Variety ranks the 20 best HBO shows of all time

GOT should be #2.

The Wire is way too low

The Larry Sanders Show is the best comedy series they've ever done.

Girls is garbage and Veep is extremely overrated.

The only one of these shows I've ever seen is the first series of "Game of Thrones" because I was visiting somebody who wanted to rewatch it.

"Mr. Show With Bob and David" is my favorite HBO production.

I'm surprised and disappointed "The Comeback" isn't on this list. Both seasons were definitely ahead of their time.

I would also put Enlightened at #9 instead of Sex and the City. That show has not aged well and should be towards the bottom of the twenty.

[quote] I'm surprised and disappointed "The Comeback" isn't on this list. Both seasons were definitely ahead of their time.

The Comeback was so under appreciated. It's one of those - "you either get it or you don't." Was not a Kudrow fan until this show and it was genius. Season 2 was even better than I expected.

Six feet under should be before Sopranos, snd GOT somewhere lower

VEEP before The Wire??? What moron made this list? Hollywood refuses to stop kissing the ass of the grossly overrated JLD.

The Wire should absolutely be number one followed by the Sopranos.

[QUOTE] The Sopranos should absolutely be number one followed by The Wire.

FIFY

I second Enlightened, and would also add the In Treatment version that starred Gabriel Byrne.

GOT was a piece of shit. It just looked expensive.

I wish “Watchmen” had been renewed for another season. It was good and had a lot of potential.

And, while I enjoyed Veep, I would have placed it further down on the list.

And where the hell is Rome? It should be on the list.

Oz was the best!

Was Rome good? That’s one I’ve never seen.

Boardwalk Empire was fantastic

R17, Season 1 is very good, season 2 is just meh.

It's a good list although the order is a bit suspect.

OP is a frau. Otherwise, Oz would be MUCH higher on this list.

[QUOTE] Oz was the best!

R16 you just wish you could be Schillinger’s prison bitch.

I don't have HBO.

...or Netflix or Showtime or Apple Plus or Disney or anything other than basic cable.

[quote]The Wire should absolutely be number one followed by the Sopranos.

[quote]The Sopranos should absolutely be number one followed by The Wire.

I’m having a tough time deciding which one of these comments I agree with, either way The Wire should be in the top two.

Carnivale?

Girls shouldn't be on the list.

Both seasons of Rome are currently streaming free on Tubi. I recommend.

My one-two would be Six Feet Under and Sopranos.

3. Game of Thrones

I loved The Thick of It and was excited for VEEP. I couldn't watch more than one episode. It sucked. The best are The Wire, Six Feet Under, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Silicon Valley.

"Girls" was total garbage. What a dumb list.

Please. Tales from the Crypt deserves a slot on this list.

And so does Fraggle Rock.

#1 Sopranos

#2 Wire

#3 First and Ten (with skinny Delta Burke)

VEEP is definitely in the Top 3.

Kids in the hall should be on that list.

"The Leftovers" has no place on a 'best of' list.

I still miss Six Feet Under.

No Getting On?

I'm sorry, but Insecure over The Wire, Game of Thrones, and True Detective? Uh no. And where the fuck is Barry?

True Blood and Big Little Lies have no business being on this list at all. Absolutely I would slot in The Comeback and Enlightened over some of these picks.

What r38 said.

I do too, r36. I just rewatched it for the first time in 20 years, and it’s still incredible.

[quote]The Comeback was so under appreciated.

It was a great show, but sometimes it was difficult to watch because it was so cruel. I can see why it wasn't a big hit.

Seriously, no Rome? 👋🏼

"Watchmen" should be WAY higher on that list.

Who’s this “HBO” ?

Sex and the City one of the best? Damn, we've been desperate for entertainment for so long.

I thought Hung was really underrated. Back in the day I also liked a show that probably no one remembers called, Inside the Mind of a Married Man.

I remember that R46! How about my obscure favorite, Tell Me You Love Me. I’ll fall for any show about rich people going to therapy.

Watchmen, R43, while great, was a single season. 9 hours of television does not make it one of the best HBO shows ever.

Is Insecure really that good or is that a politically correct placement?

Insecure before The Wire? No.

[quote]Is Insecure really that good or is that a politically correct placement?

It takes a unique skill to make a simple thread about a best TV show list into something about race.

Enlightened should have been on here

I haven't seen all of these but Big Little Lies and (especially) True Detective don't belong anywhere near any top 100 list, let alone Top 20. Liking True Detective is a deduction on an IQ test.

And The Wire is #1.

No love for Big Love?

strange that Eastbound and Down made the list but Righteous Gemstones didn't. Same writers and directors, same lead actor, but Righteous is far more accessible to general audiences while still a version of McBride's specific humor

"Enlightened" and "The Comeback" should be Top 10 but are missing entirely. This ranking is sh*t.

That 'Oz" was behind "Sex and the City" is laughable.

I LOVE Insecure, but, yes, ranking it above The Wire is... a choice. But, I have zero issue with the show making the top 20. It's one of the most consistently entertaining half-hours on the HBO schedule. I would definitely replace Eastbound & Down with aforementioned Enlightened, Extras, The Larry Sanders Show or The Comeback.

It's nice to see The Leftovers, one of the most original TV shows... ever?... let alone on HBO.. .make the list, though.

Season 1 of True Detective was excellent, the next 2 seasons were not.

Eastbound & Down I never got into but I did really like Vice Principals with Danny McBride and I love The Righteous Gemstones and am looking forward to that coming back.

Why is Girls ranked so low. It should switch places with Issacure.

[quote]Liking True Detective is a deduction on an IQ test.

The first season was incredible and rates higher in quality than half this list. But I really liked the third season as well. Mahershala Ali and Dorf gave great performances.

Add me to the choir who would have placed The Righteous Gemstones over Eastbound & Down. I watched TRG during lockdown and laughed so hard. I absolutely loved it. So I went backward on the Danny McBride series. Vice Principals was a lot of fun but not as good as Gemstones. And Eastbound ended up being my least favorite of the three, although I really enjoyed the second season. I can appreciate all the Kenny Powers jokes now however so I will count that as a worthy watch.

Insecure is ranked #5 because it is one of the very few HBO shows with an all black cast, which says a lot about HBO. I mean look at the rest of the list. Omar Little is a hundred times more iconic than any character on Issa's show, but I guess because he was a drug dealer that is not considered positive representation.

[quote]Both seasons of Rome are currently streaming free on Tubi. I recommend.

Thanks, R27, I've never seen it before.

Omg, R47, I watched that also. When I posted about Inside The Mind of a Married Man, I kept thinking there was another obscure I liked and couldn’t remember!

Tell Me You Love Me was ahead of its time! It would have been a hit in like ~2012.

Season 1 of True Detective was also shit. There was a TV critic at the time who articulated it far better than I ever could but I forget who it was.

I am prepared to be called a stupid fucking cunt for this.

I loved Silicon Valley, glad it made the list.

Girls is vomit inducing bestiality porn.

[quote] Insecure is ranked #5 because it is one of the very few HBO shows with an all black cast, which says a lot about HBO. I mean look at the rest of the list. Omar Little is a hundred times more iconic than any character on Issa's show, but I guess because he was a drug dealer that is not considered positive representation.

So you’re saying R49 is correct in that it’s an affirmation action inclusion?

As someone who has watched HBO programming prior to 1990, this list reeks of ignorant child snot.

[quote]R31: Please. Tales from the Crypt deserves a slot on this list. And so does Fraggle Rock.

[quote]R34: Kids in the hall should be on that list.

I don’t know what the criteria for this list was but Fraggle Rock and Kids in the Hall were a joint effort by HBO & the CBC and aired on both channels.

I loved Game of Thrones, The Leftovers and Boardwalk Empire were my favorites.

Watchmen should be higher.