HBO built a hard-earned reputation as the home of premium TV over several decades. From Entourage and Game of Thrones to The Wire, so many HBO Originals defined, reshaped, and dominated their respective eras.
It’s therefore no surprise that HBO Max Australia is an undeniable heavyweight for quality-over-quantity streaming in today’s overcrowded content market. Whether you’re in the mood for dark, prestige dramas like True Detective or absurd escapism in the form of Rick and Morty, the platform combines legacy titles with brand-new award sweepers to create a reliable and robust catalogue of excellence.
It’s worth spending some time exploring Max in full, but for those of you who just want to get down to brass tacks and find out what’s worth your time and monthly subscription, here are our top picks for the best shows on HBO Max Australia right now.
Lanterns
Produced by DC Studios and Warner Bros. Television, this brand-new superhero neo-western detective drama is True Detective meets The X-Files meets Slow Horses. The story follows the cynical ageing intergalactic Green Lantern Hal Jordan (played by Friday Night Lights star Kyle Chandler) and his no-nonsense trainee John Stewart (Aaron Pierre) as they investigate a small-town extraterrestrial murder mystery in Nebraska.
Lanterns is technically sci-fi and based on characters from the Green Lantern comics, but it’s grounded, character-driven, and gritty. The first episode dropped on 16 August 2026 to generally positive reviews from fans and critics. With a couple of episodes released, the show’s Rotten Tomatoes scores sit at 94% and 82% for critics and fans, respectively.
Mad Men
Is there a man who oozes effortless style more than Don Draper? If you haven’t ever seen it, Mad Men is a period drama set in the ‘60s and ‘70s, centred around a charismatic Madison Avenue ad executive who leads a messy – and strangely enviable – double life. Juxtaposing the glamorous Manhattan lifestyle with his inner demons and broken family life, the show fits squarely in the anti-hero category that defined the late noughties.
Created by Matthew Weiner (who was also an Exec Producer on The Sopranos), Mad Men put AMC on the map as a serious contender, not just a basic cable network. The show was a breakout role for Jon Hamm, but he’s also supported by an excellent cast including Elizabeth Moss, January Jones, John Slattery, and Christina Hendricks. It ran from 2007 to 2015, earning 16 Emmys and 5 Golden Globes. Janie Bryant’s costume design also revived several menswear trends, including slim lapels and tie bars.
All seven seasons of Mad Men are available to watch in full now.
IT: Welcome to Derry
If you’re not a fan of horror, you'd best skip to the next listing. But if you love jump scares with supernatural creepiness, keep reading.
A prequel to the 2017 and 2019 movies, It and It Chapter Two, IT: Welcome to Derry explores the beginnings of Pennywise’s terrifying antics. The story starts with the disappearance of a young boy from the quiet town of Derry, Maine, in 1962. As a group of outsiders investigates, they uncover the horrors that lie beneath the quiet suburban veneer.
It’s dark, cinematic, and character-driven with plenty of visceral gore – basically everything you’d want from yet another Stephen King adaptation. Bill Skarsgård reprises his role as Pennywise from the movies, and he’s joined by a mix of up-and-coming young actors and recognisable TV faces like Jovan Adepo (Watchmen) and James Remar (Dexter).
Season 1 of IT: Welcome to Derry is available to watch in full, with season 2 expected in late 2027.
The Penguin
Set in the universe of Matt Reeves’ The Batman, this dark crime miniseries from DC Studios and Warner Bros. Television follows Oz Cobb’s criminal rise to power in Gotham City’s underworld.
Colin Farrell reprises the titular role alongside a strong supporting cast, including Cristin Milioti (How I Met Your Mother) and Mark Strong (Dune: Prophecy). The show was a huge success with both critics and fans. It received nine Emmy and three Golden Globe nominations, with Milioti winning an Emmy and Farrell a Golden Globe.
In a rare display of restraint from Hollywood, The Penguin looks like it will remain a one-off limited series. Of course, this could change at the drop of a hat, and we’ll get inundated by a string of prequels, sequels, and remakes. But for now, it’s just a very good one-and-done.
All eight episodes of The Penguin are available to stream in full now.
Industry
The BBC knows how to make high-quality drama, and this financial thriller about a group of young graduates who join a prestigious London investment bank is no exception. As you might expect, it doesn’t shy away from the cut-throat and high-stakes world of international finance. It's slick, pacey at times, and has been widely praised for its accuracy in portraying the finance sector. Nathan Micay’s synth-heavy electronic score also gives the trading floor a bizarre and anxious rave vibe which somehow just works.
Other than Ken Leung (Lost, The Sopranos), the original young cast were largely unknown at the start of the series, with heavyweights like Kit Harington joining in later seasons. It’s generally a hit among critics, earning 2 BAFTA nominations so far.
You can watch Seasons 1-4 of Industry in full now. A fifth and final season is already in the works.
The Outsider
This one-and-done limited series is another decent Stephen King adaptation, starring Ben Mendelsohn (Animal Kingdom), Cynthia Erivo (Wicked), and Jason Bateman among others. It’s a dark, slow-burning murder investigation that devolves into gruesome supernatural horror.
Bateman – whose behind-the-camera talents are most widely known for the equally dark Ozark – directed two episodes. Critics gave it mixed reviews, but most are on the same page about the strong performances and the gritty, tense, and eerie first half that has an air of True Detective to it. It won’t be the best thing you watch all year, but if you have patience with slow builds and some uneven pacing, it’s still enjoyable enough.
You can watch all ten episodes of The Outsider in full now.
The Chair Company
In the mood for something dark, quirky, and off-beat? Co-created by long-time SNL collaborators Tim Robinson and Zach Canin, and executive produced by Adam McKay (SNL, Anchorman, Talladega Nights), The Chair Company combines strong comedic DNA with sinister thriller undertones. It follows a socially inept property developer whose life spirals out of control after an embarrassing incident with an office chair sends him down a corporate conspiracy rabbit hole.
It’s crime comedy meets surreal mystery, and while the audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is a lukewarm 68%, critics have generally gone bananas for it with a 100% rating. If you’re in the mood for something glossy and easy-watching, you might want to give this a swerve. But if awkward dark comedy with that David Brent discomfort of the original The Office is up your alley, this one’s a good shout.
You can watch Season 1 of The Chair Company in full now. The show has been renewed for a second season, but no release date has been confirmed yet.
The Last of Us
This post-apocalyptic drama is based on a video game and follows the survivors of a worldwide fungal infection that turns its hosts into zombie-like creatures. While it does have plenty of intense The Walking Dead-like sequences, it’s way more slow-burning, raw, and character-driven.
The Last of Us centres around two characters played by Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as they travel across the country. They’re supported by several high-calibre guest stars along the way, most notably Nick Offerman and Murray Bartlett in a one-episode arc for which both actors received Emmy nominations (Offerman won).
Seasons 1 and 2 of The Last of Us are available to stream in full, with Season 3 expected in 2027.
Rick & Morty
It’s safe to assume that most people reading this have already seen a ridiculous number of episodes. But, just in case, it’s an animated sci-fi sitcom that’s as ridiculous as it is hilarious. Think Futurama meets Family Guy meets South Park with a side of Back to the Future.
Created by Dan Harmon (Community, Krapopolis) and Justin Roiland, it follows a crazy old time-travelling scientist who drags his grandson along on his bizarre, high-stakes intergalactic missions. Rick and Morty is widely considered one of the best adult animation series out there, and has two primetime Emmys to date. It’s a chaotic, absurdly violent meta satire that’s best enjoyed when you don’t overthink it.
Seasons 1-9 of Rick and Morty are available to watch in full now. The show has already been renewed up to Season 12, so once you smash through those, there’ll be plenty more to rip through until at least 2029.
The Righteous Gemstones
From the brain of Danny McBride (Pineapple Express, This Is The End) comes this comedy crime drama about a deeply corrupt and morally depraved family of super-wealthy televangelists. As you’d expect from McBride, it blends his vulgar and hypermasculine absurdism with darkly funny performances.
Danny McBride stars as the eldest son and is supported by an excellent ensemble cast including Adam DeVine (Workaholics), John Goodman (The Big Lebowski), Walton Goggins (The White Lotus) and many more. You should brace yourself for some sharp dialogue and bizarrely spectacular musical numbers.
All four seasons of The Righteous Gemstones are available to watch in full now.
Our Flag Means Death
Produced by Taika Waititi (Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Thor: Ragnarok), Our Flag Means Death is a workplace romance comedy about eighteenth-century pirates. The story follows an aristocrat (played by Rhys Darby) who ditches his comfortable life to set up as a ‘Gentleman Pirate’. But as he and his comically inept crew come face to face with the infamous Captain Blackbeard (Waititi), things go somewhat awry. Imagine the cinematic elements of Pirates of the Caribbean with the offbeat humour of Flight of the Conchords, and you’re probably in the right ballpark.
It only lasted two seasons, but it’s a bit of a sleeper hit with a cult following, particularly in the LGBTQIA+ community. Fans of the show were so upset about its premature cancellation that they fundraised thousands of dollars – enough to buy a Times Square billboard ad. Sadly, it didn’t change the minds of whoever makes these decisions. It’s worth a watch nonetheless.
Both seasons of Our Flag Means Death are available to watch in full now.
Succession
This is one of those shows that pretty much everyone was talking about when it first aired. It also kicked off a bit of a quiet luxury trend in menswear, with Loro Piana caps, logo-less cashmere, and Tom Ford suits popping up all over the shop.
Largely inspired by Rupert Murdoch, the story is centred around a horribly dysfunctional family who own a multimedia conglomerate. And, as the patriarch’s days are numbered, the story follows his children as they navigate ruthless betrayals, corporate backstabbing, and psychological warfare amongst themselves and their competitors.
Combining the aesthetics of prestige and the impossibly wealthy with hand-held documentary-style camera work, it’s an uneasy and compelling watch from start to finish. It’s not a second-screen watch… this needs (and deserves) your full attention.
The entire cast is brilliant – from established theatrical heavyweights like Brian Cox and method actors like Jeremy Strong to the brilliant Australian actress Sarah Snook and Brit Matthew Macfadyen. I personally couldn’t get enough of Kieran Culkin, and it isn’t too much of a stretch to see that this was probably the gateway to his eventual Oscar-winning role in A Real Pain.
All four seasons of Succession are available to watch in full now.
Dune: Prophecy
With Denis Villeneuve attached, this Dune prequel was always going to have big-budget cinematic vibes. Set 10,000 years before the events of Dune (and based on the novel The Sisterhood of Dune), the story follows two women as they establish a matriarchal order, facing everything from Imperial political scheming to catastrophic galactic threats.
It’s dark, atmospheric, and tense – a political thriller meets epic cosmic horror. Although it had lukewarm feedback from critics and fans (65% and 63% on Rotten Tomatoes, respectively), it still racked up 15 million viewers across Max’s various territories upon its debut, which is not to be sniffed at.
Season 1 of Dune: Prophecy is available in full now. Season 2 filming reportedly wrapped in March 2026, so you can expect Season 2 to drop in late 2026 or 2027.
Boardwalk Empire
I’ve loved Steve Buscemi since Reservoir Dogs (my favourite heist movie of all time), so this gangster crime drama centred around him was always going to make this list. The story is set in 1920s prohibition-era Atlantic City and follows a corrupt county treasurer who leads a double life as a slick politician by daylight and a ruthless mob boss in the shadows. It’s both a tragic character study and a high-stakes cinematic gangster drama.
This is one of those shows that was backed by the network from the get-go. The 73-minute pilot episode was directed by Martin Scorsese and cost US$18 million (~AU$25 million). They also reportedly built a 300-foot boardwalk out of actual boardwalk timber to shoot authentic exterior Atlantic City scenes in Brooklyn.
Buscemi is sublime (duh), and supported by an excellent ensemble cast including Michael Shannon, Kelly Macdonald, Michael Pitt, Shea Whigham, Michael K. Williams, Bobby Cannavale, and Stephen Graham as Al Capone. Over its five-season run, the show earned several awards, including 20 Emmys and 5 Golden Globes.
All five seasons of Boardwalk Empire are available to watch now.
House of the Dragon
Created by Ryan Condal and George R.R. Martin, this Game of Thrones prequel is set about 200 years before the events of the smash original series. The story follows the brutal downfall of the House of Targaryen as a catastrophic civil war breaks out.
It’s essentially Game of Thrones meets Succession with extra dragons on the side. The cast includes Emma D’Arcy, Olivia Cooke, Matt Smith, Rhys Ifans, and Ewan Mitchell. It’s got some pretty spectacular production values supported by a hefty budget. So if you like your fantasy epics dark with cinematic scale, you’ll probably enjoy this one.
Seasons 1-3 of House of the Dragon are available in full now, with a fourth season expected in a couple of years.
The White Lotus
This is a classic example of a successful miniseries that was so well received, it just had to be turned into an anthology series. And while shows like Beef couldn’t quite stick the landing, The White Lotus has generally managed to satisfy its audience over three seasons.
Each season is set in a different luxury resort in a global hotel chain called The White Lotus. The storylines vary, but they’re all dark satires about the depraved lives of wealthy guests and staff. It has won 16 Emmy Awards and 2 Golden Globes, including two for Jennifer Coolidge and one for Murray Bartlett.
Seasons 1-3 of The White Lotus are available in full now, with Season 4 (set on the French Riviera) on the way in 2027.
Peacemaker
Is there a pie that John Cena doesn’t have his finger in right now? Not that we’re complaining – the prolific wrestler-cum-actor is generally on the money (if we pretend a few missteps like Little Brother never happened), and Peacemaker, a superhero series by James Gunn based on the character from DC Comics and following the events of the DCEU movie, Suicide Squad, is no exception.
Apparently, Peacemaker was supposed to be killed off in The Suicide Squad, but James Gunn was so impressed with Cena’s dramatic chops that he wrote the first season while still working on the film. The series follows the tortured-soul vigilante as he’s forced to join a black ops squad on a mission to take down parasitic butterflies who have taken over human bodies all over the world. It's grungy masculinity and dark comedy at its finest.
Seasons 1 and 2 of Peacemaker are available to watch in full. There probably won’t be a third season, but a spin-off focusing on Viola Davis’s character, Waller, is in the works.
DTF St. Louis
Due to its critical acclaim and popularity, this excellent limited series could well turn into an anthology series at some point. But right now, it’s an excellent standalone Emmy-nominated, seven-part series starring Jason Bateman, Linda Cardellini, and David Harbour.
With a non-linear, mystery-driven narrative, the series tracks the love triangle between three middle-aged adults, with one of them ending up dead. And with the whole thing connected through an app that facilitates extramarital affairs (DTF St. Louis, hence the name), things get very interesting and very messy. It’s darkly funny, cynical, bleak at times, and not too dissimilar to Dead to Me, Bad Sisters, and Big Little Lies.
The full season of DTF St. Louis is available to stream now.
Rooster
Co-created by Matt Tarses and Bill Lawrence (Ted Lasso, Scrubs, Shrinking) and starring Steve Carell, this was always going to be a decent contender in the comedy-drama category. The story follows a famous but past-his-prime author who supports his struggling daughter by taking a writer-in-residence role at the university where she works as a professor. It’s a fish-out-of-water story with heart and plenty of interpersonal drama.
Basically, it’s exactly what you’d expect from the Lawrence-Carell combo – warm and cosy viewing with a sizable dose of emotion and character growth. Carell received a Best Actor nomination for his role (unsurprisingly), and the series was quickly renewed for a second season.
Season 1 of Rooster is available to watch in full now.
The Pitt
Created by R. Scott Gemmill and executive produced by John Wells and seasoned TV doctor Noah Wyle, this medical drama has E.R DNA all over it. But what makes it stand out from its many, many predecessors is that each episode is set in ‘real-time’ and covers just one hour of the 15-hour shift that spans the season. Basically, it’s 24 meets Grey’s Anatomy but with a bucketful of extra grit.
Season 1 was a smash hit, with rave reviews from both fans and critics, plus five Emmy wins – including Outstanding Drama Series. Season 2 was also well-received, and Season 3 is already in the works.
You can watch Seasons 1 and 2 of The Pitt in full now and catch Season 3 as it drops in January 2027.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
In yet another feather in George R.R Martin’s cap, this Game of Thrones prequel brings the Tales of Dunk and Egg novellas to life. The first season adapted The Hedge Knight and follows Ser Duncan the Tall, an inexperienced hedge knight, and his unlikely squire, “Egg”, who is secretly Prince Aegon Targaryen in disguise.
You won’t see CGI dragons here. It’s more focused, intimate, and rugged than Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, but just as intense. The first season was nominated for nine Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series. The second season, based on The Sworn Sword, is already in production.
You can watch Season 1 of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms in full now and catch Season 2 when it drops in the first half of 2027.
The Sopranos
We’ll end on an undisputed classic that still holds up today. Created by the legendary David Chase, the story follows Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey Mafia Boss who reluctantly starts seeing a psychiatrist after having panic attacks. Exploring his attempts to balance his family life with his horrific criminal one, it was a game-changer when it first came out in 1999.
The Sopranos ran for 6 seasons from 1999 to 2007 and is still regarded as one of the most influential TV shows of all time. It won 21 Emmy Awards (out of a whopping 111 nominations) and 5 Golden Globes. It paved the way for anti-hero dramas like Mad Men and Breaking Bad, and you’ve probably seen about a thousand TV shows and movies that were either inspired by or complete knock-offs of this show.
All six seasons of The Sopranos are available to watch in full right now. Be warned – it’s a dark, prestige drama that commands your full attention, not a cosy second-screen watch to have on in the background.