The Best HBO Max Shows of 2026 (So Far)

5 min readIt’s a weird time at Warner Bros. As the prolific film and TV studio faces acquisition by Paramount-Skydance, the future of the prestige cable brand HBO is uncertain. What might HBO look like in a year from now? Five years? Ten? Who knows. But in 2026, the channel (and now, streamer) is as solid as ever.2026 has been the year HBO flexes its IP muscles in Game of Thrones, dropping both A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and season 3 of House of the Dragon, and DC Comics, with the buzzy hit Lanterns drawing critical acclaim. Meanwhile, shows like Hacks and Euphoria rode off into the proverbial sunset, while brand new shows like Rooster, DTF St. Louis, and the darkly riveting Neighbors captivated.In October, HBO is set to premiere War, a new legal drama starring Dominic West and Sienna Miller, while The Gilded Age will return for its fourth season in November. And in December, a little-known show called Harry Potter will premiere. You’ve probably heard of it before.Until then, these are the best HBO and HBO Max shows of 2026. Start binge-watching, if you haven’t started yet.LanternsIn brightest day, in blackest night, you should watch Lanterns, starting tonight. The first live-action DC Comics series under James Gunn’s stewardship of the brand is shaping up to be an all-timer, with Kyle Chandler and Aaron Pierre leading the show as two Green Lanterns who investigate a strange murder case in rural Nebraska. A superhero show that’s less “capes and tights” and more True Detective may sound unexpected, but trust us, Lanterns is as good as it gets.Conan O’Brien Must Go (season 3)I admit: As a lifelong Conan O’Brien fan, I’m biased about the man’s work. I’ll watch him do anything. I’ll watch him watch paint dry—he’ll say something that would, somehow, prompt me to laugh so hard I cry. His travel show Conan O’Brien Must Go is the unexpected successor to Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown, if we swap food for laughter as the great equalizer and unifier across borders. In season 3, the Con-Man goes to India, Morocco, the Philippines (Mabuhay!), and the Netherlands. But honestly, nothing will top his trip to Argentina.House of the Dragon (season 3)Yeah, A Knight of Seven Kingdoms is a lot of fun. But House of the Dragon keeps delivering the epic action and political intrigue we so crave from the Thrones universe. The third season opened on a high note with the fabled Battle of the Gullet and closed with the equally riveting season finale. We might never see another show capture our attention in the same way Game of Thrones did a decade ago, but House of the Dragon is doing its damndest to try.My Adventures with Superman (season 3)In case you haven’t given My Adventures with Superman the time of day yet, you should. The third season of the delightful animated Superman series, which airs on Adult Swim and streams on HBO Max, expands its universe to include more heroes and villains from the DC mythos. Season 3’s biggest addition? Jonathan Kent, a.k.a. Superboy. This is, truly, good ol’ fashioned TV fun.The Dark WizardHold your breath, because The Dark Wizard will take it away. Following its premiere at SXSW, the riveting docuseries The Dark Wizard is now streaming on HBO Max. The show chronicles the rise and tragic death of free climber Dean Potter, who achieved notoriety for his death-defying ambitions and brash personality until he died in 2015. Even if you know nothing about action sports, The Dark Wizard is a spell-binding look at a man without fear.Watch NowLike Water for Chocolate (season 2)The sumptuous Mexican drama produced by Salma Hayek is back for its second season, with its plot adapting the second half of Laura Esquivel’s celebrated 1989 novel. In season 2, Azul Guaita returns as Tita, who must decide between her undying love for Pedro (Andrés Baida) or Dr. Brown (Francisco Angelini). HBO romances have more than addicted teenagers and hockey twinks, and Like Water for Chocolate is the sultry romance that all starving yearners are looking for.Watch NowHacks (season 5)It’s Madison Square Garden or bust, baby. Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder return for the fifth and final season of Hacks, which sees Deborah (Smart) in a make-it-or-break-it run for a solo show in New York City. While Deborah and Ava (Einbinder) have evolved in what you might call a friendship, is their bond strong enough to withstand what’s to come? Maybe, maybe not. But they’ve come a long way since Vegas.Watch NowA Knight of the Seven KingdomsGame of Thrones had its share of laughs. But A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is truly a riot. Set between Game of Thrones and its epic prequel series House of the Dragon, the adventures of too-tall hedge knight Ser Duncan (Peter Claffey) and his friendship with bald “Egg” (Dexter Sol Ansell) are chronicled in this live-action adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas. In a time when it’s really uncertain if audiences have the appetite for more medieval mind games anymore, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms dares to give those same fatigued HBO viewers something to cheer for.Watch NowNeighbors“Love thy neighbor,” God commanded. But even the heavenly father couldn’t have foreseen Ring cameras, privacy laws, and HOA disputes. Neighbors is a new HBO anthology series that dives into the juicy blood feuds between bickering neighbors across America. From Florida to Montana to New Jersey, Neighbors highlights real people with real axes to grind… and only on HBO are those neighbors taking a swing.Watch NowThe Comeback (season 3)It’s truly a comeback for The Comeback, which returns after 12 years for its third and final season. Lisa Kudrow is back as Valerie, who stars in a new sitcom written by AI. It’s a brand new Hollywood as Valerie tries to make a meal out of autogenerated slop while putting up with social media teams and harrowing Hot Ones appearances. The Comeback is a delirious examination of where Hollywood is right now, and the uncertainty of where it’s all going.Watch NowRoosterEntering the honor roll for Esquire’s best TV is Rooster, the newest Bill Lawrence (Scrubs, Shrinking) sitcom. Steve Carell stars as a novelist who takes a job teaching creative writing at a liberal arts college to help his daughter (Charly Clive), an art history professor, get through a heartbreaking divorce. Witty and warm in the way Ted Lasso was, Rooster is worth enrolling for a long binge weekend.Watch NowDTF St. LouisOne of the buzziest new shows of the year has it all: infidelity, a murder mystery, hookup apps, and Jamba Juice. Jason Bateman, David Harbour, and Linda Cardellini star in DTF St. Louis, a simmering adult drama about an affair that ends with one person dead, and two investigators (Joy Sunday and Richard Jenkins) on the case to find out who did it in this darkly hilarious whodunnit.Watch NowThe Pitt (season 2)It’s time for another shift at Pittsburgh Medical Trauma Center. Set during Independence Day, the doctors and nurses of PMTC survive another twelve hours of patient emergencies and personal issues. Water park accidents, gross hot dog eating contests, fireworks explosions, and an abandoned infant are just a handful of the chaos that unfolds in season 2. We can’t wait to see what the night shift has to offer.Watch Now