HBO’s 15 Most Underrated Shows You Should Be Watching Movies

HBO has some huge well-known shows, but here are 15 underrated ones to watch next.

When HBO launched in the 1970s, it primarily broadcasted theatrical films and sporting events, solely between the hours of 7 pm and 12 am. At this point in its lifetime, it was also only available in certain areas of the United States in and around New York City, where it was based. In 1975, the network began broadcasting in every state, which significantly increased its visibility. It wasn't until Warner Media acquired ownership of HBO that its ambitious original programming began. In the present, that is what HBO is best known for, with Emmy award-winning shows like Game of Thrones, The Wire, and The Sopranos.

As it doesn't rely on traditional funding through advertising, HBO is able to portray more controversial and explicit subject matter including drug use, profanity, and violence. This meant that they could provide programming unlike that of any other network, particularly before the age of streaming services. Since the dawn of HBO's own streaming platform, HBO Max, the company has been producing even more shows at an arguably unsustainable rate. As a result of this, there are many HBO programs that are flying under the radar and not finding their audience. To combat this, here are 15 of HBO's most underrated TV shows.

Search Party actually began its life on the network TBS, where it ran for two seasons before getting dropped. This is where HBO took the show on and ran with it. Starring Alia Shawkat (known for Arrested Development) as the protagonist Dory Sief along with John Early, Meredith Hagner, and John Reynolds as her annoying but charming group of friends. When a friend of theirs from college goes missing, Dory becomes obsessed with finding her and drags her friends into it. The show is quick-witted and gripping, balancing humor and tension perfectly. Each season gets more out of control than the last — in a good way — and there’s no predicting what’s coming next. Search Party is criminally underrated for how good it is, there’s nothing else like it.

Suranne Jones stars as Anne Lister in Gentleman Jack. Lister was a real woman alive in West Yorkshire in the late-1700s to early-1800s. She kept extensive diaries detailing her life including several lesbian affairs, which were dramatized to become this show. Gentleman Jack employs the wry, fourth-wall-breaking style we’ve all come to know and love through Fleabag, which is a nice nod to the fact that we are essentially reading her diaries by watching the program. It was canceled after just two seasons, another casualty of HBO’s recent wave of cuts, but deserved many more. There’s no stuffiness about it, which some are afraid of when it comes to a period piece; its sensibilities are modern and supremely entertaining.

Yes, Sharp Objects was nominated for eight Emmys, but did it win any? No, therefore it remains firmly underrated. Adapted from a novel of the same name by Gillian Flynn (writer of Gone Girl), the story centers around Camille who returns to her hometown to report on a string of murders. Camille is played beautifully by Amy Adams, with her mother and younger sister played by Patricia Clarkson and Eliza Scanlen, respectively. All three put on show-stopping performances in a story with incredible twists and turns. The series was directed by the late Jean-Marc Vallée in his signature style with quick cuts to flashbacks. Its impact was most likely undercut by the fact that it came after Big Little Lies, which was in the same style, but with a more accessible story. Now is the perfect time, however, to give Sharp Objects the time in the spotlight that it deserves.

PROFESSOR of ENGLISH and MEDIEVAL STUDIES

UNIVERSITY of NEW MEXICO

HBO’s 15 Most Underrated Shows You Should Be Watching Movies