HBO Max has a massive streaming catalog full of videos and views from Warner Media properties. In addition to offering everything already available on the HBO cable channel, the service includes a developing range of original screens developed exclusively for subscribers.
Since the service was introduced in May 2020, HBO Max has released more than 50 new originals. While not each and every name has been a hit, several series have garnered critical acclaim, adding screens like “Hacks,” “Peacemaker,” and “Our Flag Means Death. ”
Below, we’ve rounded up all the top-rated HBO Max original series you can stream right now. All of our picks have at least one “certified fresh” season on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, plus an overall viewing average of 60% or higher based on critical reviews.
If you’re an HBO Max subscriber looking for something new to watch, all those series are worth watching. And if you’re not sure about signing up, those screens can help you if it’s worth a subscription.
HBO Max has become the streaming home for all things DC Comics, including the original series “Doom Patrol.” The show follows the superhero team of the same name, and it’s known for its offbeat and irreverent sense of humor.
The team includes Jane, a woman with multiple, tough identities; Rita Farr, a former actress who has the ability to shapeshift; Vic Stone, who has cybernetic enhancements; Larry Trainor, who has a negative power entity living inside him; Cliff Steele, a former NASCAR driver who is now a cyborg; and the Leader, who oversees and cares for the Doom Patrol.
Three seasons of “Doom Patrol” are available to watch on HBO Max, and the service has renewed it for a fourth. The show has an average “97% fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In “Hacks,” Jean Smart plays Deborah Vance, a legendary Las Vegas comedian who tries to remain applicable to the public. She hires a young writer, Ava (Hannah Einbinder), to help her update her material and, along the way, the two men are informed to respect each other’s differences.
“Hacks” is critically acclaimed and has a rare average of “100% fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes. Smart won an Emmy for best comedy actress for her work in the first season. Two seasons have aired and a third is on the way.
British actress Sarah Lancashire plays the legendary chef Julia Child in this biographical series. “Julia” begins in 1962, when Child first pitched her concept for a cooking TV show after the publication of her now-iconic cookbook “Mastering the Art of French Cooking. ”
The first season of “Julia” earned critical acclaim with a “93% Certified Fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes, and the service renewed the show for a second season.
“Legendary” was part of the initial lineup of original series that launched with HBO Max in 2020. The competition show explores the world of LGBT ball culture. Each season, eight houses compete in nine balls with a focus on dancing, voguing, and walking events, plus some legendary looks. At the end of each season, the house left standing wins $100,000.
Three seasons of “Legendary” have aired on HBO Max and the first season earned a “91% certified fresh” rating.
Set in the 1970s, “Minx” follows Joyce Prigger (Ophelia Lovibond), a feminist who sets out to create the first erotic magazine for women. To make this a reality, he teams up with low-rent editor Doug Renetti (Jake Johnson), and in doing so, the two learn about life and form a friendship.
The first season of “Minx” earned praise and a “97% Certified Fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes. HBO Max renewed it for a second season.
“Our flag means death” a success for HBO Max. Starring frequent collaborators Taika Waititi and Rhys Darby, the romantic comedy reimagines the golden age of piracy.
Stede Bonnet (Darcy) and Blackbeard (Waititi) begin sailing together, and as Bonnet’s assassination plans fall apart, Blackbeard discovers that he is much happier being himself with Bonnet than simply being Blackbeard.
After a massively popular first season that garnered a “92% Certified Fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes, HBO Max renewed “Our Flag Means Death” for a second season in June 2022.
John Cena returns to play Christopher Smith/Peacemaker in this irreverent spin-off of director James Gunn’s 2021 film “The Suicide Squad. ” Following the events of the film, Peacemaker is forced to sign up for a clandestine task force to save the world from an alien threat.
The show dives deep into Peacemaker’s troubled relationship with his supervillain father (Robert Patrick), and sees the title character develop a budding friendship with Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks), another member of the task force who has different political views.
The first season, which has a score of “94% certified freshness” on Rotten Tomatoes, is available to stream now. A second season has been ordered and James Gunn is expected to return as director of the 8 new episodes.
Season one of “South Side” aired on Comedy Central before it was rebranded as a Max Original. The comedy stars Sultan Salahuddin and Kareme Young as two recent community college graduates on the South Side of Chicago working at a rent-to-own shop while scheming their way toward upward mobility.
The show, which currently has two seasons on HBO Max, was renewed for a third season in February 2022. The series’ Rotten Tomatoes average is “100% Fresh.”
“Starstruck” follows a twenty-something woman who has a one-night stand with a celebrity. After meeting, the couple attempts to expand a genuine relationship.
Rose Matafeo created, writes and stars in the series, which is about navigating a confusing romance in an equally confusing era of life. It’s relevant, fun and quick to view.
HBO Max is offering two “Certified Fresh” seasons of “Starstruck,” and in June 2022, the series was renewed for a third season.
Kaley Cuoco stars in this Max original series as an alcoholic flight attendant who becomes embroiled in a murder mystery after waking up next to a dead frame in Bangkok. The screen is in the book through Chris Bohjalian and combines black comedy and suspense.
“The Flight Attendant” recently returned for a second season, but it’s still clear if HBO Max will move forward with a third. The first two seasons average “91% freshness” on Rotten Tomatoes.
“The Other Two” originally premiered on Comedy Central, but HBO Max picked up the show for its second and upcoming third season. When their 13-year-old brother becomes famous overnight, Cary (Drew Tarver) and Brooke (Heléne Yorke) reflect on their own stalled careers as an aspiring actor and dancer, respectively.
“The Other Two” has a “95% Fresh” average on Rotten Tomatoes, with both seasons “Certified Fresh.” Following the release of season two, “The Other Two” was renewed for a third season.
From executive producer Mindy Kaling, “The Sex Lives of College Girls” follows four women from other backgrounds who are assigned as roommates on their first day of college.
Leighton (Reneé Rapp), Bela (Amrit Kaur), Kimberly (Pauline Chalamet), and Whitney (Alyah Chanelle Scott) navigate classwork and extracurriculars while slowly becoming friends. Like the title implies, the girls come into their sexuality in different ways; the show covers a range of experiences and also has great LGBT representation.
The first season aired in winter 2021 and a season is lately in production. The first season is “Certified Fresh” with a 97% rating.
“Tokyo Vice” is an animated series through true events. Adapted from journalist Jake Adelstein’s memoir, the series follows Tokyo’s dark criminal underworld in the late 1990s. Adelstein covered crimes for a Japanese newspaper and was temporarily embroiled with the Japanese government and the yakuza. Ansel Elgort plays the role of Adelstein, alongside Japanese actors Ken Wantanabe and Rinko Kikuchi.
“Tokyo Vice” has one season currently available to stream; the series was renewed for a second season following critical acclaim. It sits at an “86% Certified Fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes.
Based on the 2004 documentary of the same name, “The Staircase” follows Michael Peterson’s investigation after his wife Kathleen is discovered dead at the back of a flight of stairs. Colin Firth and Toni Collette play the Petersons; Michael Stuhlbarg, Dane DeHaan and Sophie Turner are part of the supporting cast.
While critics agreed that it didn’t really add any new information for people already familiar with the story, the dramatization features great performances. It is “93% Certified Fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes.
Jamie Dornan stars in “The Tourist,” a new mystery series. He plays a Northern Irishman who wakes up in an Australian hospital after a twist of automotive fate and has amnesia. With very few clues, he tries to figure out who he is before harmful enemies come after him.
You can now watch the first season of “The Tourist,” which has a score of “97% certified fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes. The show was renewed for a second season in March 2022.
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