HBO channel is known as a producer of extremely high-quality serial content. Each HBO TV show is almost certainly a hit, or at least a good series.

The HBO Max streaming service, an analogue of Netflix, starts in the United States on May 27, 2020. In addition to the entire library of the HBO broadcast channel, there will be a very wide catalog, and the legendary series as Friends and The Big Bang Theory will be included in it.

The Best Fantastic HBO Series of 2020

The Outsider, season 1, premiered on January 12, 2020

It is a screen version of one of the latest novels by Stephen King, who is the King of Horrors. It is a long-winded detective which slowly becomes a story about the supernatural hunt.

Everything begins in a small sleepy American town, as usual. The boy’s brutally torn body is found in the forest, and the local police proceed to investigate the terrible incident. The suspected person is found almost immediately; several eyewitnesses point to the coach of the teenage baseball team, but he has a completely watertight alibi.

While the police are trying to figure out is it at all possible, the lawyers are hiring a private detective who is beginning to suspect a supernatural background to the incident.

This miniseries is sometimes simply treading water, so at whiles you even want to shout: Move on! Guess finally! Nevertheless, all this is more than compensated by the atmosphere and the magnificent cast. The names of Ben Mendelsohn (policeman) and Cynthia Erivo (detective) will make frequent appearances in the nominations of the main series awards. The amazing Jason Bateman (coach) requires special attention; he not only played a key role in the series, but also directed the first two episodes of The Outsider.

Westworld, season 3, premiered on March 15, 2020

It is a continuation of the intellectual hit by Jonathan Nolan (brother of the extremely popular director).

The first season of Westworld back in 2016 talked about a completely new form of leisure for our descendants, namely amusement park with robots. Rich tourists come to the prairie on a creaky train, get off at the station, look into the saloon and selflessly start playing cowboys with androids that are completely indistinguishable from ordinary people. However, suddenly robots become aware of themselves and raise a rebellion.

You should not perceive Westworld as a trivial war between humans and robots. It is rather a philosophical study of things really making us humans, looking into human consciousness.

The events of the third season significantly expand the universe of the series; we will not only see the real world again, but also find ourselves in a new theme park dedicated to Italy during the Second World War.

The Plot Against America, season 1, premiered on March 16, 2020

It is a very interesting fantasy in the alternative history genre.

1940. Europe. Germany conquers one country after another. There are heated discussions in the USA whether to enter the war or not. The country is preparing for the presidential election.

Suddenly, it was not Roosevelt who won (as happened in reality), but the pilot Charles Lindbergh. The meaning of his presidential campaign is as follows: You choose not between Roosevelt and Lindbergh, but between war and peace. Having occupied the Oval Office, the former pilot does not send troops into Europe and makes peace with Hitler.

Everything that happens in the miniseries, we look through the eyes of the Jewish Levin family living in New Jersey. They watch with horror the tectonic shifts in American society.

It is worth noting individually the excellent cast, especially Winona Ryder, who finally has the role to play.

The Best HBO Drama Series of 2020

The New Pope, season 1, premiered on January 13, 2020

It is a joint American and Italian series; the continuation of The Young Pope of 2016, which became a real hit.

The Young Pope with Jude Law, released four years ago, produced the effect of an exploding bomb. This miniseries filmed by Paolo Sorrentino, one of the main Italian directors of our time, has become incredibly popular. There was much talk about it, as well as disputes, frame-by-frame discussions and the search for deep meanings; so, in general, the news about the sequel did not take long.

The New Pope continues the very Game of Thrones in the interiors of the Vatican. The previous Pope is in coma, and the conclave of cardinals chooses a new Pontiff. This is only the very beginning of the story.

The New Pope is one of those series that is worth watching carefully; it is replete with keys, which is more eloquent than many dialogs. For example, every painting or fresco that you see in The Young Pope or in The New Pope is not there by chance. So get better prepared to watch this unique TV show.

L’amica geniale, season 2, My Brilliant Friend, premiered on February 10, 2020

It is another joint project of HBO and the Italian studio. After the magnificent Vatican we are going to transport to poor Naples, where the action of the international bestseller, i.e. the series of books titled L’amica geniale, which served as the basis for this series shooting, takes place.

Naples, 1950s. Two young friends, Elena and Lila. They play, grow, fall in love, and grow up. They are moving away from each other and then converge. The main success of L’amica geniale, both series and books, lies in the incredibly harmonious combination of a description of the Neapolitan way of life and the hurricane of real Italian passion. This is exactly that place where everyone lives to the fullest and loves to insanity. This lifestyle has always somehow hypnotized our compatriot, and this series is not an exception. This is the case when it is not at all embarrassing to look at drama at high speeds.

I Know This Much Is True, season 1, premiered on May 16, 2020

This is a very sad drama about the life of two twin brothers.

The protagonist of this difficult series is Dominick Birdsey, who not only balances on the verge of a powerful nervous breakdown, but also tries to look after his brother Thomas, who suffers from schizophrenia. Every day is a new challenge for Dominick, and sometimes it becomes hard to watch I Know This Much Is True.

However, it is worth continuing, because besides seeing a very strong drama, we enjoy the game of Mark Ruffalo. Being an excellent actor, he acts, perhaps, the best role in his career, playing both brothers. Ruffalo, who was unsuccessfully nominated for an Academy Award, is likely to be very close to the Golden Globe and Emmy this year.

The Best HBO Comedy Series of 2020

Avenue 5, season 1, premiered on January 19, 2020

Avenue 5 is the rare case when the HBO channel releases comedy, but this comedy is not that simple.

The creator of the series, Armando Iannucci, is primarily known as the person who directed the political satire comedy titled Veep and The Death of Stalin, the film which was successfully closed for Russian distribution. Iannucci’s trick is a cynical dissection of the genre, and that’s exactly what he does with Avenue 5.

The near future. A space liner flies around Jupiter; in the result of a malfunction, its return to Earth is delayed for years. What does the staff do? They go into hysterics, shift the responsibility on to each other and slowly go crazy.

Mess of paradoxical humor alternate with parody references to all kinds of science fiction films, characters compete in stupidity and HBO extends Avenue 5 for the second season.

High Maintenance, season 4, premiered on February 8, 2020

It is a secret treasure of the HBO channel, an incredibly lyrical series about a drug dealer.

It all started in 2012, when Ben Sinclair and Katja Blichfeld released on Vimeo a short web series about the adventures of a guy who brings marijuana door-to-door. Following that, HBO became interested in the project and the fourth season of a full-fledged TV show has just been released.

High Maintenance is actually a plotless series where the Guy with Marijuana (they don’t even give him a name) is just the connecting link between the very different people in the very controversial New York City. We come into the houses, listen to different conversations and warm up to them together with this guy. There aren’t any tear dramas or homeric laughter, but a magical kaleidoscope that touches deeper than grandiose melodramas, leaving some kind of clear feeling.

Run, season 1, premiered on April 14, 2020

It is a fresh novelty by the audience’s favorite Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

While we were regaining consciousness after Fleabag’s finale and waiting for the new season of Killing Eve, Phoebe Waller-Bridge suddenly pleased us with the new series Run.

The plot of this crazy comedy revolves around former lovers Ruby and Billy, who, tired of the burden of being an adult, remembered their youthful ideals and fled together to nowhere. Typically for HBO, comedy turns into a drama, drama turns into a thriller, and all this again turns into a comedy. Phoebe herself flashes in a hilarious role in some episodes, and Ruby and Billy should decide whether they want to return to their cozy worlds.

The script is not the only strong point of the series Run. An additional pleasure is to watch the chemistry between the on-screen duet of the leading actors, Merritt Weaver and Domhnall Gleeson.

Seven Best HBO Series of 2019

Barry, season 2, premiered on March 31, 2019

This is an entertaining gloomy comedy about the hitman Barry (Bill Hader), who accidently stumbled into the theatrical courses and decided to become an actor.

A cynical and sometimes homerically funny series wherein everything is mixed like in a meat grinder: bad actors, dreams of a bright future, a gloomy past and the Chechen mafia.

Barry is a favorite of the public and critics; it has six nominations for the Golden Globe Award and the extension for the third season.

Big Little Lies, season 2, premiered on June 9, 2019

One of the most popular TV shows of the decade has released the second season. The impressive cast has replenished with Meryl Streep, and the audience got what they wanted: a continuation of the story about the secrets of a small town.

Although the new episodes are inferior to the first season, there is no reason not to watch the continuation of this miniseries.

Chernobyl, season 1, premiered on June 10, 2019

It is a completely unexpected hit by HBO, which release took place without unnecessary advertising; however, rumor mill made Chernobyl probably the most high-profile series of 2019.

The painstaking recreation of that time and the most monstrous accident ran into numerous disputes, needless to say. Nevertheless, if you suddenly did not watch Chernobyl, cancel all your plans for other TV shows and proceed to it.

Euphoria, season 1, premiered on June 16, 2019

It is a teenage series shot primarily for adults as an attempt to talk about this very obscure Z generation. It is a kind of modern reincarnation of Kids film.

The obvious advantages of the series are as follows: inventive editing, beautiful cinematography and a leading woman Zendaya, possibly the best young actress of the generation.

Euphoria is extended for the second season which we expect in 2020.

Divorce, season 3, premiered on July 1, 2019

It is the final season of a short and extremely cozy tragicomedy about the divorce of spouses (Sarah Jessica Parker and Thomas Haden Church), which sometimes seems to be the spiritual heir to the extremely popular Sex and the City.

Divorce is from that category of TV shows whose charm is in its nonobligatoriness. On the one hand, you will not lose anything without it, but on the other hand, it will give you something very pleasant and subtle.

Succession, season 2, premiered on August 11, 2019

It is a fresh dramatic HBO flagship, which will become absolutely cult-favorite in a year or two.

This is an excellent story about the hyper-influential family of media tycoon Logan Roy and the squabble for power and inheritance among his heirs and other relatives.

This series has two Golden Globe Awards, and Succession is still accelerating! The third season will be released approximately in 2020.

Silicon Valley, season 6, premiered on October 27, 2019

It is the finale of the popular comedy series about startups and business.

Since any story has its end, one of the main TV shows of our time about computer technology should end.

Then again, this is the HBO channel series, so the finale is sure to be perfect and a little sad.

This concludes our review of the best HBO channel novelties. If the above series aren’t enough for you, you can always return to the immortal legends of this channel, such as: The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, Rome or Sex and the City.

The HBO series are rarity, and sometimes they deserve re-watching.

However, the channel is not satisfied with what has already been achieved; it is going to release many more great TV shows in 2020 which we will definitely talk about.