Every HBO Show of 2026 So Far, Ranked Worst to Best

Image via HBO Published Jul 20, 2026, 7:14 PM EDT Michael Block is a 14 time GLAM Award nominated writer, producer, and host of the podcast Block Talk. Throughout his time in the entertainment industry, he has worked on and off Broadway as a stage manager, written several produced plays, critiqued hundreds of theatrical performances, drag and cabaret shows, and has produced events randing from drag competitoons to variety concerts! On Block Talk, he interviews nightlife personalities, covers the wide world of entertainment through features, ranking episodes, and recaps ALL of Drag Race, as well as Dragula and Survivor. He has interviewed hundreds of RuGirls that span the globe at DragCon NYC, DragCon LA, and DragCon UK. In his free time, he makes one-of-a-kind jewelry and gift baskets with his mom. He is a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community. Sign in to your Collider account It's official, we are more than halfway through the calendar year of 2026. And thus far, it’s been a pretty solid year for television. Especially for HBO. This year, HBO has been at the top of the TV conversation with new seasons of hit shows like The Pitt and House of the Dragon. They welcomed back the highly anticipated return of The Comeback. 2026 also marked the end of the beloved comedy Hacks. With such a great roster of television, HBO had some time for new series. What might shock you is that so far this year, there have only been five new HBO series. And, for the most part, they’ve all been pretty great! They’ve included a daring mystery miniseries, a new Larry David sketch series, Richard Gadd's Baby Reindeer follow-up, a melancholic comedy starring Steve Carell from the brains behind Ted Lasso and Shrinking, and a long-awaited Game of Thrones spin-off. We're here to celebrate these titles. Which is the best this year? It's time to find out! 5 'Life, Larry, and the Pursuit of Unhappiness' (2026) Image via HBO This year marked the 250th anniversary of the United States of America. To celebrate the occasion, many events went down around the country, including the wee controversial Great American State Fair in Washington, D.C. While many networks had some one-off television specials, HBO gave the green light to their tried-and-true creator, Larry David, to tell the history of the country through comedy. And he wasn’t alone. He brought former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama along for the ride! Produced by their company, Higher Ground Productions, Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness: An Almost History of America satirized major events in U.S. history to celebrate the nation's 250th anniversary. Created by David and Jeff Schaffer, rather than an accurate or reverent history, the show acts as a conceptual successor to Curb Your Enthusiasm. It filters canonical American milestones through David's signature neuroses, petty grievances, and argumentative persona. With the dialogue largely unscripted and heavily improvised, Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness is like if David had full control of Drunk History. And if you have a reverence for that series, you might feel David's historical comedy is a bit redundant. David takes on a bevy of history's finest players alongside a smattering of incredible guest stars and Samuel L. Jackson as the narrator. As of publication, three out of the expected seven episodes have aired, in which the series has taken on Robert R. Livingston and the first draft of the Declaration of Independence, George Washington announcing he's not running for a third term, and Joseph McCarthy lambasting attendees of the Army-McCarthy hearings. And that's just the tip of the iceberg, as Abraham Lincoln and Deepthroat are on their way. If you’re seeking something with an incredible roster of stars going ham, expect to see everyone from Jimmy Kimmel and Jerry Seinfeld to Kathryn Hahn and Bill Hader. This also marked Rob Reiner's final on-screen appearance. If sketch comedy is not your thing, Life, Larry, and the Pursuit of Unhappiness may be a good show to pass on. Either way, happy birthday, America! 4 'Half Man' (2026) Image via HBO Following up a widely successful show with another one can be quite difficult. And yet Richard Gadd has done the unthinkable in the six-part British series, Half Man. The limited series chronicles the toxic, decades-long relationship between two inextricably bound stepbrothers, Niall Kennedy (Jamie Bell and Mitchell Robertson), a sensitive, isolated, and bullied young man, and Ruben Pallister (Gadd and Stuart Campbell), a fiercely loyal but terrifyingly violent ex-con. Unfolding across four decades, the story begins at Niall's wedding, where his estranged stepbrother Ruben unexpectedly shows up. An explosive, violent confrontation follows, thrusting the story back through the previous 30 years to uncover the roots of their turbulent dynamic. Tackling the ripple effects of trauma, aggression, and repressed masculinity through the lens of queerness, shame, and cycles of abuse, Half Man is a raw, unnerving series that’s both intense and compelling. Half Man uses a non-linear narrative device that plunges the viewers directly into the action. By giving a hook, it provides a wonderful opportunity to then pull back the layers of two richly crafted characters. By going back to the root of the trauma, it provides viewers a chance to truly grasp the connection and divide. Half Man is all about performance. The dual casting of the "brothers from another lover" brings remarkable depth to the narrative. Their codependent relationship is devastating and captivating, with the two adult leads providing extraordinary performances. Half Man thrives on moral ambiguity. There are no true black-or-white heroes or villains. Through the complexity of bullying, sexuality, and internalized self-hatred, Gadd's script depicts how deeply an individual can be shaped by societal demons. Though a riveting watch, Half Man doesn't quite capture the same shock that Baby Reindeer did. 3 'DTF St. Louis' (2026) Image via HBO Perhaps the most shocking series of the calendar year is Steve Conrad's unconventional murder mystery limited series DTF St. Louis. The dark comedy follows a twisted love triangle between three disenchanted, middle-aged suburbanites— Floyd Smernitch (David Harbour), a mild-mannered, professional ASL interpreter experiencing marital and spiritual malaise, his wife Carol Love-Smernitch (Linda Cardellini), who feels stuck in her marriage and strikes up an affair, and Clark Forrest (Jason Bateman), a local TV meteorologist, close friend to Floyd, and the man Carol has the affair with. When an affair leads to the suspicious death of one of the husbands, two detectives—Detective Donoghue Homer (Richard Jenkins), a county detective, and Jodie Plumb (Joy Sunday), a special crimes officer from the Twyla police department— investigate and uncover a bizarre web of infidelity, depression, and a secret swinging app. Told through a non-linear format beginning with the discovery of Floyd's body, DTF St. Louis reveals how the simplicity of mundane suburban life can lead to dark, shocking revelations that turn fatal. DTF St. Louis is a subversion of the erotic thriller. It's not all about sex; the story celebrates the humor, awkwardness, and quirks that go into taboo intimacy. The series uses humor and heart to explore contemporary relationships. Nothing is glamorized. There are cracks and flaws, and unfortunately, those same cracks and flaws lead to suspensions of the prime suspects. And yet, the strengths of the individual connections remain strong until the bitter end. DTF St. Louis is an unlikely story on all fronts, so by the time you reach the conclusion, you may not be shocked, but have a feeling of bittersweet melancholy. Every character, from the trio to the police, is brilliantly complex. They are beyond surface-level tropes. By pushing away from a straightforward crime drama, the suburban noir leaves room to see how deeply insecurities and marital unhappiness weigh on an individual. The series uses humor led by a quintet of brilliant performances. Jenkins and Sunday deserve to be in the same conversation with Bateman, Cardellini, and Harbour—who gives a career-best tender performance. The atmosphere may be moody, and the silence may be deafening, but the show uses communication to truly define the importance of human connection. Utilizing intense ASL conversations in exchange for high-voltage screaming matches is phenomenal. For that alone, DTF St. Louis is a must-watch. Collider Exclusive · Game of Thrones Personality Quiz Which Game of Thrones House Do You Belong To? Stark · Lannister · Targaryen · Baratheon · Tyrell Five great houses. Five completely different answers to the same question: how do you hold power in a world that will take it from you the moment you stop paying attention? Eight questions will determine where your loyalties — and your nature — truly lie. 🐺Stark 🦁Lannister 🐉Targaryen 🦌Baratheon 🌹Tyrell FIND YOUR HOUSE → 01 Someone powerful is acting dishonourably and everyone knows it. What do you do? In Westeros, the answer to this question has ended more than one great house. ACall it out, openly and on the record. If honour means anything, it has to mean something when it's costly. BUse it. Information about someone else's dishonour is leverage — and leverage is power. CAct decisively to correct it — with or without the approval of those around me. DChallenge them directly. Strength settles disputes more honestly than courtroom manoeuvring. ENavigate carefully — build alliances, apply quiet pressure, and create a situation where the right outcome becomes inevitable. NEXT QUESTION → 02 What is the source of your power? Every house endures because of something. What is it for yours? AThe loyalty of people who trust me — earned over generations, not bought with gold. BWealth, intelligence, and the willingness to use both without sentiment. CA legacy so fearsome and a vision so total that opposition becomes unthinkable. DPhysical strength, military force, and the respect that comes from being the kind of person nobody wants to fight. ECharm, connection, and the ability to make powerful people feel that my success is also theirs. NEXT QUESTION → 03 Who do you truly fight for? Strip away the banners and the words. The honest answer tells you everything. AMy family and my people — those who depend on me and have kept faith with me through everything. BMy family — the ones who share my blood, even when they exhaust me, even when they disappoint me. CMy cause — a vision larger than any single person, including me. DMyself, and those few who've proven themselves worth fighting beside. EMy house — its name, its future, the position I intend to leave it in when I'm gone. NEXT QUESTION → 04 How do you deal with your enemies? A house's method reveals its character as clearly as its words ever could. AHonestly — I face them directly, and I give quarter when it's warranted. BThoroughly — I don't leave loose ends, and I don't make the same enemy twice. CDecisively — fire answers questions that diplomacy only delays. DHead-on — I'd rather meet a threat on the battlefield than behind closed doors. EElegantly — I prefer to make former enemies into allies, or at least into people who owe me something. NEXT QUESTION → 05 What kind of ruler do you believe in? Westeros is full of answers to this question. Most of them end badly. AA just one — someone who serves the realm rather than using it, who leads by example rather than fear. BA capable one — someone smart enough to navigate the game, ruthless enough to win it, and realistic about what winning costs. CA transformative one — someone who doesn't just rule what exists but reshapes what's possible. DA strong one — someone whose authority is beyond question because the alternative is obviously worse. EA wise one — someone who understands that the realm is fed by more than armies, and that a full stomach keeps more peace than a sharp sword. NEXT QUESTION → 06 You suffer a devastating loss. How does your house respond? How a house handles defeat tells you more about it than how it handles victory. AWe grieve, properly and together — and then we endure, because endurance is what we do. BWe adapt. We reassess. And we ensure that whoever caused this loss comes to regret it completely. CWe burn hotter. Setbacks don't soften us — they clarify what needs to happen next. DWe hit back. Grief and revenge are the same motion in our house. EWe regroup quietly, rebuild our position, and return when we're ready — on our terms, not theirs. NEXT QUESTION → 07 Which of these truths about Westeros do you most believe? Every house has a philosophy. This is yours. AThe lone wolf dies, but the pack survives. Nothing matters more than the people you protect. BA Lannister always pays their debts — in gold or in kind. Reputation is built on consistency. CI am the blood of the dragon. Some destinies are written before the person who carries them is born. DOurs is the fury. When we move, we move completely — and we don't stop until it's done. EGrowing strong means knowing when to bloom and when to wait. Patience is its own kind of power. NEXT QUESTION → 08 The Iron Throne is within reach. What do you do? The answer reveals not just your ambition — but your character. AClaim it only if the realm needs me to — and rule in a way that makes it worth having. BEnsure someone who owes us sits in it. The power behind the throne is safer than the throne itself. CTake it. It was always meant to be mine — I feel that in my bones and in my blood. DSeize it — with both hands, without hesitation. Opportunity in Westeros does not wait to be asked. EPosition my house to be indispensable to whoever sits there — influence outlasts any single reign. REVEAL MY HOUSE → The Maester Has Spoken Your House Is…Your answers point to the great house whose words, values, and way of surviving in Westeros match your own. Bend the knee — or don't. That's very much up to you. 🐺 House StarkWinter is Coming — and you have always known it. You prepare not out of fear but out of duty, because the people who depend on you deserve someone who takes the long view. You lead with honour even when it costs you, because you understand that a reputation built on integrity is the only one worth having. Your loyalty to family and people runs deep — not as sentiment but as a code that doesn't bend when things get difficult. The North endures because Starks endure — not by being the cleverest players in the game, but by being the kind of people others are willing to follow into the cold. You are that kind of person. The pack survives. The lone wolf dies. You already know which one you are. 🦁 House LannisterYou understand the game — its rules, its exceptions, and exactly when the rules become the exception. You play it without illusions and without apology. You are sharper than most people realise, and you have learned to use that gap to your advantage. A Lannister always pays their debts — and you always keep your word, because your word is an instrument of power, and instruments must be kept in working order. You love your family with a ferocity that sometimes blinds you, and you know it, and you do it anyway. The lion doesn't concern itself with the opinion of sheep. Neither, in the end, do you. 🐉 House TargaryenYou carry a sense of destiny that is difficult to explain and impossible to ignore — the feeling that you are not simply participating in the world but meant to reshape it. You are capable of extraordinary things, and you know it, and that knowledge is both your greatest strength and your most dangerous quality. Fire and blood are not just words to you — they are a philosophy about what change requires and what it costs. The Targaryens at their best were transformative rulers who broke chains and defied the limits of what anyone thought possible. At your best, so are you. The dragon has three heads. You are one of them. 🦌 House BaratheonYou are a force — direct, powerful, and difficult to ignore when you enter a room or a conflict. You do not negotiate with challenges. You meet them. Ours is the fury — and yours is a kind of intensity that commands attention, respect, and occasionally fear from those who underestimate what's behind it. You value strength and straight dealing. You'd rather know where you stand in a fight than navigate a web of courtly whispers. The Baratheons built their house on the back of one of the greatest military victories in Westerosi history — and then struggled with what came after. The lesson of your house is that winning is not the end of the story. Governing is. You are learning that too. 🌹 House TyrellYou understand that power does not always announce itself — that sometimes it arrives with flowers, good wine, and a smile that doesn't quite reach the eyes. Growing strong is your house's motto, and you live it: patiently, strategically, always investing in the relationships and resources that will matter most when it counts. You are charming by choice and calculating by nature — a combination that makes you one of the most effective players in any room you enter. The Tyrells fed King's Landing and shaped its politics without ever sitting on the Iron Throne — and they were arguably more powerful for it. You know that the person who controls the food controls the kingdom. And you always know where the food is. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ 2 'Rooster' (2026–Present) There is a lot about Rooster that is familiar. Not just because many of the tried and true elements, themes, and archetypes from beloved Bill Lawrence series are found here. Rooster is familiar because it's filled with comfort. Whether you attended college in New England or not, Rooster brings a universality to the narrative that resonates. In the triumphant first season, Steve Carell stars as Greg Russo, a best-selling author of trashy beach reads who takes a Writer in Residence position at a fictional New England college. He does this to support his adult daughter, Katie (Charly Clive), an art history professor whose marriage to fellow professor Archie Bates (Phil Dunster), just imploded, while navigating the chaotic fishbowl dynamic of campus life. A delightful, heartwarming comedy about dysfunctional relationships that ultimately evolve into a wholesome-found family dynamic, Rooster mirrors the successful, optimistic and cozy comforts of Ted Lasso and Shrinking as it satirizes the politics of academia and the blurred lines as adults in specific roles on campus. Co-created by Matt Tarses, Rooster is an easy, breezy watch that sparks joy. Like its recent predecessors, the writing is exceptionally sharp, capturing just the right amount of awkwardness to be endearing. We laugh not because it's hilarious, we laugh because it's believable. Though the emotional core may be between Greg and Katie, there's not a single relationship that isn’t charming, especially with Greg as the cog. Whether it's the paternal bond with student Tommy (Maximo Salas), the sexual tension with both Crisle (Annie Mumolo) and Dylan (Danielle Deadwyler), or the uncomfortable friendships with Walter (John McGinley) and Officer Donnie Mullins (Rory Scovel), they're all brilliant and sensational to watch unfold. Carell is in top form as the silver fox "Rooster." He may not be as uncouth as Michael Scott, but he's equally willing and able to say and do the darnedest things. The fishbowl aesthetic of college for the convenient relationships works to playfully display how modern academia's social liability and intergenerational gaps play into every connection. Rooster is a top-tier character-driven series that uses humor to mask the deeper themes of grief, regret, and loneliness. Rooster is incredibly human, and thankfully, there's more to come in Season 2. It's truly a wonderful life! 1 'A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' (2026–Present) Image via HBO Imagine this: Westeros is not a land that's all about death and despair. There is room for a buddy story of the most unlikely duo. A prequel to Game of Thrones, the third spin-off adapts George R. R. Martin's novella series Tales of Dunk and Egg. In the six-part first season, set in 209 AC, a time when the Targaryens still rule the Iron Throne and the memory of the last dragon has passed, the story depicts an honorable but lowborn hedge knight, Dunk, or Ser Duncan the Tall (Peter Claffey) and his young, bald, quick-witted squire, Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell), as they travel across Westeros as they encounter powerful Targaryen lords during a period of relative peace. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is not a heavy series. It's a lighter episodic tale that shifts focus to chivalry, loyalty, and the day-to-day survival of ordinary people. Unlike Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, the Martin and Ira Parker-created story isn't centered around epic wars and grand political schemes for the Iron Throne. Instead, it provides a grounded look at the everyday lives of ordinary people and itinerant warriors without fixed masters, titles, or lands. Most importantly, it's an extraordinary character-driven story. Dunk is a simple man trying to do what is right in a world that often rewards ambition over morality. There has never been anyone as charming and endearing in this universe as Claffey as Dunk. Claffey captures the heightened essence of Martin’s Westeros while rooting him in honor and humbleness. His unlikely friendship with Egg, better known as Prince Aegon Targaryen, is built on witty banter and genuine care. Through the intimacy of a slice of a story, the Game of Thrones universe has been opened up to a world of potential. Though we know Westeros before and after A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, here, just a shred of optimism champions hope for the underdog. Now don't fret, if you're looking for some action, there's just enough to wet the whistle. This self-contained Game of Thrones story is an utter delight. A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms Release Date January 18, 2026 Network HBO Cast Peter Claffey Ser Duncan 'Dunk' the Tall Showrunner Ira Parker Directors Owen Harris Writers George R. R. Martin, Ira Parker Franchise(s) Game of Thrones Main Genre Adventure Seasons 1 Producers Layla Blackman, Lisa Byrne Creator(s) George R. R. Martin, Ira Parker Streaming Service(s) MAX Release Window 2026 Executive Producer(s) George R. R. Martin, Sarah Bradshaw, Vince Gerardis, Ryan J. Condal, Ira Parker, Owen Harris