernatural tropes in carefully crafted lore and rules. Sadly, most of these series tend to fade into the background over time, due to the debut of flashier fantasy epics that take the spotlight.

Entertaining fantasy gems like the two-season series, Atlantis, which approaches magic and mythology in very different yet equally compelling ways from most in the genre, and the historical fantasy epic that builds an alternate historical England shaped by political tension and structured magic, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, are two shows that have both quietly slipped from mainstream attention despite their creativity and remarkable depth. Compiled on this list are such series, near-perfect hard fantasy shows that​​​​​​​ most have forgotten ever existed.

‘Carnivàle’ (2003–2005)

Image via HBO

This 2003 hard fantasy wields layered symbolism and a haunting atmosphere, while presenting its fantasy features through grounded spiritual conflict rather than through unnecessary spectacle. The HBO fantasy drama, Carnivàle, is set during the Dust Bowl of the Great Depression and follows carnival worker and drifter Ben Hawkins (Nick Stahl), who discovers he has healing powers — and the charismatic preacher with dark visions, Brother Justin Crowe (Clancy Brown).

Carnivàle‘s deliberate storytelling and mythology helped to make it one of the most ambitious fantasies ever created. Although mostly forgotten by audiences, the show remains admired for how seriously it approached the topic of religion, prophecy, and supernatural destiny. With a seamless blend of biblical prophecy, mythological fantasy, and Depression-era Americana in a way very few television shows have attempted—especially for its era—Carnivàle delivers a truly near-perfect hard fantasy that disappeared far too quickly despite its remarkable depth. The show’s cinematic beauty and complex characters mark it as a quiet standout that has faded from popular memory, yet somehow still lingers mainly in lists of underrated fantasy gems.

‘Hellbound’ (2021–2024)

Image via Netflix

Hellbound is a South Korean horror-fantasy thriller on Netflix that doesn’t rely on traditional fantasy aesthetics, instead building tension through supernatural rules and humanity’s reaction to them. Set in near-future Seoul, where otherworldly angels have suddenly appeared, declaring certain people damned, along with brutal, nightmarish demons, the series centers on individuals’ survival as they navigate religious fervor and lawlessness.

Though Hellbound isn’t “hard fantasy” in the strict Tolkien-style worldbuilding sense, it takes its supernatural premise very seriously and explores the political, societal, and religious consequences in a grounded and rather rule-focused lens. With its thrilling approach to fantasy through theology, horror, and social collapse, the series creates a remarkably believable and quite unsettling world that remains one of Netflix’s finest despite going mostly unremembered. Hellbound is an ambitious hard fantasy that too many have simply moved on from, but since the genuinely exceptional watch arrived in the wake of Squid Game, it was quickly overshadowed by that global phenomenon, marking it as the perfect addition to this list of near-perfect gems that no one remembers.

‘Atlantis’ (2013–2015)

Image via BBC

This 2013 underrated gem may come as a surprise as a “hard-fantasy,” but in actuality, it’s the perfect addition to this list due to its commitment to serialized storytelling, mythological worldbuilding, and its grounded use of Greek legends. The BBC fantasy-adventure series, Atlantis, focuses on a young man, Jason (Jack Donnelly), as he is mysteriously transported into the ancient city of Atlantis, where he becomes entangled with figures considered legends, like Pythagoras (Robert Emms) and Hercules (Mark Addy), and is forced to navigate monsters, prophecies, gods, and political strife.

Atlantis may be on the lighter side tonally than most on this list, but it does approach mythology with a seriousness viewers adore, steadily building a thrillingly immersive fantasy world rife with supernatural threats and recurring lore. Though quite a few fans have found the show’s adventurous energy, likable characters, and creative reimagining of Greek myths quite the perfect mixture of pure fun, Atlantis has sadly been shelved in the realm of the forgotten. It’s a truly underrated fantasy gem that is remembered mostly by viewers who still admire its ambitious mix of serialized fantasy storytelling and mythology.

‘Carnival Row’ (2019–2023)

Image via Prime Video

Carnival Row is a compelling Victorian-era fantasy drama with a host of hard-fantasy elements, including detailed mythological creatures, worldbuilding, political conflict, and deeply structured social systems. The Prime Video series follows faerie refugee Vignette Stonemoss (Cara Delevingne) and human detective Rycroft “Philo” Philoctetes (Orlando Bloom), as they navigate the rising tensions between humans and magical beings while beginning the journey of falling in love despite their differences.

Carnival Row is a fantastic bout of ambitious worldbuilding and lush visuals in the realm of R-rated fantasy series. Fans adored the show’s production values and willingness to blend noir storytelling with themes of prejudice, class, and immigration. Unfortunately, Carnival Row never broke into mainstream conversations, despite its ambitious mythology and strong visual identity, and the four-year gap between its two seasons certainly didn’t help, as the show silently began to slip into the background. It’s a genuinely addictive fantasy that stands as a near-perfect gem with a solid cult following but sadly remains largely overlooked.

‘The Magicians’ (2015–2020)

Image via SYFY

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This underrated Syfy gem is a fantasy work of art that wields a willingness to mix expansive fantasy mythology with emotional trauma that gives it remarkable amounts of depth. The Magicians focuses on a depressed young man, Quentin Coldwater (Jason Ralph), who discovers that magic is real after being accepted into a secret institution for magicians known as Brakebills University.

The Magicians is a true standout that constantly evolves its worldbuilding while also maintaining strong character-driven storytelling. The series is often hailed as a near-perfect watch for treating fantasy with emotional realism, blending addiction, grief, trauma, and identity with detailed magical systems. The Magicians delivers a masterful balance of dark storytelling with humor and surreal creativity, genuinely admired by fans for its low-key brilliance. Alas, The Magicians may be quite the near-perfect hard fantasy series with a rather devoted fanbase and critical appreciation, but the show has increasingly faded from wider discussions after its ending, leaving it as an unremembered cult favorite.

‘Legend of the Seeker’ (2008–2010)

Image via ABC Studios

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Legend of the Seeker is an excellent high-fantasy adventure series based on Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth novels. The near-perfect series centers on woods guide Richard Cypher (Craig Horner), as he discovers his status as the long-prophesied Seeker destined to defeat the tyrannical Darken Rahl (Craig Parker).

Even without ever entering the realm of mainstream phenomena, Legend of the Seeker held its own quite well, developing a passionate fanbase due to its adventurous tone, sincerity, and commitment to classic fantasy worldbuilding. Fans still frequently praise the series for its willingness to fully embrace prophecy-driven fantasy without irony, and for the captivating chemistry between the leads. Legend of the Seeker may have been abruptly cancelled after only two seasons, which had a hand in the series being thoroughly forgotten, but it remains a near-perfect example of old-school hard fantasy television that made hearts race in excitement for more.

‘The Dresden Files’ (2007)

Image via SYFY

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The Dresden Files fantastically builds a supernatural world hidden beneath modern Chicago, and delivers a mix of detective noir and urban fantasy. The series centers around the professional wizard Harry Dresden (Paul Blackthorne), who works as a private investigator and uses magic to solve supernatural crimes, becoming entangled with vampires, ghosts, demons, faeries, and hidden magical organizations.

With an enticing blend of fantasy mythology and procedural storytelling, The Dresden Files makes for quite the standout, especially in comparison to more traditional supernatural dramas of its time. The series stands as a cult fantasy that deserved far more attention than it received during its time on air. The Dresden Files‘ approach to magic, with enough lore and structure, gives its world a rather believable feel in internal logic. It’s an urban fantasy that still earns a place on this list through its surprisingly detailed worldbuilding, grounded rules, and entertaining supernatural politics.

‘Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell’ (2015)

Image via BBC

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This historical fantasy miniseries is a captivating bout of intricate magical logic. Set in an alternate version of 19th-century England where practical magic once existed but has long faded into history, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell follows reserved scholar Gilbert Norrell (Eddie Marsan), who searches for a way to restore English magic through careful control and discipline, and the naturally gifted Jonathan Strange (Bertie Carvel), whose reckless curiosity challenges Norrell’s rigid philosophy.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is a truly unique watch that has earned acclaim for its restrained but richly layered fantasy storytelling, grounding magic within academia, historical realism, and politics. Audiences have often praised the series for its immersive atmosphere, intelligent writing, and subtle worldbuilding, which elevated the show’s fantasy elements to feel unusually believable. Despite the fact that Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell was quite admired due to its brilliant craftsmanship and genuine ambition, the compelling miniseries has quietly and rather tragically disappeared from memories over time since its conclusion.