The best HBO series of all time
The top 3 according to 367 votes from people: The Sopranos · The Wire · Succession. (Updated Nov 1, 2025.)
HBO's original dramas, comedies and miniseries that critics (Rotten Tomatoes' ranked guide, Vulture's ranking of every HBO show) and IMDb users rate highest.
Top 25
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1
The Sopranos
1999–2007. David Chase's mob boss in therapy; the show that started the golden age of television.
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2
The Wire
2002–2008. David Simon's Baltimore: drugs, docks, City Hall, schools and the press, one per season.
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3
Succession
2018–2023. The Roy family fights over a media empire; three Emmys for Best Drama.
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4
Six Feet Under
2001–2005. The Fisher family's funeral home and the most celebrated finale on TV.
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5
Chernobyl
2019. Craig Mazin's miniseries on the 1986 nuclear disaster; for a time IMDb's top-rated series.
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6
Band of Brothers
2001. Easy Company from D-Day to the end of the war, produced by Spielberg and Tom Hanks.
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7
Curb Your Enthusiasm
2000–2024. Larry David playing himself, improvised over 12 seasons.
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8
The Leftovers
2014–2017. Life after 2% of humanity vanishes; ignored at first, now considered a masterpiece.
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9
Deadwood
2004–2006. David Milch's Shakespearean western, with Ian McShane as Al Swearengen.
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10
Veep
2012–2019. Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Selina Meyer; six consecutive Emmys for her performance.
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11
Watchmen
2019. Damon Lindelof's sequel to Alan Moore's comic, about the Tulsa race massacre.
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12
Game of Thrones
2011–2019. George R. R. Martin's Westeros; a record 59 Emmys despite its divisive final season.
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13
Sex and the City
1998–2004. Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda in Manhattan.
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14
True Detective (season 1)
2014. Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson chase a ritual killer through Louisiana.
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15
Barry
2018–2023. Bill Hader as a hitman who wants to be an actor.
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16
The Larry Sanders Show
1992–1998. Garry Shandling's behind-the-scenes talk show satire.
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17
The White Lotus
2021–. Mike White's satire of rich tourists in luxury resorts.
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18
Generation Kill
2008. Marines in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, from the creators of The Wire.
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19
Boardwalk Empire
2010–2014. Steve Buscemi as Nucky Thompson in Prohibition-era Atlantic City; pilot directed by Scorsese.
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20
Big Little Lies
2017. Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman and a murder in Monterey.
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21
Oz
1997–2003. HBO's first hour-long drama, set in a maximum-security prison.
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22
The Last of Us
2023–. Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey in the adaptation of Naughty Dog's video game.
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23
Mare of Easttown
2021. Kate Winslet as a detective in small-town Pennsylvania.
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24
Euphoria
2019–. Zendaya won two Emmys as Rue, a teenager battling addiction.
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25
Rome
2005–2007. Two legionaries live through the fall of the Republic.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
Is something missing?
Comments (12)
The Last of Us season 2 didn't live up to season 1 imo, but still great TV.
Rewatching The Wire for the third time. Season 4 still destroys me.
The Wire is the best TV show ever made, no debate.
The Sopranos still the GOAT. Rewatching it for the third time.
Barry deserves more love, Bill Hader did something unique there.
Succession at #3 makes sense. The finale was perfect.
Game of Thrones at #7 with that last season... generous
Seasons 1-4 are some of the best TV ever made though.
The Sopranos vs The Wire for #1, the eternal debate. Both are perfect.
The Wire. Season 4 alone is better than most whole shows.
The Leftovers is a masterpiece that nobody watched. Season 2 opening still haunts me.
Chernobyl is the best miniseries ever. Period.