The Best Crime Shows On Netflix Right Now

Zahra Bentham Spinning Out and In Contempt alumna Mouna Traoré are set for recurring roles in Madam C.J. Walker, an eight-episode limited series starring and executive produced by Oscar winner Octavia Spencer and executive produced by LeBron James.

Written by Nicole Asher based on the book On Her Own Ground by A'Lelia Bundles, Madam C.J. Walker tells the untold and highly irreverent story of black hair-care pioneer and mogul Madam C.J. Walker Spencer and how she overcame hostile turn-of-the-century America, epic rivalries, tumultuous marriages and some trifling family to become America's first self-made black female millionaire.

Bentham plays Nettie, the sweet and proper wife of Ransom Kevin Carroll. Nettie is incredibly intelligent, a member of the National Association for Colored Women, and a great support to Sarah Madam CJ Walker – and her growing business.

Traoré portrays Esther a magnetic, artistic young woman who works on the makeshift assembly line for Sarah's Madam CJ Walker's – products. She is also a talented amateur photographer and quite avant-garde for her time.

Bentham will next be seen recurring in Netflix's upcoming series Spinning Out. Previous credits include Ransom, Private Eyes and Rookie Blue. She’s repped by Amanda Rosenthal Talent and Trademark Talent.

Traoré’ recently was a series regular in BET series In Contempt and recurred on the MGM/Audience series Condor, starring William Hurt and Brendan Fraser. She made her feature film debut in MGM's Carrie remake, directed by Kimberly Peirce. Her other TV credits include a series regular role on CBC series Murdoch Mysteries. She’s repped by Buchwald, The Characters Talent Agency and Thruline Entertainment.

Source: deadline.com

For those jonesing for their Orange is the New Black fix, help has arrived.

Netflix has acquired another women's prison drama, taking global rights to Avlu, a Turkish prison series adapted from the Australian hit Wentworth. Avlu will go out worldwide on Netflix on Oct.18.

Netflix inked the deal for Avlu with Fremantle, who produce the original Australian series, as well as multiple international spin-offs, and handle global sales. Wentworth, which is entering its eighth season, also streams on Netflix. 

Avlu has been a ratings hit since its launch on Turkey's Star TV in March 2018. The second season, which wrapped in May,  drew a peak audience of 3.8 million viewers for the channel. Season three is set to premiere in Turkey later this year. Avlu is produced by Hayri Aslan and Limon Film.

Wentworth is one of Fremantle's most successful international series, having sold to 158 territories worldwide. The show, created by Reg Watson and Lara Radulovich, has been successfully adapted in Germany, The Netherlands and Belgium.

Source: Hollywood Reporter

Last Updated: October 15th

While it may live in the shadow of other better-known streaming services, Hulu, once regarded simply as “that TV thing,” has managed to maintain itself as a viable competitor in terms of offering a great variety of content online. This includes an impressive selection of quality movies, but it's not always easy to browse through their catalog if you don't know what you're looking for. Which begs the question: What is the best movie on Hulu right now? From iconic classics to contemporary indie fare, here's a look at the 30 best films available to stream, ranked.

Related: The Best Horror Movies On Hulu Right Now

Warner Bros. 1. The Matrix 1999

Run Time: 136 min | IMDb: 8.7/10

The Wachowski sisters created one of the greatest sci-fi films in cinematic history with their mind-bending Matrix trilogy, but the original is hard to top. Keanu Reeves plays Neo, a young man unplugged from the matrix — a kind of alternate reality that keeps humans docile, so machines can harvest their life energy. He teams up with a band of rebels fighting the machines Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus and Carrie-Ann Moss as Trinity and faces off against a henchman named Agent Smith Hugo Weaving. The real draw of this trilogy, besides its inventive storyline, is the CGI effects. The movie also sports some of the most imaginative fight sequences you'll ever see on the big screen.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

Annapurna 2. If Beale Street Could Talk 2018

Run Time: 119 min | IMDb: 7.2/10

Barry Jenkins follows up the success of Moonlight with this adaptation of a James Baldwin masterpiece. Told in a nonlinear style, the film recounts the romance of Tish and Fonny, two young Black lovers living in 1970s New York. When Fonny is accused of a heinous crime, Tish and her family fight to prove his innocence. The story is heartbreaking and hopeful at the same time, and Regina King puts in an Oscar-winning performance as Tish's devoted mother.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

Fox Searchlight 3. The Wrestler 2008

Run Time: 109 min | IMDb: 7.9/10

Mickey Rourke gives a career-defining turn as a washed-up wrestler forced into retirement who finds life outside the ring nearly unbearable. After a heart attack pushes Randy “The Ram” Robinson to leave the sport, he tries to make a go of it as a deli worker at a supermarket. He reconciles with his estranged daughter, strikes up a romance with a stripper, and begins to get his life on track before drugs, booze, and his unruly temper cause chaos in his already fragile routine.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

Neon 4. I, Tonya 2017

Run Time: 120 min | IMDb: 7.5/10

As flashy and over-the-top as the sequin-spandex numbers that graced the ice back in the '80s, I, Tonya manages to straddle a thin line. It's both a biopic of one of the most notorious female athletes in the history of figure skating and a raucous comedy intent on mocking everything troubling about American culture at the time. Margot Robbie is brilliant in her role — playing a woman tortured by talent and her inability to capitalize on it — and you can literally hear Allison Janney chewing every scene she's in as Harding's narcissistic, chain-smoking mother. Plus that parrot bite is as funny as you could hope.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

Paramount 5. Election 1999

Run Time: 103 min | IMDb: 7.3/10

Matthew Broderick plays a depressed high school teacher, who tries to manage his imploding marriage while facing off against a determined and cunning student in this dark comedy that features Reese Witherspoon in one of the best performances of her career. Witherspoon plays Tracy Flick, an overachieving student with dreams of becoming the student body president that are quickly dashed by the school's popular jock. Tracy's willing to go to extreme lengths to win the race, but when Broderick's Mr. McAllister thinks to intervene, his own failing personal life is put on display.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

Sony 6. The Fifth Element 1997

Run Time: 126 min | IMDb: 7.7/10

Bruce Willis and Milla Jovovich star in this sci-fi masterpiece from Luc Besson. Set in the future, the film follows a scruffy cab driver named Korben Dallas Willis who unwittingly becomes part of a galaxy-wide hunt for a cosmic weapon that could defeat the evil Mr. Zorg Gary Oldman. Jovovich's Leelo is that weapon, a bright-eyed, newly-formed human with unlimited power and a naïve understanding of the world. The two battle their way across the galaxy with Chris Tucker's help, and with them, Besson gives us a colorful, awe-inducing jaunt through the cosmos.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

Annapurna Pictures 7. Vice 2018

Run Time: 132 min | IMDb: 7.2/10

Adam McKay's controversial biopic lands on Hulu with its impressive cast of Oscar-winners including Christian Bale, who undergoes a mind-blowing transformation to play former Vice President Dick Cheney. The film follows the build-up to Cheney's White House appointment, as he gains power first as a Washington insider, then as the man pulling the strings of the Bush administrations. Amy Adams plays his supportive, just as morally compromised wife, Lynne, with Sam Rockwell turning in a hilarious performance as Bush himself.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

Warner Bros. 8. Lethal Weapon 1987

Run Time: 109 min | IMDb: 7.6/10

A staple action movie of the '80s, Lethal Weapon still stands up as a buddy cop movie that's tough not to love. Mismatched partners — one suicidal, the other overly aged for various things — must learn to work together and stop a ring of drug smugglers. Its action hijinks are as indicative of the era as its jazzy music, and the film was even nominated for an Oscar for its sound. Lethal Weapon not only brought us Mel Gibson's hair but the work of writer Shane Black, who has continued to pen noteworthy crime movies for over three decades.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

Annapurna 9. Sorry to Bother You 2018

Run Time: 111 min | IMDb: 7/10

Boots Riley's directorial debut comes courtesy of this dark, absurdist comedy that manages to weave themes of class and capitalism into a bonkers tale about a telemarketer living in Oakland who figures out a way to use his “white voice” to make sales. As he moves up the ladder, selling while hiding his identity, he's pulled into a conspiracy that forces him to choose between cashing in at humanity's expense or joining his friends in a rebellion against the system. Lakeith Stanfield gives a riveting turn as Cassius Green, Cash, the kid at the center of this bizarre story, and Tessa Thompson gives a commendable performance as Cash's radical feminist girlfriend, Detroit.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

Getty Image 10. The Beatles: Eight Days A Week — The Touring Years 2016

Run Time: 137 min | IMDb: 7.8/10

Set during the touring years of The Beatles' career, from 1962-1966, director Ron Howard crafts an intimate portrayal of the world's most popular band with the help of both Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, along with widows Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison. Featuring 4K restorations of some of the band's most memorable concerts, this documentary is a must for any film lover, Beatles fan or otherwise.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

Marvel 11. Iron Man 2 2010

Run Time: 124 min | IMDb: 7/10

There's a lot to love about the return of Downey Jr. to the role of Tony Stark in Iron Man 2. We meet Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow, we're treated to a hellishly-fun villain in Sam Rockwell, and the look of the film is worlds above its predecessor. In the grand scheme of the Marvel universe, this flick isn't a stand-out, but it's an enjoyable watch, thanks to Downey Jr.'s complete comfortableness in the role of the billionaire-playboy-philanthropist-superhero.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

Paramount 12. A Quiet Place 2018

Run Time: 90 min | IMDb: 7.6/10

John Krasinski's breakout horror flick has made its way to Hulu. The film stars Krasinski and his wife, Emily Blunt, as a couple trying their best to raise their family in the middle of an apocalypse where the slightest sound might attract other-worldly creatures intent on hunting them down and killing them. It's a thrilling turn for both actors, with twists you don't see coming and a satisfying ending.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

Roadside Attractions 13. Ben Is Back 2018

Run Time: 103 min | IMDb: 6.7/10

Julia Roberts and Lucas Hedges star in this heartbreaking family drama about a mother struggling to reconnect with her son who's in the midst of a long battle with addiction. Roberts plays Holly, who returns home on Christmas Eve to find her son Ben Hedges waiting for her. Ben's been in rehab after getting hooked on prescription pills following a snowboarding accident in high school and has plans to celebrate the holiday with his family before returning to treatment. Those plans are quickly thwarted by old foes looking to use Ben to sell and smuggle drugs, and by the death of a close friend of Ben's who he may have introduced to pills. Roberts and Hedges are both magnetic in their roles, playing a tortured familial bond to great effect. It's not a fun watch, but it is an impactful one.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

Netflix 14. District 9 2009

Run Time: 112 min | IMDb: 7.9/10

Neill Blomkamp's inventive sci-fi alternate reality utilizes the found-footage style of filmmaking to thrilling effect in District 9. After an alien spaceship parks itself over parts of South Africa, the world's governments decide to put the sick occupants found onboard in an internment camp called District 9. Years later, having used up all their resources and suffered through secret experiments, the aliens are outcast by society, seen as lawbreakers and scum by society. When a company is contracted to relocate the aliens to a new camp, one of its members is infected with alien DNA, setting off a string of events that end up touching on heavier themes of xenophobia, segregation, and the state of humanity as a whole.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

Fox Searchlight 15. Juno 2007

Run Time: 96 min | IMDb: 7.4/10

Ellen Page stars in this coming-of-age story from Diablo Cody about a young teen who unexpectantly gets pregnant and must decide what to do with the baby. Page plays Juno, an alt-girl who gets knocked up after hooking up with Michael Cera's nerdy Paulie Bleeker. The film is less about their romance — as pure as it may be — and more about Juno's own self-discovery as she navigates high school while preggers and tries to get to know the family she plans on having adopt her baby. Page is remarkable as the frustrated, wise-for-her-age teen and she's supported by a stellar cast that includes Jennifer Gardner, Jason Bateman, Allison Janey, and J.K. Simmons.

Add To Hulu Watchlist New World Pictures 16. Heathers 1988

Run Time: 103 mins | IMDb: 7.3/10

Helping to close out a decade of memorable teen films on a dark note, Heathers is a savagely funny deconstruction of the frivolousness of popular cliques that helped set the tone of many dark comedies that would follow in its wake. The plot involves a popular group of girls known as The Heathers who invite Veronica Sawyer Winona Ryder to join them, guaranteeing that she would gain popularity by association. Eventually, Veronica finds herself teaming up with a dangerous sociopath Christian Slater in an attempt to break the Heathers' tyrannical hold on the school.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

Toho 17. Akira 1988

Run Time: 124 min | IMDb: 8.1/10

Loosely based on the ground-breaking manga of the same name, Akira is considered a landmark in Japanese animation, as well as one of the best animated films ever produced. Set in a dystopian future in 2019, a teenager named Tetsuo gains tremendous telekinetic powers after a motorcycle crash, eventually going mad with power before bringing the military-industrial complex to its knees. A live action adaptation has been in the works in some form since 2002, but remains in development purgatory for the time being.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

Lionsgate 18. Stronger 2017

Run Time: 119 min | IMDb: 7/10

Jake Gyllenhaal and Tatiana Maslany star in this biographical drama about Boston Marathon bombing survivor Jeff Bauman. Bauman lost both his legs during the terrorist attack as he cheered on his girlfriend who was competing in the race. Gyllenhaal brings the man's inspiring true story of resilience and recovery to the screen, fully immersing himself in the role and showing the painful aftermath of trauma. There are bits about the terrorists and the coordinated manhunt for them, but the film shines when it focuses on Gyllenhaal.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

Dreamworks/Netflix 19. Shrek 2001

Run Time: 90 min | IMDb: 7.9/10

We know what you're thinking. Shrek? Really? An animated comedy about an ugly green ogre who rescues a princess, befriends a donkey, and saves a kingdom. Look, it's a common misconception that Shrek was only for kids. Mike Meyers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz all voiced characters in the film, and there were plenty of mature jokes that probably flew right over the kiddos' heads. Torturing a sweet Gingerbread Man, interspecies hookups, and a show-stopping song and dance number to wrap things up makes this a family-friendly comedy that the adults won't snooze through.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

PARAMOUNT 20. Mission Impossible: Fallout 2018

Run Time: 127 min | IMDb: 7.8/10

Tom Cruise is joined by Superman himself, Henry Cavill in this latest installment in the action franchise. Cruise returns as Ethan Hunt who leads his IMF team but is joined by Cavill's CIA Agent, August Walker, who's tasked with monitoring the group after a mission gone wrong. Hunt is tracking some missing plutonium before a terrorist group called The Apostles can weaponize it against the world but he's thwarted by a surprising enemy.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

Columbia 21. Big Fish 2003

Run Time: 125 min | IMDb: 8/10

This fantasy-comedy from Tim Burton stars Ewan McGregor as a young Edward Bloom, a man with a gift for story-telling and a lust for life. In the present, Edward Bloom is an old man, on the outs with his son and on his deathbed. His son Will Billy Crudup, having grown up hearing his father's tall tales, believes he's lied to him his entire life. As Edward narrates his life, the fantastical adventures he went on, meeting Will's mother, joining a circus, saving a town, meeting a big fish, Will decides to investigate his father's claims and discovers that the truth is just a matter of perspective. In the end, the film is about reconciliation and appreciating life to its fullest.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

Oscilloscope 22. We Need To Talk About Kevin 2011

Run Time: 112 min | IMDb: 7.5/10

Eva Khatchadourian Tilda Swinton, who's unwilling and unable to properly care for her troubled son Kevin, watches her life unravel as her husband John C. Reilly ignores their problems and Kevin grows more and more sociopathic and violent. The story jumps around in time, showing Swinton's character as both a new mother who blames her son for ruining her life and as a woman who eventually blames herself for what becomes of her son. Swinton proves once again that she's the actress that indie movies need for complex characters that live their lives in grey areas. At its core, We Need To Talk is about the importance of proper parenting, communication, and probably therapy. And it's not for the faint of heart.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

Hulu 23. Fyre Fraud 2019

Run Time: 96 min | IMDb: 6.8/10

The war of the Fyre docs kicked off earlier this year with Hulu releasing their surprise flick just days before Netflix's planned exposé. Both films rehash the same basic plot: a young entrepreneur scams thousands of millennials and investors out of millions of dollars, but Hulu's movie takes a closer look the aftermath and damage caused by Billy McFarland and Ja Rule, in addition to interviews and close looks at the events of the Fyre Festival disaster with a critical eye.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

Paramount 24. Annihilation 2018

Run Time: 115 min | IMDb: 6.9/10

Natalie Portman leads this cast of badass women investigating a natural phenomenon that is slowly invading Earth. Portman plays Lena, a biologist who leads a team of women consisting of a psychologist Jennifer Jason Leigh, a scientist Tessa Thompson, and a paramedic Gina Rodriguez into “The Shimmer,” a quarantined zone mutated by alien DNA that seems to be transforming matter at will and spreading further each day. Past teams, including one led by Lena's husband Oscar Isaac, have disappeared in The Shimmer and Lena goes searching for a clue as to what happened to them and how she can save her husband — who returned changed from his mission. The entire journey is filled with bizarre happenings tied to meta-commentary about evolution and the human condition but honestly, the coolest thing about this movie is its cast and the kick-ass characters they play

Add To Hulu Watchlist Tribeca 25. Hunt For The Wilderpeople 2016

Run Time: 101 min | IMDb: 7.9/10

A charming, unconventional story about what it means to be a family, Hunt for the Wilderpeople follows a juvenile delinquent named Ricky Julian Dennison, who is adopted by a couple living on a farm in a remote region of New Zealand. After Ricky fakes his suicide and escapes into the bush, his reluctantly adopted father Hec Sam Neill goes looking for him, and after a series of mishaps, the two are forced to survive in the woods together for months. It was released during SXSW in 2016 you can read our review here, and after rave reviews from critics the world over, it's gone on to become the highest-grossing film in New Zealand history.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

Magnolia Pictures 26. Love, Gilda 2018

Run Time: 88 min | IMDb: 7.4/10

Before the Tina Feys, Amy Poehlers, and Maya Rudolphs of the world made Saturday Night Live a female-led powerhouse, comedian Gilda Radner starred on the sketch comedy series. She's an icon, an absolute legend in the world of stand-up, and she played her bigger-than-life characters on the show with a kind of quirky abandon that made you laugh at them and care for them all at once. This doc looks back at her career, her struggles in an industry that wasn't always accepting of her gender, and her brushes with more serious issues, like illness and eating disorders. Despite those serious topics, it's a breezy, feel-good watch for comedy lovers of every generation.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

Oscilloscope 27. Coherence 2014

Run Time: 89 min | IMDb: 7.2/10

Coherence is one of those low-budget sci-fi stories that is extremely tough to explain without either giving too much away or requiring an extended entry. Essentially, a group of friends sifts through their own issues and insecurities during a mind-bending paradoxical experience. Taking place almost entirely in the same room on a single night, the characters struggle to find answers just as much as the viewer. It's a challenging yet enthralling film, perfect for those who love to overthink things.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

Magnolia 28. The Square 2017

Run Time: 142 min | IMDb: 7.3/10

This Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film follows Christian, an art curator whose life starts to unravel after he's robbed and a new controversial piece opens at his exhibit. Co-starring Elisabeth Moss, Dominic West, and an aggressive man-ape artist, the movie shifts seamlessly from an awkward and bitingly funny satire to a dramatic examination of life. Despite a running time of 150 minutes, it never seems to lag, jumping from extremely tense moments to eccentric characters while being undercut with haunting music. Like a work of modern art, it's very much left open to interpretation.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

Neon 29. Colossal 2017

Run Time: 109 min | IMDb: 6.2/10

A decidedly unusual twist on the giant monster movie, Nacho Vigolando's Colossal follows Gloria Anne Hathaway, an unemployed writer who moves back to her hometown after her boyfriend Tim Dan Stevens breaks up with her. After moving into her childhood home, Gloria's heavy drinking starts to take a toll on her before she starts to realize that she may have a significant connection with a towering monster that spontaneously appears over Seoul, South Korea.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

Paramount 30. Cloverfield 2008

Run Time: 85 min | IMDb: 7.0/10

Disappointing sequel aside, the original installment in J.J. Abrams' Cloverfield trilogy remains one of the greatest works of found-footage in the history of film. Most of that is because the narrative style lends itself to the tension, chaos, and horror of fleeing a monster destroying New York City. The film follows a group of friends caught in the bedlam after a Godzilla-like creature begins attacking the Big Apple. While trying to save each other and make it out of the city before bombs drop, the friends document their journey. The directing by Matt Reeves is superb, almost too good, because you often feel like a part of the action, for better and worse.

Last Updated: October 15th

Until the last few years, Hulu was only known as the best place to find current shows from elsewhere on television. But now, with more and more acclaimed series under its belt, Hulu has proved it can compete with the other streaming services' original programming. If you're trying to figure out exactly which original show to watch next on Hulu, here's a great place to start with a look at the 20 best Hulu original series right now.

Related: The Best Netflix Original Series Right Now, Ranked

1. The Handmaid's Tale Hulu

3 seasons, 36 episodes | IMDb: 8.5/10

Based on the Margaret Atwood novel of the same name, Handmaid's Tale is set in a dystopian future run by a fundamentalist government renamed Gilead. The fertility rate has bottomed out, women have been deprived of their rights, and the men have turned them into reproductive vessels. This future, however, is so recently removed from the present that the misery of the women — forced to be submissive through electroshock and other forms of torture — is compounded by haunting memories of their most recent past. Top-lined by the exceptional performance of Elizabeth Moss, the series also boasts strong supporting turns from Yvonne Strahovski, Samira Wiley, Joseph Fiennes, and Alexis Bledel, whose character attempts to rebel against the autocratic government and suffers excruciating consequences. It's a harrowing series, often so bleak that it's difficult to watch, but in our current political climate, the themes of The Handmaid's Tale resonate loudly, and the second season is even darker and more powerful.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

2. Castle Rock Hulu

1 season, 10 episodes | IMDb: 7.7/10

Stephen King experienced a bit of a renaissance this year, at least on TV, but out of all of the adaptations from different streaming platforms, Hulu's Castle Rock felt like the most realized, and most terrifying, of the lot. The show, which stars Sissy Spacek, Andre Holland, and Bill Skarsgard, follows the story of Henry Holland a death row attorney summoned home after a young man is found imprisoned beneath Shawshank prison. Henry's got a murky past too, one that involves the unsolved murder of his father —- an event he has no memory of — and the strange happenings around town intensify as The Kid Skarsgard is set free and must figure out how he's connected to Henry, his family, and the history of the town. It's equal parts brilliant and terrifying, all you could ask for in a King adaptation.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

3. Casual Hulu

4 seasons, 44 episodes | IMDb: 7.5/10

Michaela Watkins stars as Valerie, a forty-something Mom whose husband just left her for a grad student in one of his classes it's a cliche for a reason. She and her daughter move in with her layabout brother, Alex Tommy Dewey, an independently wealthy co-creator of a dating website. Alex is caddish but intensely likable, especially once viewers realize that his womanizing is a pretense, that he's simply too afraid to reveal his true self for fear of rejection. Like Transparent, with which Casual shares some DNA, there's an organic, improvised feel to the series, which alternates between funny and heartbreaking as it seeks to find the humor in the devastation of loss and the awkward challenges of finding someone new. It's a tremendously good show that only gets better in its later seasons.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

4. The Act Hulu

1 season, 8 episodes | IMDb: 8/10

Patricia Arquette and Joey King star in this painfully measured series that follows the true story of Gypsy Rose Blanchard. Gypsy Rose was a young woman living with her mother, Dee Dee, in a small town in Missouri when police found her mother murdered in their home, and Gypsy nowhere to be found. The mystery surrounding the case soon spiraled into a story about the complicated bonds between mother and daughter, chronicling one woman's descent into madness. Dee Dee suffered from Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a condition that caused her to fake many of Gypsy's “illnesses” — from cancer to brain damage. When Gypsy finally realized the truth, she concocted a plan so outrageous and heinous, it had to be given the TV treatment.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

5. PEN15 Hulu

1 season, 10 episodes | IMDb: 7.9/10

Maya Erskine and Anna Konkle write, direct, and star in this cringe-worthy coming-of-age comedy about two preteens entering the 7th grade. The twist here is that both Erskine and Konkle, actresses in their 30s, play their middle-school-aged characters alongside actual 13-year-olds, elevating their comedy about awkward firsts and embarrassing pubescent mishaps to new s. The show is full of humor while also covering some relatable, real-life issues that normally don't make it to the small screen.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

6. Ramy Hulu

1 season, 10 episodes | IMDb: 8.1/10

Comedian Ramy Youssef stars in this semi-autobiographical dramedy, playing a version of himself, a character named Ramy Hassan. Ramy navigates life growing up in New Jersey while straddling the line between the millennial generation he's a part of and the Muslim community he belongs to. He wrestles with the constraints of his religion and his upbringing, while searching for meaning in more modern pursuits — drinking, partying, and hooking up. It's heartwarming, eye-opening, and never takes itself too seriously.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

7. Letterkenny Hulu

6 seasons, 41 episodes | IMDb: 8.6/10

You've probably found yourself asking, “What the hell is Letterkenny?” That question has probably come after yet another friend/co-worker/stranger on the street has stopped you to demand you watch the Hulu original. Well, here's the answer: Letterkenny is a snappy comedy about a group of small-town folk just trying to get by. It mainly centers on two bros, Wayne and Darryl, and the schemes they come up with to make a buck, have a good time, and stir up their boring old town.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

8. Catch 22 HULU

1 season, 6 episodes | IMDb: 7.8/10

George Clooney, Kyle Chandler, and Christopher Abbott star in this re-telling of Joseph Heller's classic novel. Abbot plays young recruit, Yossarian, a U.S. Air Force bombardier in World War II. Yossarian hopes to dodge having to serve in combat after the military ups the number of missions required before one's service can be considered complete. He's forced to face off against a truly sadistic colonel while fighting for his life on the front line. It's ridiculous that Abbott isn't a bigger name than he is, but he leads this farcical troupe with A-list swagger, and Chandler is surprisingly wonderful playing against his normal, lovable-dad typecasting.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

9. Veronica Mars Hulu

1 season, 8 episodes | IMDb: 8.3/10

The cult teen drama returns after a years-long hiatus and a successful Kickstarter-funded film to re-open the case. This time, Veronica Kristen Bell is investigating a catastrophic bombing of a popular spring break destination for college kids: Neptune, her hometown. She's also struggling to balance her career and her tumultuous relationship with Logan Jason Dohring while pushing her ailing father to come clean about his health issues. This season, which is intended to be a continuance — so you should definitely check out Rob Thomas' original work, also available on Hulu — marks a return to the show's noir crime roots, and it's so much better for it.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

10. The Looming Tower Hulu

1 season, 10 episodes | IMDb: 8/10

This historical drama starring Jeff Daniels and Peter Sarsgaard charts the build-up to 9/11 as seen through the eyes of agents in both the FBI and CIA. Daniels plays John O'Neill, the chief of the New York FBI's Counterterrorism Center in the 1990s, who is convinced that a terrorist attack on the U.S. is imminent. He butts heads with Martin Schmidt Sarsgaard, the CIA head of counterterrorism, who believes his agency is better equipped to deal with the threat of Al Qaeda and keeps valuable intel from the FBI. The action in this comes from watching Daniels and Sarsgaard, two incredibly talented actors, go head-to-head, chewing up every scene they're in and obviously having fun doing it.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

11. Shrill Hulu

1 season, 6 episodes | IMDb: 7.4/10

SNL breakout Aidy Bryant headlines this comedy series based on the best-selling book by Lindy West. Bryant plays Annie, a young writer living on the West Coast who struggles with body image issues, a floundering career as a journalist, and a family health crisis. Over the course of six episodes, she manages a toxic relationship with her sometimes-hookup, confronts an abusive boss, and takes on internet trolls, all while learning how to love her size. Bryant shines here and though there's not as much in-your-face comedy from her as SNL fans might be used to, her quiet, reserved style better serves the story, which is a refreshing one.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

12. Runaways Hulu

2 seasons, 23 episodes | IMDb: 7.1/10

Adapted by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage from Adrian Alphona and Brian K. Vaughan's Marvel comic, Runaways is a slick, briskly paced teen soap featuring high school students discovering and coming to terms with their burgeoning superpowers. Runaways finds that happy space between the heaviness of Marvel's Netflix dramas and the more lightweight nature of their network series Agents of SHIELD, Agent Carter. It's a potent combination of compelling mystery and coming of age tale. The teen characters here are fantastic as they grapple with their own powers while investigating the dark history of their parents. Runaways takes a lot of cues from Schwartz and Savage's The O.C. and Gossip Girl, respectively, although the series is not half as interesting when it's exploring the conspiracy surrounding the parent characters, who are essentially the series' supervillains. That storytelling deficit, however, is more than made up for by the existence of a dinosaur!

Add To Hulu Watchlist

13. Future Man Hulu

2 seasons, 26 episodes | IMDb: 7.8/10

From creators Kyle Hunter and Ariel Shaffir and executive producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg the team behind Sausage Party, Future Man is basically a mash-up of The Last Starfighter, Back to the Future, and The Terminator. Josh Hutcherson stars as Josh Futterman, a loser-ish janitor at a science lab who becomes the first person ever to finish a nearly impossible-to-beat video game. The game, it turns out, is a training application sent back from the future to find humanity's savior. Characters from the video game recruit Josh to travel back into the past to kill the head of the science lab Keith David where Josh works in the present to prevent his boss from developing a cure for herpes that somehow ends up wiping out humanity in the future. There's a lot to unpack in its premise, but once Future Man gets to its feet and finds its heart, the character evolves into more than mouthpieces for quick-fire pop-culture riffs. Eliza Coupe Happy Endings is fantastic as a fast-talking badass with an arsenic-laced “rathole” and a fondness for hand-to-hand combat. It's Preacher's Derek Wilson, however, who proves to be the scene stealer. He's basically Firefly's Jayne Cobb plus an obsession with '80s pop culture, cooking, and two-hit wonder Corey Hart, who also makes a cameo appearance. It's a fast-paced, filthy, and hilarious homage to time-travel movies that boasts a hysterical hatred for James Cameron, who is the target of a lot of the series' best jokes. What Future Man lacks in substance, it more than makes up for in laughs and season two of the series doubles down on that philosophy, thrusting characters in even more bizarre situations and tighter spandex costumes.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

14. The Wrong Mans Hulu

2 seasons, 10 episodes | IMDb: 7.8/10

Co-produced by Hulu and the BBC, The Wrong Mans stars the current host of The Late Show, James Corden, as well as his fellow Gavin & Stacey co-star Mathew Baynton. It's an exuberantly zippy series that combines office-comedy with action movie tropes as it sees two co-workers involve themselves in a complicated criminal conspiracy in an effort to enliven their humdrum lives and, more importantly, make heroes out of themselves. It's a quick binge the two seasons are only 8 half-hour episodes in all and immensely entertaining. It's light, unpredictable, surprisingly suspenseful and funny — often times hysterically so — as it mashes up and pokes fun of a number of different tropes, doing for the office comedy what Edgar Wright's Hot Fuzz did for the buddy-cop film.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

15. Harlots Hulu

3 seasons, 22 episodes | IMDb: 7.7/10

Written and directed by women Moira Buffini and Coky Giedroyc, respectively, Harlots is set in 1763 England where one in every five women is a prostitute. The story concerns two competing brothels operated by Lydia Quigley Lesley Manville and Margaret Wells Samantha Morton, the latter of whom reluctantly pimps out her two daughters, one of whom is a popular courtesan Downton Abbey's Jessica Brown Findlay and another whose maidenhead is being auctioned off at a hefty price. There's plenty of sex in Harlots, as one might expect from a series about competing brothels, but it's not a sexy show. It's more of a serious family drama about hardscrabble women using the only card they have in their 18th-century deck in an effort to maintain some sense of control over their lives. There's power in sex, but as Harlots reveals, it only gets them so far. The series is a thoughtful costume drama that can be bleak at times the corpse of a prostitute is used as a gruesome prop in the ongoing war between the brothels, but there are moments of crackling wit and a few stand-out performances, particularly that of Samantha Morton. Unfortunately, as the series' first season progresses, it loses some of its momentum as it gets bogged down in its more soapy elements.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

16. 11.22.63 Hulu / Ben_Mark_Holzberg

1 seasons, 8 episodes | IMDb: 8.2/10

Produced by J.J. Abrams and created by Bridget Carpenter a writer on Parenthood, Friday Night Lights, 11.22.63 is adapted from a Stephen King novel and stars James Franco as newly divorced high school teacher, Jake Epping, who finds a portal that takes him back to October 1960. There, Jake decides to prevent the assassination of John F. Kennedy, though doing so will upend the life he has made for himself. It's an exhilarating premise, and it's nearly impossible not to get hooked by the pilot. Unfortunately, once Epping finds himself in the 1960s, the series drops many of the time-travel elements and settles into a more conventional — and often tiresome — conspiracy thriller. Franco is solid in the lead role, but the series is derailed by its devotion to the source material. It's not one of King's best books, and while it does provide viewers with a satisfying, heartfelt pay-off, the slow pace makes the journey more of a chore than the destination ultimately warrants.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

17. Chance Hulu

2 seasons, 20 episodes | IMDb: 7.7/10

Based on the Kem Nunn novel of the same name, Chance stars Hugh Laurie as a forensic neuropsychiatrist, Dr. Eldon Chance. Chance — who is going through a divorce — becomes romantically involved with a patient named Lucy Greta Lee. Pulled into her troubled life, Chance finds himself embroiled in a dispute between the femme fatale and her abusive husband, a violently jealous police officer who has his sights set on Chance. It's a moody, psychological noir with heavy doses of intrigue and mystery, but the pacing here suggest that it would have been better told in half the number of episodes. The series too often drifts and seems more preoccupied with mood setting than telling a story. Hugh Laurie's compelling performance keeps it afloat, while Ethan Suplee — who plays a street-smart assistant in an antique shop — steals every scene he's in, delivering occasional bursts of violence to stir viewers awake.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

18. The Path Hulu

3 seasons, 36 episodes | IMDb: 7.3/10

Set in upstate New York, The Path concerns members of a fictional spiritual moment or cult called Meyerism. The series primarily revolves around Eddie Lane Aaron Paul, who has a revelation while on a retreat that leads him to question his faith. Eddie, however, won't confess his doubts to his devout wife, Sarah Michelle Monaghan, who believes her husband is hiding an affair from her. Things are further complicated by Cal Hugh Dancy, the charismatic and corrupt leader of the Meyerist Movement, whose ambitions are often at odds with the more altruistic motives of the movement. While featuring strong performances from its leads, The Path is an achingly slow burn that doesn't catch fire until near the end of the first season only to fizzle out again when the second season kicks off. There's a fascinating story being told on The Path, but it's not currently one that warrants 10 episodes a season, and the series often labors to spread its thin story across a canvass that is too large. The magical realist elements of the series only exacerbate its problems. It's not a bad show thanks to the strong efforts of its leads, but it is one that struggles to figure out what it wants to say. Unfortunately, it got the ax after three seasons.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

19. Four Weddings And A Funeral Via https://youtu.be/604JeF9RNu8 Hulu

1 season, 10 episodes | IMDb: 6.9/10

Mindy Kaling givies the classic rom-com a modernized reboot with this miniseries, which follows four American friends who reunite for a London wedding. Sounds fun, until a bombshell dropped during the nuptials throws everyone's lives into chaos, setting them up for a year's worth of heartbreak as they attend a few more weddings, and one funeral. The plot feels familiar, but the talented, diverse cast makes it feel fresh, with Game of Thrones star Nathalie Emmanuel getting to show off her charming comedic chops.

Add To Hulu Watchlist

20. Difficult People Hulu

3 seasons, 28 episodes | IMDb: 7/10

Difficult People is not for everyone. Julie Klausner and Billy Eichner, who co-wrote and star in the series, play best friends and aspiring comedians. The series, however, is not about their careers; in fact, it's not about much of anything, like a more misanthropic Seinfeld. Difficult People is primarily about Billy and Julie being assholes and making fun of other people, often to their faces. They're incredibly unlikable: selfish, cranky, narcissistic, catty and cruel. It's as hilarious as it is mean-spirited, but the humor is esoteric and requires an audience as steeped in pop culture as the characters. It rewards those who keep up with the gossip blogs. It's also relentlessly funny, but like Curb Your Enthusiasm, the humor is often uncomfortable. Billy and Julie, in fact, are more hostile to both the other characters on the show and its audience than Larry David is. It's a fun watch but it's toxic enough that it should be consumed in short doses.

Last Updated: October 15th

There are a number of great television series on HBO, both past and present. If you're trying to figure out what to watch next on HBO Now or HBO Go, here's a great place to start with a look at 35 of the best shows to on HBO of all time, ranked.

HBO 1. The Wire

5 seasons, 60 episodes | IMDb: 9.3/10

The Wire, created by David Simon, examines the Baltimore drug scene from the perspective of both the police and the drug dealers, providing flawed but deeply human, sympathetic faces to both sides of the drug war. It confronts the inner-city drug problem from every perspective, from the politicians elected to stamp out drugs to the distribution channels that bring in the drugs to a flawed education system that produces drug dealers to the gang warfare that ensues and the journalists assigned to cover the drug trade from all angles. It's an incredibly detailed series that defies expectations at every turn as it provides viewers with riveting, addictive, glimpse into a world that most of us have never understood beyond newspaper headlines. Spanning five seasons, The Wire is like a series of intricate, interconnected crime novels, a one-of-a-kind series that is not only entertaining, thoughtful, and insightful, but also necessary viewing.

HBO 2. The Sopranos

6 seasons, 86 episodes | IMDb: 9.2/10

The godfather of prestige dramas, The Sopranos is about New Jersey mobster Tony Soprano. He's running a crime syndicate; putting hits out on his enemies, and he's got rivals — and the FBI — closing in on him. But he's also got a suburban family he has to protect, kids he has to raise, and a marriage he has to nurture. With all that pressure, Tony begins to seek therapy to help with the panic attacks, to cope with the anxiety that balancing his family life and a career in crime produces. Creator David Chase takes a villain who knows he's a villain and finds ways to make us relate to and sympathize with him. The series, which kicked off the Golden Age of Television, may be the best-written and most well-acted series of all time, and it's certainly one of the most awarded, earning 21 Emmy Awards with 111 nominations three of those wins and eight of those nominations went to James Gandolfini. Notable for being one of television's most groundbreaking series, The Sopranos is a stunning, surprisingly affecting, often funny family drama punctured with moments of devastating violence, and it also boasts one of television's most polarizing, heavily debated series finales ever.

HBO 3. Game of Thrones

8 seasons, 73 episodes | IMDb: 9.4/10

The series, based on George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire book series, is an intricately woven fantasy drama that's more about political gamesmanship dragons and war. Although it's about that, too. The series sees dozens of characters representing the seven kingdoms of Westeros vying for the Iron Throne, but there's also a supernatural outside force — an army of the dead — threatening to topple them all. Game of Thrones works for both those who love fantasy and those who don't because the universe is so impeccably built, the characters so vividly drawn, the relationship drama is so complex, and the plot twists so shocking. The sex and violence can be gratuitous at times, the storylines can occasionally drag, and the motivations of the characters can veer into the perverse, but that's all part of Game of Thrones package. It's more than just a show; it's a provocative, immersive, unpredictable weekly television event.

HBO 4. The Larry Sanders Show

6 seasons, 90 episodes | IMDb: 8.3/10

The kings of comedy over the last decade — Tina Fey, Jon Stewart, Judd Apatow, Ricky Gervais — and many of the best comedies of the last 20 years Arrested Development, 30 Rock, The Office Curb Your Enthusiasm — owe a huge debt to The Larry Sanders Show, which established the kind of single-camera, character-based comedies that are the norm today. The Larry Sanders Show is dark comedy perfection, a sitcom about a neurotic late-night talk show host in the heat of the late-night wars between Letterman and Leno, who are frequently mentioned. Long talked about as a possible late night star, Gary Shandling plays the host and Jeffrey Tambor co-stars as his sidekick, the boob, the sad sack, the butt of the joke in what's still the role of Tambor's career no small feat considering his part in Arrested Development, Transparent, and even Three's Company. Those who want to know the root of cringe comedy need look no further than Tambor's Hank Kingsley. Celebrities play both the public and private versions of themselves, putting on their celebrity personas during the talk-show segments of Larry Sanders, but playing parodies of themselves backstage or during commercial breaks. David Duchovny, who develops an uncomfortably strong man crush on Larry Sanders, is a particular stand-out. The Larry Sanders Show is not just groundbreaking, however; it's in the running for best comedy of all time, a show — like Arrested Development — that actually gets better the more times it is watched.

HBO 5. The Leftovers

3 seasons, 28 episodes | IMDb: 8.3/10

Damon Lindelof's series — based on the Tom Perrotta novel of the same name — is a dark drama, a mystery, a meditation on grief, and often a religious experience in and of itself. Set in a universe where two percent of the entire world's population mysteriously vanishes, The Leftovers plays with questions of faith, death, the supernatural, rebirth and the afterlife, all the while featuring some of the decade's best performances from Carrie Coon, Regina King, Christopher Eccleston, and Justin Theroux. The first season is bleaker than it needs to be and can occasionally be a slog, but the second and third seasons are as close to perfect as television gets — excellently written, emotionally powerful, masterfully crafted spiritual journeys with layers of mystery, literary and pop-culture allusions, humor, and heart. It is confounding, and heartbreaking, and magical. With the pitch-perfect, beautifully executed finale, Damon Lindelof also atones for whatever sins he committed in the Lost finale.

HBO 6. Six Feet Under

5 seasons, 63 episodes | IMDb: 8.7/10

Six Feet Under, Alan Ball screenwriter, American Beauty set out to make a family drama that focused equally on the Fisher family and their grief after the family patriarch succumbs to the business end of a city bus, and stories about the bodies they bury each week as funeral parlor owners and the loved ones to whom they sell coffins. Each episode begins with a death starting with Nathaniel Fisher, Sr. in the pilot, and the rest of the episode explores its repercussions, how it affects the survivors, and how, thematically, the expiration of that life plays into the lives of the Fisher family. It also explores death as an industry, the cold business of dying — the financial exploitation, the detached corporate franchising, and the cookie-cutter, assembly-line processing of corpses. Ultimately, Six Feet Under is the best examination of death ever put on the small screen, but it's also a hopeful series for the way it uses the loss of life to prove a point about living. It also features one of television's all-time greatest series finale, a ten-minute montage that will leave viewers sobbing.

HBO 7. Veep

7 seasons, 66 episodes | IMDb: 8.2/10

Creator Armando Iannucci's political satire boasts the best ensemble comedy on television it has a whopping 67 Emmy nominations and 14 wins, arguably the best comedy writers, and easily the most withering insults on the small screen. The series follows Selina Meyer Julia Louis-Dreyfus as she navigates the office of Vice President, the most pointless, powerless position in the executive branch. This is not West Wing — there are no political heroics in Veep — nor is it even Parks and Recreation. There's not an ounce of heart in the series. These are cynical soulless characters engaging in cynical soulless activities with no other end in mind aside from political victories, of which there are few, all of which Meyer and her staff stumble into backwards. It contains more jokes per minute than any other show on television, and the putdowns are a form of bloodsport. It's as vicious as it is funny, but it wouldn't work as well as it does unless it didn't have a ring of truth to it.

HBO 8. Curb Your Enthusiasm

9 seasons, 90 episodes | IMDb: 8.7/10

Curb Your Enthusiasm is basically what would happen if the George Costanza character was teased out of Seinfeld, relocated to Los Angeles, and the cringe humor dialed up to 11. The fantastically funny show from Larry David who inspired Costanza is improvised, and like Seinfeld, it's often about nothing. But David takes it to darker, more awkward places, and he's never afraid to depict himself as an entitled, self-indulgent, morally bankrupt, and decidedly unlovable man. It's a must-watch series for anyone that can stomach David's twisted comedy of discomfort, and for fans of Seinfeld, 2009's seventh season also offers a reunion of Seinfeld within the series.

HBO 9. Big Little Lies

2 seasons, 14 episodes | IMDb: 8.6/10

On paper, HBO's Big Little Lies, an adaptation of Liane Moriarty about a group of housewives hiding a dark secret, seems like your standard melodramatic fare. There's cheating spouses, family squabbles, catfights, and murder with a classic whodunnit twist, but the show benefits from some truly brilliant performances and the kind of subtle, stylish direction only Jean-Marc Vallee — who's responsible for another series on this list — can deliver. Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, and Shailene Woodley star in this sordid tale about secrets and betrayal in a quiet, affluent seaside town, but it's Nicole Kidman who swallows up the screen, playing an abused wife and mother grappling with the consequences of her husband's nefarious deeds.

HBO 10. The Young Pope

1 season, 10 episodes | IMDb: 8.4/10

The Young Pope is the kind of batsh*t crazy show that only HBO could pull off. The series is a masterclass in excess — each frame is filled with decadent costumes, outrageous characters, bizarre action, and memeable dialogue. It's a gif-giving treasure trove of melodrama, and its star is Jude Law, who plays the titular guy. This is a pope who smokes, schemes, and sashays his way through the Vatican, decked out in immaculate robes and dripping in dramatic flair. Conflict arises as he tries to enact a decidedly conservative regime, resulting in scandal, violence, and chaos amongst his cardinals. If you need any more incentive to watch, you may consult our own Brian Grubb's flawless Popedown coverage — a breakdown of all of the insane action that happens on this show.

HBO 11. Rome

2 seasons, 22 episodes | IMDb: 8.7/10

Before Game of Thrones and Westworld, there was Rome. This sprawling historical drama made all kinds of noise and won its fair share of awards when it first premiered and rightfully so. With a large and talented cast, the series took on some of history's most notable characters — think Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, Brutus, and the like — while also managing to craft a narrative around the struggles of two low-level Roman soldiers. The real draw of this series though, aside from some superb acting and an intriguing narrative, is its sheer scope. If you thought GoT battle scenes were ambitiously planned, wait until you watch this show.

HBO 12. Deadwood

3 seasons, 36 episodes | IMDb: 8.6/10

In television's greatest all-time Western series, David Milch creates a brilliantly distinctive universe peopled with characters who speak their own language, a pungent mix of Shakespeare, profanity, and gunslinger lingo all rolled into one. Set in 1870s South Dakota, Deadwood charts the growth of Deadwood from a small camp into a town, basing many of the characters on real-life historical figures like Al Swearengen, Wild Bill Hickok, Calamity Jane, Wyatt Earp, and George Hearst. It also stars an incredible collection of talent — Timothy Olyphant, Anna Gunn, Ian McShane, Molly Parker, John Hawkins, Kim Dickens, and John Hawkes, among many others — who bring the town alive with all its danger, corruption, and family struggles. Fans of profanity should also take note: There are 1.58 f-bombs per minute in the series, which unfortunately was cancelled after three seasons, leaving several storylines unresolved. However, a Deadwood movie currently in development could eventually tie up those loose ends.

HBO 13. Sharp Objects

1 season, 8 episodes | IMDb: 8.2/10

The second Jean-Marc Vallee entry on this list marks yet another series about complicated, flawed women. Amy Adams plays Camille Preaker, a reporter running from her past who's forced to return to her Southern roots for a story. Her homecoming is fraught with family tension, courtesy of an abusive mother played by a devilishly sinister Patricia Clarkson and a rebellious younger sister newcomer Eliza Scanlen. Camille is an alcoholic with suicidal tendencies, suffering from PTSD after another sibling's death and her mother's involvement in it, and Adams plays her to perfection, giving us a look at a woman intent on self-destruction, one who's searching for a shred of humanity in her sleepy, Southern town.

HBO 14. Silicon Valley

5 seasons, 46 episodes | IMDb: 8.5/10

Created by Mike Judge Idiocracy, Beavis and Butthead, Silicon Valley is essentially Office Space for the tech worker of the 2010s. Instead of a traditional office, it's set in a modern workplace — the inside of a house — and instead of bosses, there are investors. Judge and co-creators John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky, however, approach the tech industry with the same biting, satirical edge that Judge took to Office Space. Nominated for 22 Emmys winning two, the HBO series follows the ups and mostly downs of a group of six friends trying to get a start-up off the ground. It works as both a scathing takedown of the tech industry as well as a traditional comedy. Through four seasons, it's also remained one of the most consistently funny comedies on television to both the code monkeys who understand the intricacies of Silicon Valley and laypeople who appreciate smart writing and indelible characters who are fun to hang out with — think better, smarter Entourage with ambitious tech geeks and incredibly sophisticated dick jokes.

HBO 15. Westworld

2 seasons, 22 episodes | IMDb: 8.8/10

With an intriguing storyline, an A-list cast, and roots in the beloved sci-fi genre, it was clear early on that HBO was banking on Westworld to fill the hole that would be left when Game of Thrones eventually ended. It looks like the powers that be made the right bet. Not only does this show offer a plot full of twists, turns, strange mythologies, and moral dilemmas, it's got a talented cast of colorful characters and it's premise — a robot uprising at an amusement park where adults can indulge in their basest desires free of consequence — is the kind of stuff great TV series are made of.

HBO 16. Boardwalk Empire

5 seasons, 56 episodes | IMDb: 8.6/10

Nominated for 57 Emmys winning 20, Boardwalk Empire takes a simmering novelistic approach to its storytelling. Brilliantly acted and meticulously plotted, Boardwalk Empire can be a slow burn while the audience waits for the pieces to come together, but they always do with near-perfect execution. With a sprawling cast spread out geographically and numerous plotlines flowing away from the series' main character, Nucky Thompson Steve Buscemi, the Terence Winter-created series is historical fiction at its best. Loosely based on the life of Nucky Johnson, Boardwalk Empire examines the bootlegging industry in Atlantic City during Prohibition, and it brings in a host of familiar names including Al Capone, Lucky Luciano, and Arnold Rothstein. However, it's often the series-created characters played by Michael Pitt, Jack Huston, Charlie Cox, Michael Shannon, Michael K. Williams, and Kelly Macdonald that prove most riveting. It's a fascinating series from a historical standpoint it tracks the rise of the modern mafia, absorbing as a work of storytelling, and a remarkable acting showcase. There are no weak seasons here; it's an incredible series from start to finish and, if anything, it's only gotten better as it's aged.

HBO 17. Band of Brothers / The Pacific

2 miniseries, 20 episodes | IMDb: 9.5/10 and 8.3/10

The adaptation of Stephen E. Ambrose's 1992 non-fiction book of the same name, brought to HBO by Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, follows the “Easy” Company from training through its participation in several major battles in World War II up until the Japanese surrendered and the war ended. Meticulously researched with consultants who were actually in Easy Company, Band of Brothers is the best fictional account of World War II ever recorded. It's an extraordinary series that captures the violence of war, as well as the heroism — and flaws — of its characters. Nothing else comes close, really, to capturing the true sense of sacrifice of these men, nor documenting the slog and banality of war — long stretches of boredom punctuated by extreme violence. It's a harrowing series, and it's hard not to come away with a better appreciation of the men who served in that war. The Pacific, meanwhile, is a similar mini-series, offering an account of the United States Marine Corps' actions in the Pacific Theater of Operations. It's worth noting, too, that Band of Brothers and Pacific feature more than a dozen actors who would become famous after their roles in the miniseries.

HBO 18. My Brilliant Friend

1 season, 8 episodes | IMDb: 8.6/10

HBO is taking a big step in its global programming plan with the premiere of its first non-English series. Adapted from Elena Ferrante's best-selling book series, My Brilliant Friend follows the story of two young women, growing up in 1950s, post-war Italy. The series begins with the girls as children, one outspoken and rebellious, the other mourning her childhood before it's even over. Over the course of this first season, the series explores the bonds of female friendship amidst a male chauvinistic backdrop. It's beautifully wrought, benefiting from an eager and inexperienced cast and a script filled with nuance, heartbreak, and hope.

HBO 19. Barry

2 seasons, 16 episodes | IMDb: 8.3/10

Bill Hader brings more of his signature brand of humor to this dark comedy series about a Midwestern hitman who travels to Los Angeles for work and ends up immersing himself in the local arts scene. Watching Hader do anything is guaranteed fun but he somehow manages to make this down on his luck gun for hire a sympathetic anti-hero of sorts. Of course, the real gem of this show is Henry Winkler, who plays a tough-as-nails acting coach determined to make a thespian out of Hader's hitman.

HBO 20. Sex and the City

6 seasons, 94 episodes | IMDb: 7.1/10

Based on Candace Bushnell's 1997 book of the same name, Sex and the City put HBO original comedy on the map in the same way that The Sopranos did for HBO dramas. Following the lives of four New York City women, the series reveled in decadent fashion, relationship drama, and of course, sex. It was a fashion magazine come to life. Lasting six seasons and 94 episodes, the series peaked in season 4, but would still go on to spawn a bad Sex and the City movie and an even worse sequel. In the years since Sex and the City debuted, it's had a number of imitators — some better, some worse — which may have the effect of making the original seem dated. The '90s pop-cultural references don't help. Still, the groundbreaking series is essential viewing because of the way it changed the conversation about women and sex, even if some of those themes are ultimately neutralized by the materialism and the self-absorption of its lead character, played Sarah Jessica Parker.

HBO 21. Big Love

5 seasons, 53 episodes | IMDb: 7.5/10

Running for 5 seasons, Big Love tells the story of a Utah businessman and later Congressman Bill Henrickson Bill Paxton, a practicing polygamist with three wives Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloe Sevigny, Ginnifer Goodwin and a set of children with each. Inspired by the real-life Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, it sees Bill navigate the complications involved in providing for three families, keeping those three wives happy in their own marriages as well as their relationships with each other. The premise is risky, as it asks the viewer to sympathize with a polygamist, but it works thanks to the marvelous performances of its ensemble, the original situations, the complex relationship drama and a bizarrely loving family dynamic. It wavers some in the middle seasons, but Big Love successfully rebounds in its final season.

HBO 22. Succession

2 seasons, 20 episodes | IMDb: 8.1/10

Succession is a show steeped in commentary about corporate greed, the dark side of capitalism, and the elite. It's a show about men and women behaving badly, siblings squabbling over questions of inheritance, aging kings refusing to give up their withering empires. It's a show about four siblings who wrestle for control of their family's media conglomerate when their father's health begins to fail which may not sound too interesting — we don't need another series about rich, white-people-problems — but its the performances that make this series stand out.

HBO 23. Girls

6 seasons, 62 episodes | IMDb: 7.3/10

A daring, smart and polarizing comedy, Lena Dunham's Girls is an observant and well-acted show about privileged, self-absorbed and often unlikable characters dealing with their relationships and their fledgling careers in New York City. It's funny, it's awkward, it's frequently provocative, and it's aggravating as hell. However, it's also undeniably honest, unflinching, and original, and there's an undercurrent of sweetness beneath the often inscrutable actions of the characters, who behave as flailing 20-somethings do while trying to figure out their lives. Viewers may alternate between empathizing with the real struggles of the characters, and loathing their choices, but it's impossible not to feel something for these lovable and impossibly annoying people. In six seasons and 62 episodes, Girls never loses a step — it's as compelling, funny, and obnoxious in the first season as it is in the last.

HBO 24. True Detective

3 seasons, 24 episodes | IMDb: 9/10

The first season of the Nic Pizzolatto-written series is a truly exceptional season of television that combines ambitious writing with the bold, atmospheric direction of Cary Fukanaga and two of the best television performances of the decade in Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson's depiction of Detectives Rust Cohle and Marty Hart. Set in 2012, the first season sees Cohle and Hart questioned about a 1995 murder investigation they were involved in after new evidence surfaces and ultimately reunites the estranged partners. It's a riveting immersive season of noir, an enthralling and masterfully crafted murder mystery layered with literary allusions and unexpected twists. Unfortunately, the second season of the anthology series, which takes up a new case and features all new characters, is every bit as disappointing as the first season is great. Season one is must-see television, the second season should be avoided. The third season is a bit of a mixed bag but is definitely worth watching for the obviously great Mahershala Ali and the surprisingly great Stephen Dorff.

HBO 25. True Blood

7 seasons, 80 episodes | IMDb: 7.9/10

Part gothic romance and part vampire story, True Blood — based on the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris — is set in a Louisiana town where vampires live among humans thanks to the invention of a synthetic blood. It's generally well acted although the accents can be occasionally bothersome; features a great ensemble notably led by Anna Paquin, Bill Moyers, and Alexander Skarsgård; and contains a lot of wry, dishy humor that it blends with social commentary. At its core, however, True Blood is a biting, erotically-charged soap opera, and the more it leans into that, the better the series is. Warning: There is a precipitous drop off in quality in the final two seasons after showrunner and creator Alan Ball leaves.

HBO 26. Treme

4 seasons, 36 episodes | IMDb: 8.2/10

David Simon's follow-up to The Wire, Treme shares much in common with jazz, one of the major subjects of the series: It's dense, meandering, and occasionally discordant, but it's frequently moving when it's not overly self-indulgent. Set in New Orleans three months after Hurricane Katrina, Treme sees its residents attempt to rebuild their lives in the wake of the devastation. Over the course of four seasons and 36 episodes, Treme tracks the successes, the setbacks, and the heartbreaks of musicians, chefs, lawyers, and developers, among others, and while it's often glacially paced and can get bogged down in extended musical interludes, it's as honest a depiction of the aftermath of Katrina as we're likely to see, warts and all. Treme is not for everyone; it's filled with big beautiful moments and great music, but it offers no easy answers or satisfying conclusions. After four seasons, Treme doesn't end so much as it trails off, leaving the characters facing the same uncertainty that the residents of New Orleans faced in the years after Katrina.

HBO 27. Oz

6 seasons, 56 episodes | IMDb: 8.7/10

Groundbreaking because it was the first original drama created by HBO ultimately paving the way for The Sopranos and the golden age of television, Oz can still stand on its own as a brutal, unflinching Shakespearean prison drama. It's set in Emerald City, an experimental unit within a prison with a carefully managed population designed to encourage rehabilitation and conflict resolution. Yet the inmates nevertheless continue to struggle to survive as each faction fights for power. It's a harsh, sadistic series, grim and often unpleasant to watch because it is so often gruesome in its depiction of violence. It does, however, rely too often on stereotypes, and the writing can be both overcooked and pretentious especially Harold Perreneau's monologues. However, Oz is remarkable not just for pushing the boundaries of premium cable at the time, but for helping to launch the careers of so many talented character actors J.K. Simmons, Lance Reddick, Dean Winter, Christopher Meloni, and Bobby Cannavale, among them.

HBO 28. Carnivàle

2 seasons, 24 episodes | IMDb: 8.4/10

Set in the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, Carnivàle pits an 18-year-old carny with magical healing powers against an evangelical preacher who has his own supernatural abilities to bend people to his will. Each episode takes place in a distinctive carnival setting where an ongoing battle between good and evil is raging. The series was originally envisioned as a trilogy of stories, each part told in two seasons. Unfortunately, due to the expense of the series, only the first part of the trilogy was completed, which left a few storylines unresolved. Over a decade later, however, Carnivàle remains rich and singularly original series, a compelling if often frustrating combination of Twin Peaks, John Steinbeck, and Lost.

hbo 29. The Night Of

1 season, 8 episodes | IMDb: 8.5/10

An eight-part miniseries based on the British series The Criminal, The Night Of follows a legal case from the night of a murder through the arrest and trial of the lead suspect Riz Ahmed. From novelist Richard Price Clockers and Steven Zaillian Moneyball, who wrote and directed the series, The Night Of works on a number of levels: It's a compelling murder mystery, it's a tour de force of acting thanks to Ahmed and John Turturro and it's a scathing indictment of the American criminal justice system. The series illustrates, best of all, that a conviction isn't even necessary to ruin a mans' life, especially if he's a person of color. Suspicion is all it takes.

HBO 30. Insecure

3 seasons, 24 episodes | IMDb: 7.8/10

Grown out of Issa Rae's web series Awkward Black Girl, Insecure takes us through the romantic and career travails of an insecure twenty-something black woman in a way that makes it clear that many of the experiences of the characters are rooted in reality. There's nothing particularly original about its premise — it's a relationship comedy — but its approach is uniquely bold, honest, and witty. It's very funny, but it also hits a lot of dramatic notes well and features one of the most remarkably authentic friendships on television.

HBO 31. Flight of the Conchords

2 seasons, 22 episodes | IMDb: 8.5/10

Created by James Bobin, Jemaine Clement, and Bret McKenzie, Flight of the Conchords follows the day-to-day lives of two clueless shepherds-turned-musicians, Jemaine Clemaine and Bret McClegnie playing fictionalized versions of themselves who have moved from New Zealand to New York City in an attempt to make a career out of being folk musicians. In each episode, the characters also break into song, delivering irresistible, infectious pop-song parodies. It's hard to describe exactly what kind of show Flight of the Conchords is, but its humor is dry and sardonic. It's a lightweight comedy — it often feels like sketch comedy — but it's hilarious and infinitely clever.

HBO 32. Eastbound and Down

4 seasons, 29 episodes | IMDb: 8.2/10

Danny McBride plays Kenny Powers, a brash, profane washed-up major league relief pitcher who returns his North Carolina hometown and ends up living with his brother and teaching P.E. at the local middle school. The show, like Kenny Powers, is loud, obnoxious, and grating, and yet still capable of delivering some of the funniest lines on television. It's completely absurd, but it works because of how far Danny McBride is willing to take it. The show only seems to have one joke, but Eastbound and Down manages to find new ways to poke and prod that joke into life. In fact, the series gets better as it progresses through its fourth season, especially after it figures out how to combine emotional heft with the crude, bombastic humor.

HBO 33. Enlightened

2 seasons, 18 episodes | IMDb: 7.5/10

Laura Dern has starred in two fantastic series for HBO but her best work remains as Amy Jellicoe, a middle-aged woman going through a nervous breakthrough on Enlightened. The dramedy follows Amy as she recovers from a mental break that happened after being fired by the shady company she'd been working for — to be fair, her heavy drinking and the affair she was having with her married boss didn't scream longevity. After a two-month rehab stint and a bipolar diagnosis, Amy tries to get her life back on track and ends up uncovering a damning secret about the people she works for. Dern in anything is worthy of a watch but when the actress plays messy, “unlikeable” female characters intent on self-destruction, she's truly at her best.

hbo 34. Ballers

5 seasons, 45 episodes | IMDb: 7.6/10

There's a reason Senator Elizabeth Warren stans this sports dramedy series starring Dwayne Johnson. Not only is the action star at his comedic best playing Spencer Strasmore, a former NFL player who embarks on a new career as a financial manager to pro athletes in the show's premiere, but the whole vibe of this show is Entourage on steroids. In other words, get ready to laugh your a** off at some raunchy, physical humor and witty one-liners while ogling expensive suits, fast cars, million-dollar mansions, and a yacht or two.

HBO 35. Togetherness

2 seasons, 16 episodes | IMDb: 7.5/10

The Duplass brothers comedy-drama series about a family trying to rediscover their joy for life remains some of the brotherly duo's best work. Starring Mark Duplass as a 40-something sound designer going through a mid-life crises and Melanie Lynskey as his wife Michelle, a woman looking to reinvent herself, the show follows the couple as they try to inject a bit of spark back into their marriage with the help of an out-of-work actor friend and Michelle's sister, a bouncy castle entrepreneur.