With new shows coming to Max all the time, it’s easy to find something new when your favorite shows like Succession end or you are waiting anxiously for the new season of The Last of Us or House of the Dragon. From comedies to dramas and more, Max has it all. This month, for example, you can catch the second season of Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty about one of the most pivotal periods (and teams and players) in sports history. Haven’t watched season 1 yet? You can binge through that first.
If you’re looking to finally watch that show all your friends have been urging you to watch and you finally have the time (The White Lotus or The Righteous Gemstones, perhaps?), you can catch up on those via Max, too. Below, we have curated a list of the best shows on Max (formerly HBO Max) right now to help you find the perfect fit.
Looking for something else? We’ve also rounded up the best shows on Hulu, the best shows on Netflix, the best shows on Amazon Prime Video, and the best shows on Disney+.
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Rap Sh!t2022
Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (2022)
Basketball fans should take note of this sports drama that’s based on the Jeff Pearlman book Magic, Kareem, Riley, and the Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty of the 1980s and executive produced by Succession‘s Adam McKay. Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, which features an ensemble cast led by John C. Reilly (as majority owner Jerry Buss) and Jason Clarke as former player Jerry West, looks at the time from 1979 to 1991 known as the Showtime era. During those years, the Los Angeles Lakers won five NBA championships thanks to the skills and teamwork of greats like Magic Johnson (played by Quincy Isaiah) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Solomon Hughes) who engaged in the run-and-gun style of play.
Season 1 focuses on the time frame from 1979 through 1980 when Magic Johnson was just a rookie, while season 2 continues the story through 1984. Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty is a must-watch for not only Lakers fans, but fans of the sport as a whole. It delves into both the professional and personal lives of these iconic players and the stories behind one of the most notable periods and teams in sports history.
Full Circle (2023)
Zazie Beetz, Claire Danes, Timothy Olyphant, Dennis Quaid, and Jharrel Jerome star in this Steven Soderbergh miniseries about a kidnapping gone wrong and an investigation that uncovers deep, dark secrets about the characters. Dubbed a crime thriller, you can expect Soderbergh’s signature style, which typically includes multidimensional, non-linear storylines told from a third-person point-of-view.
Dark and filled with tension and suspense, Full Circle is about secrets, trauma, cover-ups, conspiracies, and danger, with plenty of twists and turns along the way. In addition to Soderbergh, writer Ed Solomon and executive producer Casey Silver are behind the series, and the trio together previously worked on No Sudden Move and Mosaic.
My Adventures with Superman (2023)
Clark Kent is a young man just building his identity as Superman in this Adult Swim animated superhero series based on the DC Comics character. Jack Quaid (The Boys) voices the iconic character and Alice Lee (Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist) is Lois Lane, who is working her way up the career ladder as a reporter.
Harley Quinn (2019)
88%
8.5/10Looney Tunes Cartoons (2020)
White House Plumbers (2023)
While the satirical political drama has received mixed reviews, it’s hard to argue with the forces of Woody Harrelson, Justin Theroux, Domhnall Gleeson, and Lena Headey, who star in this miniseries. White House Plumbers follows E. Howard Hunt (Harrelson) and G. Gordon Liddy (Theroux), the masterminds behind Watergate and political operatives known as the White House Plumbers.
While trying to protect the presidency, their actions, which included plugging press leaks, end up accidentally overturning the very president they were supposed to be protecting. Despite being based on a true story, White House Plumbers is also praised for its “stranger than fiction” material.
The Righteous Gemstones (2019)
John Goodman heads up the ensemble cast in this Danny McBride-created black comedy crime series about a family of televangelists and megachurch pastors. They speak the word of the Lord, but their padded pocketbooks suggest they really speak the word of capitalism. The family’s opulent lifestyle also indicates that donations from parishioners are being used for a lot more than just giving back.
Goodman is Eli Gemstone in The Righteous Gemstones, a widow who heads up the church/company, while his three children Jesse (McBride), Judy (Edi Patterson), and Kelvin (Adam DeVine) are involved in varying ways. But their immaturity and spoiled nature mean they’re not up to the task of actually running things. Called “uproariously funny,” reviews for The Righteous Gemstones get better with each season.
Rick and Morty (2013)
87%
9.2/10Love & Death (2023)
The second series to center around the story of Candy Montgomery (Jessica Biel played her in the Hulu original series Candy), WandaVision‘s Elizabeth Olsen takes on the portrayal in Love & Death, a crime drama by TV hitmaker David E. Kelley, the man behind shows like Big Little Lies, Boston Legal, and Chicago Hope.
In 1980, Montgomery was accused of brutally murdering her friend Betty Gore with an axe. Montgomery claimed self-defense, and the controversial trial and story full of twists and turns was followed closely by members of the Texas community. Jesse Plemons also stars in this depiction of the events as Allan Gore, Betty’s husband, and Lily Rabe as Betty.
Barry (2018)
85%
8.3/10Somebody Somewhere (2022)
Receiving rave reviews for its first season and now back for a second season, Somebody, Somewhere is a comedy-drama starring comedian, actor, singer, writer, and cabaret performer Bridgett Everett. She’s a woman named Sam dealing with a midlife crisis following the death of her sister.
Inspired by Everett’s real life, the show boasts a perfect Rotten Tomatoes rating, with critics calling Everett “captivating” and applauding the way the show “exposes the human condition with tenderness, grace, and warmth.”
Succession (2018)
83%
8.7/10With several Emmy wins under its belt, including Outstanding Drama Series, Succession has become one of HBO’s most popular series. Waystar Royco is a global media and hospitality empire headed up by the cutthroat, cruel Logan Roy. As he reaches retirement age and suffers a health setback, he must look to his rich and entitled children to find a successor. But who of his four children, from the arrogant playboy to the power-hungry and visionary addict, is really ready and deserving? And will Logan ever be ready to hand over the reins anyway?
The question of who will take over hovers above every episode and season as the company, Logan, and the Roy family engage in dirty tactics, flaunt their wealth, and find themselves constantly embroiled in controversy. With everything coming to a head in the fourth and final season, Succession is poised to go down in history as not only one of the best shows on HBO, but also one of the best shows of this decade, period.
Perry Mason (2020)
An HBO original and based on the same characters featured in the 1957 series (and 1973 revival) that were created by author Erle Stanley Gardner, Perry Mason is a period series starring Matthew Rhys as the title character, a famous defense lawyer during the Great Depression. While dealing with personal demons, including divorce and lingering trauma from the Great War, he quickly becomes immersed in a child kidnapping trial.
Combining all the best elements of a procedural legal drama with the elegance and flair of the 1930s, the second season of Perry Mason will appeal to both fans of the original and the revival as well as those new to the story and its characters who love the genre.
The Last of Us (2023)
Pedro Pascal stars in this post-apocalyptic drama as Joel, a smuggler transporting a teenage girl named Ellie (Bell Ramsey) out of a quarantine zone and across the U.S., two decades after the end of modern civilization. Through the brutal journey, the two must rely on one another more than they realized, but Joel has his own demons, tormented by his past.
Considered to be the largest TV production ever in Canada (it was filmed in Alberta) and the first from HBO to be based on a video game, The Last of Us boasts an impressive supporting cast as well. This includes Gabriel Luna (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) as Tommy, Joel’s younger brother and a hopeful former soldier, and Merle Dandridge as Marlene, head of a resistance movement, who is reprising her role from the video games. Guest stars include Murray Bartlett (The White Lotus) and Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation) as survivalists, and Melanie Lynskey (Yellowjackets) as the leader of a revolutionary movement.
Rap Sh!t (2022)
80%
5.0/10Doom Patrol (2019)
The Sex Lives of College Girls (2021)
72%His Dark Materials (2019)
69%
7.9/10The White Lotus (2021)
82%
7.7/10It’s probably a good thing that the chain of White Lotus luxury resorts isn’t actually real. Because the vacations in seasons 1 and 2 just go completely off the rails. And that’s before the dead bodies start showing up!
Initially planned as a single season, The White Lotus follows an odd assortment of guests and the beleaguered hotel staff who labor to keep them happy. It works really well as both a comedy and a drama, which is why we’re currently checking in for the new episodes streaming each week. You don’t necessarily have to watch season 1 to enjoy season 2, both with different settings and (almost) entirely new casts.
House of the Dragon (2022)
68%
8.8/10The Staircase (2022)
80%
7.2/10The Staircase is not a love story, but it is a gripping true crime miniseries based upon the real-life tale of Michael Peterson (Colin Firth). When Michael’s second wife, Kathleen Peterson (Toni Collette), is found dead in their home, the crime novelist faces murder charges for her demise.
Michael’s family doesn’t know what to think, and Michael somewhat brazenly allows a documentary crew to chronicle the story of his defense and his family life. The supporting cast is truly impressive, with a lineup that includes Michael Stuhlbarg, Dane DeHaan, Olivia DeJonge, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Sophie Turner, Odessa Young, Parker Posey, and Juliette Binoche.
Hacks (2021)
81%
8.2/10Tokyo Vice (2022)
75%
8/10Our Flag Means Death (2022)
71%
7.9/10Peacemaker (2022)
69%
8.4/10Fringe (2008)
72%
8.4/10Station Eleven (2021)
82%
7.1/10Babylon 5 (1994)
55%
8.3/10The Outsider (2020)
68%
7.7/10Band of Brothers (2001)
87%
9.4/10Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000)
84%
8.7/10Chernobyl (2019)
82%
9.4/10Mare of Easttown (2021)
81%
8.5/10Deadwood (2004)
85%
8.6/10Search Party (2016)
78%
7.7/10Batman: The Animated Series (1992)
The West Wing (1999)
78%
8.8/10Young Justice (2010)
8.6/10Veep (2012)
82%
8.3/10The Wire (2002)
91%
9.3/10Sex and the City (1998)
64%
7.2/10Game of Thrones (2011)
86%
9.2/10Doctor Who (2005)
77%
8.6/10The Sopranos (1999)
94%
9.2/10Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown (2013)
South Park (1997)
64%
8.7/10Watchmen (2019)
85%
8.2/10Editors' Recommendations
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