hbo guide

Seen:
A Black Lady Sketch Show - i'm obviously not the target audience for this but it's a quick one-sitting binge that satisfied me (1+ seasons)
Barry - equal parts comedy and drama about a guy trying to balance being an actor and a hitman. my favorite show on here, probably my favorite scripted show of all time, just all around incredible. the show hooks you really quickly and doesn't let go so probably the best for a binge (2+ seasons)
Big Little Lies - basically just an all star cast of women riffing off of each other all playing various shades of Karen, lots of iconic moments and very easy to binge (2 seasons)
Euphoria - teen drama that successfully takes itself seriously, the dark psychadelic aesthetic of the visuals and score help elevate a relatively uneventful plot. (1+ season)
Game of Thrones - you've probably heard about it, the first half of the show is an excellent display of shifting characters and political dynamics with a fantasy flair, the second half kinda goes off the rails but still overall enjoyable because most characters have a satisfactory journey (8 seasons)
Insecure - slow slice of life about balancing different relationships and priorities in life in your late 20s. your opinion of the show will depend entirely on how much Issa Rae entertains you so look up a YouTube video of an interview or something (4+ seasons)
The Leftovers - reddit is right to circlejerk this the characters and aesthetic and the questions it raises are all perfect and i still think about it daily (3 seasons)
Lovecraft Country - sci-fi, fantasy, horror, etc. series about black people in segregated Chicago fighting racist wizards. pacing can be wildly off but i thoroughly enjoyed every episode after episode 2 (1+ seasons)
Six Feet Under - really touching family drama about owners of a funeral home, with a surrealist edge. not done with it yet but probably the most grounded show i've ever seen and i'm really enjoying taking my time with it and just savoring in the characters (5 seasons)
Succession - similar tone to the first few seasons of game of thrones oddly enough where a few characters are engaged in a cold political war for power. in this case it's the control of a media empire. lots of great characters and iconic moments, deserves the hype it gets (2+ seasons)
True Detective - anthology crime drama show with a slight supernatural angle. i've only seen season 1 which stars Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey and is widely considered to be one of the best seasons of any TV show ever. not the easiest binge but a great experience (3+ seasons)
Westworld - it's about a futuristic wild west theme park, explores these of artificial intelligence. very dense and confusing, not a light binge (3+ seasons)

Seen (Miniseries):
Band of Brothers - it's a world war 2 drama (10 episodes)
Chernobyl - i've only seen the first 2 or 3 episodes and it's an extremely heavy prestige drama, nothing unexpected (5 episodes)
The Outsider - stephen king adaptation, supernatural/horror murder mystery. could be several episodes shorter and probably not gonna stay a miniseries because there's major continuation potential for the breakout character (10 episodes)
Sharp Objects - very dark slow burn southern gothic murder mystery, i would avoid this if you're triggered by suicide/self-harm/etc but it's the 2nd best miniseries on this list imo with at least 3 all star performances (8 episodes)
Watchmen - best miniseries periodt with deconstructions of the superhero trope and the police. incredibly easy binge but read the graphic novel first because this is the sequel to it (9 episodes)
Years and Years - explores a family over the course of 5 years in a dystopian near future, basically answering the question of "what if the world continues to go to shit?". kinda heavy handed but still pretty good (6 episodes)

Haven't Seen:
Ballers - sports drama starring Dwayne Johnson that Elizabeth Warren likes (5 seasons)
Big Love - family drama about polygamous mormons (5 seasons)
Boardwalk Empire - Atlantic City mafia drama that won a bunch of Emmys (5 seasons)
Curb Your Enthusiasm - Larry David plays himself. (10+ seasons)
Deadwood - a western (3 seasons + sequel movie)
Eastbound & Down - sports comedy produced by Will Ferrell (4 seasons)
Enlightened - Laura Dern has a nervous breakdown (2 seasons)
Entourage - extremely straight male about A-list Hollywood celebrities (8 seasons)
Girls - Lena Dunham does white feminism. probably not as bad as it sounds though (6 seasons)
His Dark Materials - based on the Golden Compass books that were banned from my elementary school. would probably be much bigger if it weren't on HBO (1+ season)
Looking - i saw 2 episodes of this but it's pretty standard slice of life about gay men in modern San Francisco (2 seasons + sequel movie)
The Newsroom - political newsroom drama, i've seen mixed reception (3 seasons)
Oz - supposedly ahead of its time prison drama (6 seasons)
Sex and the City - four young women lead glamorous lives in NYC. spawned a whole franchise but idk how much it holds up (6 seasons)
Silicon Valley - a comedy parody of silicon valley. note that TJ Miller who plays a main character has been MeToo'd (6 seasons)
The Sopranos - family mafia drama with a near consensus as the greatest TV show of all time. i'm gonna watch over the summer probably (6 seasons)
True Blood - vampire drama for middle aged women (7 seasons)
The Wire - sleeper hit crime drama that is now regarded as one of the best TV shows ever because of its realistic depiction of inner city life (5 seasons)
Veep - political comedy that won a shitload of emmys (7 seasons)