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7 Best HBO Max Shows of 2025, Ranked
Last year was an incredible one for television, and the greatest HBO Max shows dominated the cultural conversation; several even joined the best TV shows of 2025 overall. HBO and its streaming platform are known for putting out high-quality, “prestige” offerings, and they continued to do so throughout 2025. This meant adding exciting new titles to their lineups — from medical dramas to sports romances — as well as capitalizing on existing releases.
And both HBO and HBO Max look set to continue this momentum in 2026. The streamer is starting the year off strong with the return of its best 2025 series, while the main network follows with the arrival of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. It’s shaping up to be another great year, even with the Netflix and Warner Bros. merger hovering. However, before we dig into the new releases ahead, it’s worth looking back and reflecting on the best HBO Max shows of the last 12 months.
7) Task
Task made its debut in September 2025, and the crime drama quickly became a hit. While it leans into strengths of the category, like high tensions and gripping action, the show delivers an emotional depth that’s harder to find in series like it. The characters are painstakingly human, and none are painted as wholly good or bad. That’s partly down to Task‘s impressive writing, but it helps to have performances from talent like Mark Ruffalo and Tom Pelphrey. With those pieces elevating the series, it’s no wonder GQ dubbed it the “show of the year” or that it snagged a 96% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Task isn’t as widely recognized or lauded as creator Brad Ingelsby’s Mare of Easttown, but its steady intermingling of its main characters — an FBI agent and a garbage collector wrapped up in criminal activity — is worthy of praise. Its slower start and smaller impact prevent it from ranking at the top of HBO’s 2025 releases. However, the show is too well crafted to not make the list.
6) It: Welcome to Derry
2025 was a big year for Stephen King adaptations, and HBO’s contribution was It: Welcome to Derry. While the show doesn’t directly adapt one of King’s novels, it expands the lore surrounding the titular town and It villain Pennywise. Despite the risks that come with such an approach, Welcome to Derry does a solid job of capturing its supernatural terrors and the human horrors that so often define King’s work. It also brings fresh storytelling to the table, and it’s a horror series that’s sincerely disturbing — something that, tragically, can’t be said for every addition to the genre.
The King Easter eggs throughout Welcome to Derry elevate it further, though it holds up well as a standalone viewing experience. While it isn’t universally loved, it’s one of the better horror shows to come out recently (and made quite a splash upon its October debut). It’s promising, even if pacing problems and some of the effects could be improved. However, it doesn’t hold a candle to 2025’s already-established series or more widely adored premieres.
5) The White Lotus Season 3
The White Lotus Season 3 could easily have struggled to move forward without Jennifer Coolidge’s Tanya — and that’s not to mention the challenges it faces reinventing itself with each outing. The fact that Season 3 came out on equal footing with the first chapter (and just slightly beneath the second) is a testament to Mike White’s writing skill. To be clear, The White Lotus Season 3 is actually the most divisive addition to the HBO series. However, it does an incredible job of using multiple storylines to keep viewers on edge, then bringing them crashing together in a tense and memorable finale.
The mystery that drives The White Lotus‘ third season is genuinely compelling, and the show packs an emotional punch with its answer to its opening gunshots. Season 3 also benefits from the series’ biting humor, and it wraps up loose ends from previous outings (something it typically doesn’t bother with). Although critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes were split on Season 3, there’s no denying it’s well put together and fun. The only reason it doesn’t rank higher is because HBO Max’s top four shows from 2025 are just that good. Most of them had an even larger cultural impact, won awards, or were just universally praised.
4) Heated Rivalry
Heated Rivalry took the world by storm upon its November 2025 debut, with the LGBTQ+ hockey romance going viral (and even causing the books to sell out online, according to The Cut). During a time when it feels like queer TV shows are canceled far too often, it’s refreshing to see one dominate the zeitgeist this way. And after watching Heated Rivalry, it’s clear why it’s resonating with people. It never shies away from the tension and romance, and both feel earned thanks to strong writing and performances. In a TV landscape with too many bland love stories to count, this one feels anything but.
The sports romance also delivers on the first half of its categorization with its depiction of hockey, which proves grabbing, whether you’re a longtime fan or someone new to the sport. Heated Rivalry‘s impressive 98% critic score and 95% audience score (via Rotten Tomatoes) highlights just how stellar the show is. With its representation, it’s undoubtedly one of the most important projects to emerge on HBO Max in 2025. There are just a few series that top it, however, either because they’re already established, tackle serious subjects, or both.
3) Peacemaker Season 2
Peacemaker Season 2 is easily one of the best superhero projects of 2025, and like James Gunn’s Superman, it stands out for its willingness to ground its story in real-world issues. The outing doesn’t shy away from its characters’ trauma, nor does it flinch when addressing topics like racism, privilege, and toxic masculinity. Indeed, the series’ big Earth-X twist is one of the better TV reveals from recent years, especially in the superhero genre. It’s masterfully executed and makes precisely the points it means to.
While it does a great job with its serious beats, Peacemaker Season 2 also contains plenty of the hilarity that made Season 1 (and The Suicide Squad and all three Guardians of the Galaxy movies) stand out. From the jokes to the music to the character writing, it’s clear Gunn put his heart into this chapter. That’s true of the cast as well; John Cena’s acting is at its best throughout, and the rest of the show’s stars are just as compelling as they portray their characters’ struggles. Peacemaker Season 2 has proven a tad divisive, but it’s worthy of its 94% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes.
2) Hacks Season 4
Hacks Season 4 premiered in June, and the dramedy showed no signs of slowing as it approached its fifth and final season. The latest chapter even won two Emmys, with both Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder receiving their flowers. The pair killed it as Hacks‘ leading ladies in Season 4, paying off the bond the show has been building between their characters since the beginning. The latest outing was satisfying for that alone, but it also delivered on the humor we’ve come to expect from the series — and a few well-placed deeper moments.
Hacks‘ depiction of Hollywood felt especially necessary in 2025’s competitive and often concerning creative landscape, which perhaps made Season 4 stand out even more. In terms of writing and performances, it was far above most of HBO Max’s releases for the year. However, while critics adored this chapter, its 70% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes proved that general viewers were more divided. That put it just below another powerful release that wowed critics and general audiences alike: The Pitt.
1) The Pitt
It’d been a while since a medical drama stood out as much as Grey’s Anatomy or House, but it was clear from The Pitt‘s January 2025 premiere that it was something special. The series opened with an average day in the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center’s ER, which is anything but dull. Noah Wyle instantly stole the show as Dr. Michael ‘Robby’ Robinavitch, though the entire cast proved impressive as we got to know them. Throughout its first season, The Pitt fearlessly tackled relevant topics, from school shootings to the understaffing of hospitals and burnout faced by doctors and nurses.
The realism made the show more hard-hitting and memorable, and its writing and performances sealed the deal. It was no surprise it won Outstanding Drama Series and a few other awards at the Emmys, as critics and audiences both had positive things to say (via Rotten Tomatoes). With so much going for it, it’s HBO Max’s strongest offering of 2025. And with The Pitt Season 2 slated for January 8, it could claim that title again in 2026.
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