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Discover the 8 best Max original series for every binge-watcher

Max is known for HBO shows, but these original series are just as good

Noah Wyle as his character in The Pitt
Max

Back when Max was known as HBO Max, the Warner Bros. streamer was best known for its association to the first company in its title. HBO is the type of name that conjures images of Tony Soprano popping a cap in a rival mob boss and Tyrion Lannister delivering a monologue for the ages. When one channel has had so many great original shows it overshadows the other great content a streaming service that might also reside there.

Max has many original series made exclusively for them rather than HBO, and they deserve the same recognition. Max’s original programming consists of excellent LGBTQ+ series, fascinating miniseries, top-flight medical dramas, and even this past year’s winner for Outstanding Comedy Series at the Emmy Awards. These are the best Max original series you need to stream right away.

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8. Peacemaker (2022)

8. Peacemaker
tv-ma
2 Seasons
Genre
Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Drama
Stars
John Cena, Danielle Brooks, Freddie Stroma
Created by
James Gunn
Watch on max
Superhero series are all the rage right now. As the DCEU tries to find its footing next to Marvel, shows like Peacemaker have given the company credibility and a unique vibe that helps pull in new fans. John Cena stars as the title character in this spinoff of The Suicide Squad. Peacemaker has good intentions in his quest to save the world, but he definitely doesn’t go about his superhero duties in the ways he should. The second season will premiere later in 2025. The show has some similarities to Prime Video’s The Boys.

7. Our Flag Means Death (2022)

7. Our Flag Means Death
tv-ma
2 Seasons
Genre
Comedy, Action & Adventure, Drama
Stars
Rhys Darby, Taika Waititi, Ewen Bremner
Created by
David Jenkins
Watch on max
Our Flag Means Death is unlike anything else on Max. Taika Waititi and Rhys Darby are the stars of this pirate comedy in which audiences get to learn about the lives of historical figures such as Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet through the lens of romance and plenty of laughs. The set design, script, and queer representation bring the history of the 18th century to life in profound and entertaining ways. The niche genre categories it falls into were probably a reason why it was canceled after only two seasons. It never won an Emmy but it got nominated for GLAAD and Peabody Awards.

6. Tokyo Vice (2022)

6. Tokyo Vice
tv-ma
2 Seasons
Genre
Crime, Drama
Stars
Ansel Elgort, Ken Watanabe, Rachel Keller
Created by
J.T. Rogers
Watch on max
Tokyo Vice is the story of an American reporter who gets engulfed in Japanese crime families and plenty of violent drama after relocating to the Asian country for a new journalism job. Ansel Elgort and Ken Watanabe are solid leads, but the real name to fame for this Max series is the setting and understanding of how the yakuza differs from American mobsters. The show only went for two seasons but was nominated for a Location Managers Guild Award. These trophies recognize series that are excellent at focusing on a unique location and bringing that setting to life.

5. Love & Death (2023)

5. Love & Death
tv-ma
1 Season
Genre
Crime, Drama
Stars
Elizabeth Olsen, Jesse Plemons, Lily Rabe
Created by
David E. Kelley
Watch on max

Elizabeth Olson is Candy Montgomery, a woman who controversially was acquitted of an ax murder of her husband’s lover in the 1980s. The miniseries is ripe with juicy true crime material and subplots that are only heightened by the terrific acting of Olson and Academy Award nominee Jesse Plemons. The show is one of the best miniseries of the 2020s and gave fans a look at Elizabeth Olson outside the confines of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

4. Station Eleven (2021)

4. Station Eleven
tv-ma
1 Season
Genre
Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Mystery
Stars
Mackenzie Davis, Himesh Patel, Matilda Lawler
Created by
Patrick Somerville
Watch on max

If you want a creepy, dystopian, science fiction thriller with plenty of nods to the pandemic we just experienced in 2020, Station Eleven will check many of those boxes. This ominous drama follows a group of travelers as they cope with the post-apocalyptic fallout of a lethal illness. They come across a mysterious figure with ties to their own pasts and the group must re-evaluate their principles and how they’re going to survive.

3. The Pitt (2025)

3. The Pitt
tv-ma
1 Season
Genre
Drama
Stars
Noah Wyle, Tracy Ifeachor, Patrick Ball
Created by
R. Scott Gemmill
Watch on max

There were a lot of questions about whether a medical drama like The Pitt would be able to carve out space on Max in 2025 given the genre’s lack of creativity and overreliance on old hits like Grey’s Anatomy. After only a couple of weeks on the streamer, that skepticism has been erased. Noah Wyle has tapped into his past on ER to once again become one of the best leads in the genre as a stressed-out doctor in a Pittsburgh medical ward. The plot and pacing of The Pitt are unique in that each episode follows one hour in the shifts of the hospital workers. This pacing is reminiscent of the crime thriller 24 from the mid-2000s. 

2. The Flight Attendant (2020)

2. The Flight Attendant
tv-ma
2 Seasons
Genre
Drama, Mystery, Comedy
Stars
Kaley Cuoco, Zosia Mamet, Deniz Akdeniz
Created by
Steve Yockey
Watch on max

The Flight Attendant was one of the flagship Max original series that propelled the service towards success at the beginning of the decade. Kaley Cuoco plays a woman who must solve a murder mystery aboard the airline that she works for, often to darkly funny results. Cuoco previously was known for her role on one of the biggest comedies of the 2010s, The Big Bang Theory.

1. Hacks (2021)

1. Hacks
tv-ma
4 Seasons
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Stars
Jean Smart, Hannah Einbinder, Carl Clemons-Hopkins
Created by
Jen Statsky, Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs
Watch on max

Hacks is the best show on television right now and it’s not particularly close. Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder are addictively mesmerizing as a comedic duo trying to pull themselves out of the dulldrums of stand-up all while backstabbing and supporting each other depending on which mood strikes. The show will return for season 4 this year.

Movie images and data from:
Shawn Laib
Shawn Laib is a freelance writer with publications such as Den of Geek, Quote.com, Edge Media Network, diaTribe, SUPERJUMP…
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