What is the best HBO series of all time?

Game of Thrones leads with 15% of the vote

HBO is the greatest drama network in television history. From The Sopranos in 1999 — which invented prestige television — through The Wire, Game of Thrones, Succession and The Last of Us, the network has consistently produced series that redefine what the medium is capable of. No other network or streaming platform has a comparable record of quality across multiple decades.

These 207,606+ votes represent the genuine preferences of viewers who have watched these series and formed real convictions about which one deserves to be called the greatest HBO has ever produced.

Every series reviewed by the community

#1

15%

31,201 votes

Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones became the most watched drama series in HBO history and a genuine global cultural phenomenon. Based on George R.R. Martin A Song of Ice and Fire novels, it followed the struggle for control of the Iron Throne across eight seasons of extraordinary scope. The first six seasons, guided by Martin source material, set a new standard for fantasy television — morally complex characters, shocking plot turns, production values previously seen only in cinema. Seasons 7 and 8, written without source material, remain controversial. But the peak of Game of Thrones — the Red Wedding, Hardhome, Battle of the Bastards — is among the finest television ever made.

Vote for Game of Thrones31,201 votes

#2

12%

24,302 votes

The Sopranos

The Sopranos is the series that invented prestige television. When David Chase creation premiered on HBO in January 1999, it permanently changed what the medium was capable of. James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano — mob boss, father, husband, therapy patient — created a character of unprecedented psychological complexity. The series ran for six seasons and 86 episodes, each one dense with symbolism, dark comedy and genuine tragedy. Its final scene — the famous cut to black — remains the most discussed ending in television history. Without The Sopranos there is no Breaking Bad, no Mad Men, no prestige TV as we understand it.

Vote for The Sopranos24,302 votes

#3

11%

22,401 votes

Succession

Succession is the defining prestige drama of the 2020s. Jesse Armstrong series about the Roy family — Logan and his four children fighting over the future of their global media empire — is simultaneously the funniest and most devastating portrait of American capitalism on television. Brian Cox as Logan Roy is one of the great patriarchal villains. Jeremy Strong Kendall Roy is one of television most tragic figures. The writing — sharp, literary, genuinely witty — never makes a false move across four seasons. The finale is the most discussed series ending since The Sopranos.

Vote for Succession22,401 votes

#4

10%

19,800 votes

The Last of Us

The Last of Us is the finest video game adaptation ever made and one of the best drama series of the 2020s. Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann adaptation of the 2013 PlayStation game follows Joel and Ellie across a post-pandemic America ravaged by a fungal infection. Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey create a father-daughter relationship of genuine emotional power. The third episode — Long Long Time — starring Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett, won the Emmy for Outstanding Writing and is considered one of the greatest single episodes of television ever made.

Vote for The Last of Us19,800 votes

#5

9%

18,900 votes

The Wire

The Wire is the most critically acclaimed drama series in television history. David Simon five-season examination of Baltimore — covering drug dealing, policing, the dock workers union, politics, education and journalism — is a systematic dismantling of American institutional failure. Every season adds a new institution to its frame, showing how each perpetuates the conditions it claims to address. The characters — McNulty, Omar, Bunk, Stringer Bell, Bubbles — are among the most fully realized in any dramatic medium. The Wire was never a ratings success but its influence on serious television drama is incalculable.

Vote for The Wire18,900 votes

#6

9%

17,800 votes

Chernobyl

Chernobyl is the highest rated miniseries in television history according to IMDb, and one of the most critically acclaimed productions of any length or format. Craig Mazin five-episode dramatization of the 1986 nuclear disaster and its aftermath is a masterclass in tension, tragedy and political horror. Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgard and Emily Watson lead an extraordinary ensemble. The series is meticulous in its historical accuracy and devastating in its portrait of a system that could not admit error. Its final episode — the trial testimony of Valery Legasov — is one of the great pieces of television drama.

Vote for Chernobyl17,800 votes

#7

8%

16,700 votes

Euphoria

Euphoria is the most visually distinctive drama series of its era. Sam Levinson series — executive produced by Drake — follows a group of teenagers navigating addiction, identity, trauma and desire in an unnamed American suburb. Zendaya won two Emmy Awards for her portrayal of Rue Bennett, a teenager in recovery from drug addiction, becoming the youngest woman ever to win the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series award. The series cinematography, music and production design create an aesthetic unlike anything else on television.

Vote for Euphoria16,700 votes

#8

7%

14,200 votes

Band of Brothers

Band of Brothers is the most accomplished war drama in television history. Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks ten-episode HBO miniseries follows the men of Easy Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment from their training through D-Day, the liberation of the Netherlands, the Battle of the Bulge and the end of the war in Europe. Based on Stephen Ambrose book and the first-hand accounts of the men themselves, it combines extraordinary action sequences with deeply personal character study. It remains the definitive account of the European Theater of World War II in popular culture.

Vote for Band of Brothers14,200 votes

#9

6%

13,400 votes

True Detective

True Detective season one is among the finest single seasons of television drama ever made. Nic Pizzolatto series pairs Matthew McConaughey Rust Cohle — nihilistic, brilliant, haunted — with Woody Harrelson Marty Hart in a Louisiana murder investigation spanning seventeen years. McConaughey performance was career-defining, delivering philosophical monologues of genuine depth alongside gripping crime drama. The six-minute unbroken tracking shot through a crime sequence in episode four is one of the most technically accomplished sequences in television history. Subsequent seasons have been more divisive but season one stands alone.

Vote for True Detective13,400 votes

#10

6%

11,900 votes

House of the Dragon

House of the Dragon restored faith in the Game of Thrones universe after the controversial finale of the original series. The prequel set 200 years earlier follows the Targaryen civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons. Matt Smith Daemon Targaryen and Paddy Considine King Viserys anchor an ensemble of extraordinary quality. The first season builds with unusual patience to a devastating finale. Season 2 expanded the conflict. The showrunners deliberate, methodical approach contrasts with the rushed pacing that damaged the final seasons of its predecessor.

Vote for House of the Dragon11,900 votes

#11

5%

9,801 votes

The White Lotus

The White Lotus is the most talked-about HBO series of the early 2020s. Mike White satirical anthology follows different guests and staff at luxury resort locations — Hawaii in season one, Sicily in season two, Thailand in season three. Each season is a closed mystery about death and desire among the privileged. Jennifer Coolidge Emmy-winning performance in seasons one and two became a cultural phenomenon. The series surgical examination of class, race, wealth and the performance of happiness makes it one of the most intelligent comedies on television.

Vote for The White Lotus9,801 votes

#12

3%

7,201 votes

Barry

Barry is the most genre-defying series on HBO. Bill Hader created, wrote, directed and starred in this comedy about a hitman from Ohio who stumbles into an acting class in Los Angeles and decides he wants to be an actor. Four seasons shift tone with extraordinary confidence — from dark comedy to action thriller to genuine tragedy to something approaching horror. Hader direction in season three and four is among the most ambitious in television history. The series refusal to be categorized or to give its audience comfortable resolutions makes it unlike anything else on television.

Vote for Barry7,201 votes

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