There’s a reason that HBO is considered in the minds of many to be synonymous with prestige television. After taking off with hit shows like “The Sopranos,” “Band of Brothers,” and more in the late 1990s and early 2000s — not to mention the cultural phenomenon that was “Game of Thrones” for eight seasons from 2011 to 2019 — HBO has become a known place where great shows with a bit of an edge to them live and thrive.
While the ability to swear and show violence and nudity without cable censors clutching their pearls gives HBO a slight creative advantage over its competitors, the truth is that the network plays the numbers game like every other TV maker, premium or otherwise.
For every “Mare of Easttown,” there’s a slew of other shows that failed to capture the public’s attention in the same way and fell to obscurity, languishing in the depths of the HBO streaming app’s library. However, that doesn’t make them bad television, just not of the moment in the way a lot of HBO’s other hits are. That means there are tons of great, underrated HBO original series just sitting there waiting for the dedicated TV viewer to make one of them their next binge-worthy obsession.
To help, below is a list of 10 of the most underrated gems HBO has ever produced.
10. The Rehearsal
Nathan Fielder is a beloved lunatic for our amusement, and never has that been more apparent than in his latest stunt series, “The Rehearsal.” The premise of the show is simple: Fielder meets with someone who is about to have a difficult conversation and gives them coaching and specialized rehearsals to prepare for that chat to go the way they want.
Whether the conversation is important or mundane, each subject gets the same over-the-top treatment. Fielder will use HBO’s money and red group’s favorite bar or even an airport down to every last detail. All this so that the subjects can be prepared for the many eventualities that he throws at them before they have the actual conversation in earnest
And if you think that Fielder’s “The Rehearsal” is just the burning of rehanks to his work. After Fielder highlighted the ongoing stigma surrounding the mental health and subsequent treatment for pilots in “The Rehearsal” Season 2, Congress introduced the John A. Hauser Mental Health in Ap pilots like the one Fielder rehearsed with in the show
9. It’s Florida, Man
Anyone who has ever watched Comedy Central’s “Drunk History” will have some idea of the format behind HBO’s “It’s Florida, Man.”
The comedy series takes real-life people from the Sunshine State who have uniquely Florida stories — gator attacks, out-of-control rabbit population booms, Craigslist ads gone incredibly sideways; you get the idea — and presents them to the viewer. People tell their stories in their own words while famous stars like Stephen Root, Haley Joel Osment, Adam Devine, and Sam Richardson reenact them. While the production value on the recreations is TV-quality, it’s the actors lip-syncing their dialogue to the exact voice of the person narrating the story that really makes the show a must-see.
The series is a hysterical romp through the lives of locals who call Florida home and offers a look at a population of American society whose stories aren’t always told. Those stories may be completely bonkers and too strange to ever make up, but that’s Florida, man.
The show currently has two seasons with a third on the way, because there’s simply no shortage of outrageous tales coming out of the state, day in and day out. Each episode is only 30 minutes long, making it a quick and easy binge watch.
8. Extras
After hitting it big and making a name for themselves with the British version of “The Office” that preceded the even more successful American version, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant made another hilarious sitcom about another underappreciated and overlooked working population
“Extras” follows Gervais’ character, an aspiring actor who takes work as a background extra in various productions. As he kills time on sets, he meets interesting celebrities on the job, such as Kate Winslet, Ben Stiller, Samuel L. Jackson, and Patrick Stewart. All of them are playing exaggerated versions of themselves, displaying the quirky, unique personalities that make artists and actors both interesting and perplexing. If you haven’t seen the viral clip of Ian McKellen describing his acting process, do yourself a favor.
The series premiered in 2005 and ran for two seasons with six episodes each, as well as a Christmas special, which is par for the course with British TV series. Co-produced by HBO and the BBC, “Extras” is packed full of hilarious one-off episodes with great guest stars as well an overarching storyline that proves achieving the fame of a leading actor may not be as great as it seems from the perspective of a background player.
7. Rome
Today, historical dramas like “Vikings,” “The Tudors,” “Downton Abbey,” and even “John Adams” are well known when it comes to historical television. People love a good real-life story; especially if it’s dramatized like crazy with intrigue, incredible performances, and some historical creative liberties taken here and there.
Many of those shows stand on the shoulders of the 2005 series “Rome.” HBO bet big on a historical drama about The Roman Empire. At the time, it was the most expensive series the network had ever produced, but the results spoke for themselves. “Rome” managed to bring the ancient civilization to modern screens in a way some other historical dramas still struggle with. The show focuses specifically on the violent and politically fraught transition to the Roman Empire from the Roman Republic.
Those familiar with the many characters who proved to be very consequential to the history of that time period will be thrilled to see many of them brought to life with impressive talent like Mark Antony (James Purefoy), Marcus Junius Brutus (Tobias Menzies), Cleopatra (Lyndsey Marshal), and the man himself, Julius Cesar (Ciarán Hinds).
6. The Chair Company
Tim Robinson is known for his incredibly outlandish and unique comedy series like “Detroiters” and “I Think You Should Leave.” While his bizarre 2025 show “The Chair Company” has all of his strange and seemingly random yet immensely complex humor, no one was quite expecting him to be so adept at the thriller genre.
“The Chair Company” follows a middle-aged man who is on the cusp of a much-needed win in his career, only to have an embarrassing workplace mishap send him spiraling the way only a Tim Robinson character can. He attempts to lodge a complaint with the manufacturer of his company’s office chairs, only to uncover a vast conspiracy that sends him into the more inept, puzzling and downright ludicrous underbelly of his local community.
The show fluctuates between making you hold your gut from laughing to biting your nails, wondering what will happen next. And, as anyone who is a fan of Robinson’s work knows, there’s no telling whatsoever where things will go with each passing moment. Thanks to HBO renewing the show for a second season, it seems the rabbit hole will get even deeper.
5. Conan O’Brien Must Go
“Behold, the defiler,” says the voice of Werner Herzog at the beginning of each episode of “Conan O’Brien Must Go.”
That sets the show up quite well as legendary comedian Conan O’Brien goes all over the world seeking out fans of his and getting to know their culture.
Before wrapping up his 30-year career in late night, O’Brien made international travel specials a staple of his show. He decided to keep that going by interviewing fans of his all across the globe on his podcast “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” and surprising them with a visit. While that’s the gimmick, the show is actually a celebration of countries like “Norway,” “India,” “Thailand,” and many more, all examined through the host’s buffoonery.
While O’Brien’s irreverent and silly humor sets him apart from your average travel host, the show is no less of a love letter to other cultures and traditions that one would enjoy watching any travel show in the genre. Although “Conan O’Brien Must Go” won an Emmy Award for outstanding hosted nonfiction series or special, it still failed to break through into the travel show space the way it ought to. If you’re a fan of the former late-night host and/or seeing the lighter side of the world around us, you can’t go wrong with “Conan O’Brien Must Go.”
4. Mrs. Fletcher
Kathryn Hahn had been in show business for a good long time before she became a household name as Agatha Harkness in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Her charismatic villain in “WandaVision” led to a standalone series all her own, “Agatha All Along.” But that was not the first time she was given the reins to helm a TV series on her own.
In 2019, she starred as the titular Mrs. Fletcher in HBO’s dramatic and beautiful coming-of-age series about a mother who finds herself with time on her hands and a surprisingly large amount of life ahead of her after her son goes off to college.
The series follows her as she deals with a midlife crisis and sexual awakening. She befriends new people and puts herself out there both socially and romantically once again as she explores what modern life has to offer a woman who is, albeit older, still vibrant and ready to show she’s still got it.
In tandem with her story, “Mrs. Fletcher” follows her son as he ventures off to college and experiences a sexual awakening of his own, with more flubs than success stories, but still.
The show is raw, emotional, and puts Hahn’s vulnerable acting prowess front and center in a way that only an HBO original series can.
3. I May Destroy You
Despite being a critical darling, this series never really broke out and achieved mainstream popularity. One possibility could be the dark comedy/drama’s difficult subject matter.
Written, co-directed, and starring Michaela Coel as a co-production between HBO and BBC, “I May Destroy You” focuses on a social media star turned novelist who is struggling to finish her second novel. One night, she decides to take a break and go out to a nightclub where she is sexually assaulted. In the aftermath, she is forced to reassess her life and the people in it. The writing of this show is sharp as a tack and manages to navigate this daring and harrowing subject matter with realism and even levity at times. Cole won an Emmy Award for outstanding writing for a limited anthology series in 2024, but the show is not the TV staple in pop culture it could be.
Each episode, at its heart, deals with the concept of consent, boundaries or personal autonomy in some form or another, not just as it applies to sexuality but also socially. Unfortunately, this makes “I May Destroy You” timeless. While the show goes to some grim places, it tells a very worthwhile story and manages to do it in a way that leaves the viewer wanting more rather than simply depressing them beyond measure.
2. The Pacific
“Band of Brothers” is still considered one of HBO’s most triumphant miniseries of all time. The historical drama told the story of Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment as they fought their way through the European theater of World War II.
Naturally, it didn’t take long for the minds behind that show — namely executive producers Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Gary Goetzman — to decide to tackle the Japanese theater of the war in the Pacific. This show follows members of the United States Marine Corps as they fought a very different kind of war than the one directly against Adolf Hitler and the Nazis that “Band of Brothers” depicted.
Unlike its predecessor, this show never quite broke out in the same way among WWII aficionados or TV devotees. However, it carries the same production value as “Band of Brothers” and isn’t afraid to tackle the violence and psychological torment that Americans fighting in the Pacific theater of World War II endured. The story is decidedly darker, which may have contributed to its lack of popularity among “Band of Brothers” fans. Regardless, it remains one of the best historical dramas that HBO has ever put out, offering a realistic take on one of the planet’s most destructive conflicts.
1. Lovecraft Country
Based on the 2016 novel of the same name by author Matt Ruff, “Lovecraft Country” deals heavily with the works and paranormal monsters created by acclaimed author H.P. Lovecraft. However, unlike Lovecraft, Ruff juxtaposes these creatures against the real-life horrors of the Jim Crow South, as does this HBO sci-fi drama adapting his book.
Starring a predominantly Black cast, the show is able to pull horrors from several different directions. For example, one moment the characters may be dealing with Lovecraft-style monsters; the next they may be getting run out of a sundown town by racists who are trying to kill them simply for the crime of having Black skin.
In essence, the show follows two characters traveling across an America that is rife with racists and monsters while trying to find a missing person. Along the way, they begin to uncover the mysteries behind Lovecraft’s paranormal works and start to realize these works may have more control over their fates than they anticipated.
Despite its premise and visually stunning horror aesthetic, HBO made the unfortunate decision to pull the plug on its planned second season, meaning “Lovecraft Country” stands as a tight, one-and-done series.
