The 5 Greatest 4-Season HBO Shows of All Time, Ranked

Image via HBO Published Sep 25, 2026, 7:22 AM EDT Sign in to your Collider account Season 1 of a TV show is always the easiest. The audience meets the characters, their world, and the stakes they face. Every season after that, though, has to justify why the story deserves to continue. A great show needs to let its premise evolve and eventually recognize when it’s time to say goodbye. That’s because even the most brilliant of shows can start feeling like lesser versions of themselves if they overstay their welcome. The acclaimed HBO shows on this list never had that problem, though, because they told meaningful, complete stories in four unforgettable seasons. 5 'The Righteous Gemstones' (2019–2025) Image via HBO Danny McBride’s The Righteous Gemstones is a wild ride. The hilarious HBO comedy series follows the wealthy televangelist Gemstone family patriarch, Eli (John Goodman), and his three deeply dysfunctional children, Jesse (Danny McBride), Judy (Edi Patterson), and Kelvin (Adam Devine). The funny thing is that all of them preach humility while living on enormous estates, flying private jets, fighting over church power, and escalating family arguments into blackmail, kidnappings, and worse. On paper, they are almost too ridiculous to care about, but the show doesn’t treat it all as a simple joke. Despite their wealth, the Gemstones are still selfish and capable of terrible decisions, which grounds all the chaos surrounding them in something that feels relatable. The show is definitely hilarious to the point of vulgarity at times, but it also has an emotional foundation that carries a lot of weight. Eventually, even four seasons of pure chaos never completely cures the Gemstones of being the Gemstones, but even then, the show does a great job of making the audience care about them. 4 'Barry' (2018–2023) Image via HBO Barry could have easily survived four seasons on its original premise alone, but the show’s commitment to reinventing itself is remarkable. The series follows Bill Hader as Barry Berkman, a depressed former Marine who starts working as a contract killer under the guidance of family friend Monroe Fuches (Stephen Root). While pursuing a target in Los Angeles, Barry accidentally wanders into an acting class run by Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler) and becomes fascinated by the possibility of becoming somebody else. There, he meets aspiring actress Sally Reed (Sarah Goldberg), finds a community that knows nothing about his real life, and decides that maybe Barry the hitman can disappear for Barry the actor to take his place. The problem is that this shift isn’t remotely as easy as it sounds. Barry genuinely wants to change, but almost every attempt at that requires him to hide the terrible things he somehow keeps doing, even if it is to protect this new version of himself. Barry hangs somewhere between an absurd comedy and a genuinely dark drama without ever feeling abrupt. By the fourth season, the show is definitely much grittier, but that transition is not out of place at all. Barry spends its entirety exploring the same question but from completely different angles, and builds up to a truly fitting ending note. 3 'My Brilliant Friend' (2018–2024) Image via HBO My Brilliant Friend captures an entire lifetime in just four seasons, without ever rushing through anything. The series, based on Elena Ferrante’s famous Neapolitan Novels, begins in 1950s Naples with Elena “Lenù” Greco (Elisa Del Genio, Margherita Mazzucco, Alba Rohrwacher) and Raffaella “Lila” Cerullo (Ludovica Nasti, Gaia Girace, Irene Maiorino) as children growing up in a poor, violent neighborhood. Both are exceptionally intelligent, but their lives quickly move in different directions. Elena is allowed to continue her education and eventually becomes a successful writer, while Lila is pulled out of school and pushed toward work, marriage, and motherhood. However, neither ever completely escapes the neighborhood nor gives up on their complex friendship. Even when they are living completely separate lives, the universe keeps bringing them back together. The fact that the audience gets to see these two friends visibly age also gives HBO's My Brilliant Friend a lived-in quality that most other shows don’t have. They go from girls who once competed over schoolwork to women carrying decades of choices, disappointments, jealousy, love, and history with each other. Not many shows manage to feel so intimate yet so grand at the same time. Collider Exclusive · Universe Personality Quiz Which Iconic Universe Do You Belong in the Most? Star Wars · Lord of the Rings · Harry Potter · Game of Thrones · Star Trek Five legendary universes. Five completely different visions of what the world could be — or already was. One of them is the world your instincts, your values, and your particular way of existing were built for. Eight questions will tell you which one. 🚀Star Wars 💍Lord of the Rings 🧙Harry Potter 👑Game of Thrones 🖖Star Trek FIND YOUR UNIVERSE → 01 What gives your life its deepest sense of meaning? Every universe is built around a different answer to this question. ABeing part of something larger than myself — a cause, a rebellion, a fight for freedom that outlasts me. BThe journey itself — the places I'll go, the companions beside me, the world I'll discover on the way. CLearning — unlocking what I'm capable of, understanding the world's hidden mechanics, growing into something more. DLegacy — the name I leave behind, the power I build, the mark I make before the world moves on without me. EUnderstanding — exploring what exists beyond the horizon and asking what it means to be alive in a universe this vast. NEXT QUESTION → 02 Which kind of world do you most want to inhabit? The environment shapes who you become. Choose carefully. AA galaxy of planets, each with its own culture — connected by conflict, trade, and the Force. BAncient lands of breathtaking beauty, deep history, and a creeping darkness at the edges. CA world hidden inside our own — full of wonder, community, and magic waiting to be learned. DA brutal, beautiful continent where power is everything and every alliance is a calculation. EA future where humanity has reached the stars — and must decide what kind of species it wants to be. NEXT QUESTION → 03 How do you prefer your conflicts resolved? The shape of a world's conflicts tells you everything about its soul. AThrough sacrifice and courage — someone has to make the impossible choice so others don't have to. BThrough fellowship — the impossible becomes possible when the right people walk the same road. CThrough growth — confronting what you fear, understanding what you lack, and becoming equal to the challenge. DThrough strategy — outthinking, outmaneuvering, positioning yourself so the outcome was never in doubt. EThrough dialogue — finding the third option, the peaceful resolution, the answer that doesn't require a body count. NEXT QUESTION → 04 Who do you want beside you when things get difficult? Your ideal companions reveal the world you were made for. AA small crew — a pilot, a rogue, a warrior — each broken in their own way, unbeatable together. BA fellowship of different kinds of people, bound by purpose and deepened by the long road. CFriends who grew up alongside me — who knew me before I knew myself, and stayed anyway. DAllies whose loyalty I've earned — and tested — and whose ambitions align with mine, for now. EA crew of brilliant, curious, principled people from every corner of known space. NEXT QUESTION → 05 What is your relationship with power? How you seek, wield, or resist power is the map of who you are. AI want to use it to protect — and I'm terrified of what I might become if I'm not careful. BI distrust it. The most important power in this story is the courage to give it up. CI want to earn it — through knowledge, through effort, through becoming someone worthy of it. DI want to wield it. Preferably before someone else decides to wield it against me. EI want to understand it — its structures, its limits, its ethical dimensions. Power without accountability is the real threat. NEXT QUESTION → 06 How does your universe treat good and evil? A world's moral architecture tells you more about it than any map. AThere is a dark side and a light side — and the choice between them is always present, always personal. BEvil is real and ancient and patient — and goodness, however small, is the only thing that can undo it. CGood and evil are real, but they live inside people — and people are complicated, always capable of both. DGood and evil are mostly a matter of perspective and proximity. Power is the only honest currency. EEvil is usually the result of ignorance, fear, or broken systems — and understanding it is the first step to solving it. NEXT QUESTION → 07 What role would you naturally fall into? Every universe has archetypes. Which one fits you without trying? AThe reluctant hero — ordinary origins, extraordinary moment, changed forever by the choice to act. BThe unlikely carrier — the one nobody expected to matter most, quietly bearing the weight of everything. CThe student — not yet who I'll become, learning through every mistake, growing into something the world needs. DThe player — sharp enough to see the game for what it is, ambitious enough to try to win it. EThe explorer — drawn to the unknown, driven by curiosity, most alive when standing somewhere no one has stood before. NEXT QUESTION → 08 What do you ultimately believe about the future? The answer to this is the clearest window into which universe already lives inside you. AThat hope is real — that even in the darkest galaxy, a new hope is always possible. CThat even the smallest person can change the course of the future, if they have the courage to try. CThat love and friendship and doing what's right will matter in the end, even when everything says otherwise. DThat the wheel keeps turning — that power shifts, winters end, and what endures is those willing to fight for it. EThat humanity — or whatever we become — is capable of extraordinary things, if we choose to be. REVEAL MY UNIVERSE → Your Universe Has Been Chosen You Belong In…Your answers point to the iconic universe your values, your instincts, and your particular way of seeing the world were built for. This is where you would find your people — and your purpose. Star WarsYou believe in the cause — in the idea that freedom is worth fighting for even when the odds are impossible and the empire is vast. You are drawn to the moral clarity of a universe where hope itself is a form of resistance. You'd find your people in the Rebellion — a ragtag coalition of true believers held together by conviction more than resources. Star Wars is fundamentally a story about ordinary people choosing to matter in an extraordinary conflict — and that is exactly your kind of story. The Force may or may not be with you. But the will to use it for something larger than yourself certainly is. Lord of the RingsYou understand, in the deepest part of yourself, that the journey matters as much as the destination — and that the world's beauty is worth protecting even at great cost. Middle-earth is a world of ancient wonder, deep friendship, and a darkness that only retreats when enough small acts of courage accumulate. You would thrive here because you value the fellowship more than the glory — the road more than the arrival. Tolkien's universe rewards patience, loyalty, and the willingness to carry something heavy across a very long distance. Those are not burdens to you. They are simply how you move through the world. Harry PotterYou believe that love, loyalty, and doing what's right are not naive sentiments — they are the most powerful forces in any world, magical or otherwise. The Wizarding World is a place of wonder hidden in plain sight, where learning is transformative and the bonds you form at school follow you into every battle. You would flourish here because you take both the magic and the friendships seriously — and you understand that one without the other is incomplete. Harry Potter's universe ultimately rewards those who choose to stand for something even when standing is terrifying. That choice — made quietly, without guarantee — is something you understand completely. Game of ThronesYou see the world clearly — its power structures, its hypocrisies, its brutal arithmetic — and you are not paralysed by that clarity. You use it. Westeros is a world that rewards intelligence, adaptability, and the willingness to understand that every alliance is also a negotiation. You would survive here — possibly thrive here — because you don't confuse the world as it is with the world as you'd like it to be. Game of Thrones is a story about what happens when the idealists and the realists collide. You are sharp enough to know which one lasts longer. Winter always comes. You are already prepared. Star TrekYou believe the future is worth building — that curiosity, cooperation, and the expansion of understanding are not just ideals but the most practical path forward for any civilisation. Star Trek is a universe where the questions matter as much as the answers, and where encountering something utterly alien is cause for wonder rather than fear. You would belong here because you are fundamentally optimistic about what intelligence and decency can achieve — while being honest about how hard that achievement is. The Federation is the universe's most ambitious thought experiment: what if we actually got better? You don't just hope that's possible. You think it's the only thing worth working toward. ↻ RETAKE THE QUIZ 2 'Westworld' (2016–2022) Image via HBO Westworld was never meant to be a simple show to follow. The series, created by Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, begins inside an enormous Wild West theme park populated by incredibly lifelike androids known as hosts. Wealthy guests can enter the park and do practically anything they want to them without consequences because every host is programmed to forget what happened and begin the same narrative again. Dolores Abernathy (Evan Rachel Wood) is the rancher’s daughter who repeatedly wakes up believing she is beginning another ordinary day, while Maeve Millay (Thandiwe Newton) runs the local saloon. Slowly, both begin remembering pieces of lives they were never supposed to know they had lived, and that shifts everything. From there, Westworld keeps expanding its central conflict, and every season adds to the lore. The show was actually meant to receive another season, but was canceled by HBO in November 2022. However, the writers used the situation as an opportunity to ensure that its four-season run felt complete. The show began as a story about robots discovering some kind of consciousness, and ended on an unexpected and ambitious note. 1 'Succession' (2018–2023) Image via HBO Succession might look like it's about a corporate battle over a massive media empire, but it’s actually one of television’s most vicious family dramas at heart. The series follows Logan Roy (Brian Cox), the aging founder of Waystar Royco, and his four children, Connor (Alan Ruck), Kendall (Jeremy Strong), Roman (Kieran Culkin), and Shiv (Sarah Snook), as they circle the question of who will eventually take control of the company. The only problem is that Logan refuses to step aside, which leads to the siblings spending four seasons forming alliances, breaking them, betraying one another, and deluding themselves into believing that they are the rightful heir to the throne. Succession is extremely addictive in how it merges this relentless corporate struggle with the Roys' extremely messed-up personal dynamics. Any time the siblings appear to be capable of working together, the possibility of one of them becoming CEO of Waystar reopens all old wounds. Succession will forever be remembered for its brutal yet inevitable ending that arrived at the perfect time. For a show about horrible people doing horrible things, this drama is definitely going down in history as an HBO classic. Succession Release Date 2018 - 2023-00-00 Network HBO Showrunner Jesse Armstrong