HBO / Max · 2024 Ranked

Best HBO / Max Shows of 2024, Ranked by IQ Score

HBO's 2024 prestige slate — the platform that still defines what 'prestige TV' means. Ranked by IQ Score.

10 titles · ranked by IQ Score

1. 1
   

   The Last of Us

   Masterclass sci-fi, drama, action

   Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) and Neil Druckmann adapt the 2013 Naughty Dog game with HBO production values and the willingness to use the season's third episode for a 75-minute love story (Bill and Frank, 'Long Long Time') th…

   164/200
2. 2
   

   Succession

   Masterclass drama

   A dynasty play updated to the present. The Roy family fight over Waystar Royco with ruthlessness. Cognitive engagement from tracking political maneuvering, sharp dialogue, and strategic calculations. Educational elements…

   162/200
3. 3
   

   Industry

   Stimulating drama

   Follows graduate trainees in London investment banking where institutional pressure fractures ethics and personal relationships across seasons.

   145/200
4. 4
   

   House of the Dragon

   Stimulating fantasy, drama

   Extends Game of Thrones' structural success by dramatizing Targaryen civil war through female-centered political agency, while maintaining dynastic intrigue and spectacle across shorter narrative arcs.

   131/200
5. 5
   

   Curb Your Enthusiasm

   Stimulating comedy

   Mines comedy from social contract violations and escalating consequences, demanding viewers understand implicit social rules that Larry consistently breaks and defend.

   131/200
6. 6
   

   The Regime

   Stimulating comedy, drama

   Will Tracy's HBO satire gives Kate Winslet a Central European autocrat spiraling through delusion, kleptocracy, and epidemiological paranoia. Tonally unstable in ways the show sometimes weaponizes and sometimes just flub…

   130/200
7. 7
   

   Somebody Somewhere

   Competent comedy, drama

   Grounds character study in small-town Kansas context where protagonist navigates identity and belonging among conservative community.

   129/200
8. 8
   

   The Penguin

   Competent crime, drama, action

   Crime-procedural examines underworld power transition through gang organizational structure and psychological warfare. Multiple competing factions demand viewers track shifting alliances and power dynamics.

   126/200
9. 9
   

   Hacks

   Competent comedy, drama

   Comedy-drama about aging stand-up comic and young writer explores generational perspective and artistic authenticity. Mentorship dynamic contests what constitutes relevant humor and cultural value.

   122/200
10. 10
    

    Sugar

    Competent drama, mystery

    Colin Farrell as a neo-noir LA detective with a genre-bending twist that divides audiences. Committed film-noir pastiche and formal ambition; the mid-season pivot either earns its swing or loses you entirely. Worth a loo…

    119/200