There was a time when HBO was the king of television. You can count on HBO to get the most Emmy nominations every year and get the most wins. HBO screens were the popular ones through which all the other contestants were judged. And when streaming was in its infancy, corporations like Netflix tried (and failed) to emulate HBO’s good fortune with their own meaty cerebral dramas.
Even when streaming was in full swing and shows like The Sopranos and The Wire were in the rearview mirror, everyone wanted to make their own Game of Thrones. Amazon spent a lot of money on the rights to The Lord of the Rings and produced The Rings of Power, which fell far short of the good fortune and praise of Thrones.
Apple TV has had its own mixed success with big epics, producing the post-apocalyptic series See and the space opera, Foundation, neither of which gained huge audiences. But where Apple has had the most success in recent years is in offering perhaps the best ratio of quality-to-quantity of any streaming service out there, effectively stealing HBO’s thunder, especially in 2024.
The last truly amazing HBO shows aired in 2023. Succession finished its 4 seasons and won many well-deserved honors and awards. White Lotus gave us a second season that advanced everything that was wonderful about the first. Since then, HBO has been reeling. Even The Penguin, which was one of my favorite series of 2024, has failed to achieve wonder beyond HBO, never fitting into the masterful gangster story that was The Sopranos, nor embracing its comic book origins to the extent that it was. necessary. good comedian ebook series.
Meanwhile, House of the Dragon offered up a truly disappointing second season—even George R.R. Martin was upset about it—and True Detective’s fourth season, Night Country, was an absolute disaster and personally my least favorite show of the year, if only because it was such an enormous disappointment.
Over on Apple TV, however, I can tick off plenty of great shows that came out in 2024. Shrinking’s second season was brilliant. Bad Monkey was a terrific debut season to a new series. Slow Horses was better than ever in Season 4. Despite a lousy twist at the end, Presumed Innocent was a phenomenal adaptation of the Scott Turow novel. Tack on Sugar and Sunny for good measure, and Apple had quite a year! And with the second season of Severance just around the corner, my money’s on Apple giving us one of—if not the—best shows of 2025.
Still, HBO and its streaming service Max have some cards to play this year as well. The new Game Of Thrones spinoff A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms looks terrific, and is based on Martin’s novellas which I enjoy perhaps even more than the main books. The White Lotus Season 3 also looks fantastic, with a rather steamy first trailer to whet our appetites. The Last Of Us is returning for a second season, though I maintain that while it is a very good show, the games are better.
With disappointing offerings like Dune: Prophecy behind us, it’s hard not to feel like the old HBO has lost its teeth. That unerring quality we almost expected from a new HBO drama or comedy has become a fluke. And while there are far fewer deals on Apple, it’s still the place where you can find screens like Slow Horses and videos like Killers Of The Flower Moon and Macbeth. HBO still has its hits and I’m sure it will continue to produce fantastic displays, but Apple has robbed it of at least some of its luster in the streaming age. Of course, Netflix also has a lot of attractive displays, but the report there is incredibly skewed the other way around: quantity rather than quality.
Somehow, I return to a comforting thought: the festival is good, and it abounds and even more so when it comes to streaming on those days.
Apple TV launched last weekend and I’ve put together a list of some of the best displays and videos to watch on the streaming app if you’re interested in some recommendations.
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