THE 7 HBO MAX SHOWS THAT WILL REMIND YOU YOUR LIFE ACTUALLY SUCKS (IN A GOOD WAY)
Look, I know you’re sitting there in your three-day-old sweatpants, scrolling through HBO Max for the 47th time, wondering why you haven’t just watched *The Sopranos* again. You’ve seen every trending TikTok about “peak TV” and every hot take from some guy named Chad who thinks *The Last of Us* is “mid.” But here’s the thing: your brain is a dopamine-starved husk that needs new content to feel anything other than the crushing emptiness of modern existence. So, I took one for the team. I watched a bunch of shows so you don’t have to waste your precious doom-scrolling time on garbage. Here are the seven best shows on HBO Max that will make you laugh, cry, and question every life choice you’ve ever made—because that’s what art is for, right?
First up, we have **“Succession.”** If you’ve managed to avoid this one, congrats, you’re probably a healthy person with a functioning family. For the rest of us degenerates, this show is a masterclass in watching rich people destroy each other over a media empire that none of them deserve. It’s like *The Real Housewives of New York* but with more backstabbing, less plastic surgery, and actually good writing. The Roys are the worst people alive—and I mean that as the highest compliment. Every episode makes you feel like your own family drama is just a minor inconvenience compared to Logan Roy calling his kids “fucking idiots” for the 80th time. You’ll watch it, you’ll hate yourself for relating to Kendall’s desperate need for validation, and you’ll immediately text your own sibling about that time Dad didn’t acknowledge your 8th-grade science fair project. A true masterpiece of emotional terrorism.
Next, **“The White Lotus.”** This show is basically a vacation for people who hate vacations. You know that feeling when you spend thousands of dollars to sit by a pool in Hawaii, only to realize you’re still the same miserable person with the same unresolved trauma? Yeah, that’s the entire series. The cast is a rotating door of rich idiots who think their problems are unique, but they’re all just different flavors of “I peaked in college and now my life is an expensive hobby.” The real star is the music—that haunting theme song that will be stuck in your head for weeks, reminding you that no amount of spa treatments can fix your existential dread. Also, Jennifer Coolidge is a national treasure and deserves every ounce of screen time she gets. Watch it, then immediately book a trip you can’t afford to an overpriced resort and see how that works out for you.
Now, let’s talk about **“Barry.”** If you haven’t seen this, you’re missing out on the most absurdly dark comedy about a hitman who wants to be an actor. Yes, you read that right. It’s like *Dexter* but for people who think killing is a minor setback on the road to a SAG card. Bill Hader plays Barry, a guy who’s so emotionally broken that he thinks acting class will fix his murderous tendencies. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t. The show is a brutal commentary on how we all try to escape our pasts, except most of us aren’t leaving a trail of bodies. Each episode is a tightrope walk between hilarious and horrifying, and the supporting cast (especially NoHo Hank) is pure gold. If you’ve ever thought, “I could totally be an actor if I just had the guts,” this show will make you grateful you’re just a normal person with a boring job.
Moving on, **“Station Eleven.”** This one’s for the preppers and the nihilists. It’s a post-apocalyptic drama that somehow manages to be optimistic without being saccharine. The premise: a flu pandemic wipes out 99% of the population (too real, right?), and the survivors are trying to rebuild society through art and community. It sounds like a Hallmark movie on the surface, but trust me, it’s way darker. There’s a cult leader who thinks Shakespeare is the devil’s work, a traveling symphony that performs *Hamlet* in the woods, and a kid who just wants to find her brother. It’s emotional, it’s beautiful, and it will make you realize that if the world ends, you’re probably not going to be the hero. You’re going to be the guy who hoards canned beans and dies of dysentery. But hey, at least the soundtrack is great.
For the sci-fi nerds and the existential crisis enthusiasts, **“Raised by Wolves”** is the show you didn’t know you needed. Created by Ridley Scott, this is a fever dream of a series about two androids trying to raise human children on a hostile planet after Earth is destroyed. It’s weird, it’s gross, and it asks questions like “What does it mean to be a parent?” and “Why does that creature have five eyes?” The production design is insane, the plot is unhinged, and the acting is top-tier. If you liked *Westworld* but thought it needed more giant snake monsters and less confusing timelines, this is for you. Just be prepared to be confused, disgusted, and thoroughly entertained. Also, the cult subplot is a nice reminder that even in the future, people will still find something to argue about.
Don’t sleep on **“Somebody Somewhere.”** This is the sleeper hit of the list, the one that will sneak up on you and make you cry in the middle of a Tuesday afternoon. It’s a comedy-drama about a woman named Sam who moves back to her hometown in Kansas after her sister dies. She’s in her 40s, she’s queer, and she’s trying to find her voice in a place that doesn’t get her. It’s low-stakes in the
Final Thoughts
After sifting through the sheer density of HBO Max's library, it's clear that the platform's true strength isn't just in blockbuster spectacles, but in its commitment to the slow-burn, character-driven drama—the kind that demands your full attention and rewards it tenfold. The curation here feels less like a firehose of content and more like a meticulously stocked video store where every shelf has a reason to exist, from the gritty realism of *The Wire* to the melancholic beauty of *Station Eleven*. Ultimately, if you value television that trusts its audience to sit with discomfort and complexity, HBO Max remains the gold standard in an era of algorithmic noise.