Throughout the 21st century, HBO has been synonymous with television brilliance. The premium network was instrumental in pioneering the medium’s ascent to prestige entertainment in the late ‘90s and early 2000s, and it has remained at the forefront of groundbreaking excellence in the format for the better part of 30 years. However, making a great series is one thing, making a series that does not feature a single bad episode is another thing entirely.
While even many of the best shows of all time—including some HBO productions—are prone to the occasional misfire, these six series never once erred. Including everything from long-running shows that define television drama at its absolute best to award-winning miniseries where every single episode is a work of perfection, these shows are HBO’s most consistently astounding series as well as some of the most acclaimed titles the medium has ever seen.
6
‘Deadwood’ (2004-2006)
Image via HBO
HBO has long been renowned for the enormity of its television productions, be it enrapturing fantasy worlds or dystopian sci-fi futures. The premium network’s litany of historical dramas is perhaps the greatest testament to this, and in this regard there is no series as brilliant as Deadwood. The gritty Western series combines a loose historical basis with an infectious sense of dramatic rawness as it delves into the lawlessness of the titular town in 1870s South Dakota, dissecting how order deteriorates and crime thrives amid a population boom as the masses seek to make their fortune in the town’s gold rush.
The series has an uncanny ability to immerse viewers in the world it presents, a violent era of mud-soaked desperation and candle-lit sin. David Milch’s writing makes this unflinching atmosphere all the more intoxicating, not only with his rhythmic dialogue that runs like profanity-laden poetry, but with the depth and complexity of his characters and the callousness of their schemes as well. While the series was canceled prematurely at the end of its third season, Deadwood remains one of HBO’s most illustrious achievements, a masterpiece of hard-edged Western storytelling that never once lowers its standards across its 36-episode tenure.
5
‘Chernobyl’ (2019)
Image via HBO
It may not seem like a huge feat that a miniseries with just five chapters never produced a weak episode, but Chernobyl deserves acknowledgment on the basis that every single one of its episodes is nothing short of a masterpiece of small-screen drama. Exuding a piercing sense of stomach-churning tension and dread, it dramatizes the impact of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster, exploring the immediate aftermath of panic and radiation poisoning, the strenuous efforts to contain the fallout, the Soviet Union leaders’ conniving to conceal the true scope of the catastrophe from the world, and the court hearing that saw the truth exposed.
Excelling in everything from its detailed production design to its note-perfect performances, astonishing technical craft, and its narrative brilliance that combines the epic, nation-spanning grandeur of the story with a piercing sense of horror-like intensity, Chernobyl delivers five episodes of television perfection that few other series of any length have been able to match. The way it marries its historical context with a cautionary foreboding pertaining to political corruption in the modern day is a magnificent final touch, one that sees the miniseries elevated from being a stunning immersion in true events to an urgent drama that is profoundly timely.
4
‘Band of Brothers’ (2001)
Image via HBO
Another miniseries that is defined by its ceaseless perfection, Band of Brothers has been the unsurpassed pinnacle of the format for 25 years. The awe-inspiring WWII drama follows the experiences of Easy Company, an American Airborne division who fight on the front lines in the European Theater of the conflict. Across its 10-episode run, the limited series depicts the unit’s training, their airdrop into Normandy, the many battlefields they fought on throughout their campaign, their liberation of a concentration camp, and their arduous, lingering presence in Germany at the end of the war.
Complimented by the sheer might of the production—undeniably a byproduct of the involvement of Hollywood titans Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks—Band of Brothers delivers what is arguably the greatest dramatization of WWII America has ever produced. Furthermore, it isn’t only a feat of filmmaking grandiosity, but an emotionally evocative and insightful exploration of the impact war has on a soldier’s psychology, a point it covers brilliantly by focusing on different characters’ perspectives throughout the series. From illustrating the brutality of combat to examining the effects of PTSD, Band of Brothers is the epitome of television excellence, with every one of its 10 episodes standing as a masterclass of storytelling in the form.
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WhichCiminal Mastermindwould be your nemesis?
Lecter · Joker · Moriarty · Chigurh
Fourof-the-finest-criminal-minds-ever-put-on-screen.Oneof-themwould-look-at-you-and-seesomething-worth-their-time.Eightquestionsdecidewhichonecomesforyouwhytheypickedyouandwhat-theywouldwantwhentheyarrived.
LECTER
JOKER
MORIARTY
CHIGURH
01
What would acriminal mastermind notice about you first?
Great villains choose their opponents carefully.Something about you got their attention.
02
How do they make first contact?
The introduction tells you everything about what is coming next.
03
What do you actually believe about right and wrong?
Every nemesis is really an argument aboutthe thing you believe most.
A
The
lines.Mine are private and absolute.
B
The rules arethe only thing keeping us from being animals.
C
The moralityis asystem,and systemscanbesolved.
D
The things happen.Mostofitwasneveruptome.
NEXT QUESTION →
04
What finally gets under your skin?
Everybody has apressure point.Finding yoursis-the-whole plan.
A
Thebeing seen clearly by somebodyIcannotread.
B
The watching good people do something ugly.
C
The losingto someone who was simply better prepared.
D
The having no move leftthat changes anything.
NEXTQUESTION→
05
They have made their move.How do you fight back?
This is-the-partof-the-filmwhere-the-audiencefinds-outwho-youare.
NEXTQUESTION→
06
What would they use against you?
Agoodvillainneverbrings-a weapon you havenotalreadyhandedthem.
NEXTQUESTION→
07
What do they actually want from you?
Themoneyis-never-the-point.Somethingelsealwaysis.
NEXTQUESTION→
The Case File Is Complete
Your Nemesis Is…
Fourcriminal masterminds.Oneof themwas-always-going-to-be-yours.Hereiswho comesforyouwhytheypickedyououtofeveryoneavailableandwhattheywantfromtheencounter.
The Silenceofthe Lambs·Hannibal·19912002
Hannibal Lecter
Your nemesis does not wanttobeatyou.He wants to knowyou completely,and heis patientenoughtowaitforit.The frighteningpartis howgoodtheconversationis.
Your nemesis does not wanttobeatyou.He wants to knowyou completely,and heis patientenoughtowaitforit.The frighteningpartis howgoodtheconversationis.
You keep agreatdealtoyourselfandyourcarefulaboutwhatyoushow.Thatreserveisexactlythedoorhewouldknockon.
Thefilmsunderstoodsomethingotherthrillersmissed.Thehorroristheviolence.Itisbeingperfectlyunderstoodbythewrongperson.
You wouldbe unfailinglypoliteaboutallofit.Thatistheworstpart.
Batman·The Dark Knight·19892019
The Joker
Your nemesis isnotaftermoneyterritoryorrevenge.He isafterademonstration,andyouarethepersonhehaschosentoprovehispointon.
The Jokeronly picksopponentswhobelieveinsomething.Yourdecencyisnotadefenceagainsthim.Itistheentirereasonheshowedup.
Youhave noplan youcanpredictandnothingyoucantakeawaywhichremoveseverytoolyouwouldnormallyreachfor.
Yourwholeargumentisthatyouareonebaddayawayfrombeinghimandyouwouldspendtherestofthelifeprovinghimwrong.
Youwouldcallitamagic trick.Youwouldcallit-the worstnightofyourlife.
Sherlock Holmes·The Final Problem·Since1893
Moriarty
Your nemesis respectsyouwhichsoundsflatteringuntilyouworkoutwhatitmeans.He choseyoubecausenobodyelsewasworthhis time.
Moriartyistheoriginalcriminalmastermind,thetemplateeverylateroneborrowsfrom:a mindtheequalofthehero’spointedthewrongway.
Youenjoybeingthecleverestpersonintheroom.Heiscountingonexactlythat,andhehasalreadybuilttheroom.
Thisisthe rarenemesiswhowouldbegenuinelydisappointedifyoulostbadly.Heneedsthegametobeworthplaying.
Thisisthewaythese thingsalwaysend.Two peopleoneproblemandonlyonewaydown.
No CountryforOldMen·2007
Anton Chigurh
Yournemesishasnopersonalinterestinyouwhatsoever,andthat-ispreciselywhatmakeshimunsurvivable.Youarenotarival.Youareastopontheway.
SChigurhdoesnotnegotiate,gloatorexplain.He arrives heasksonequestion,andtheanswerwasdecidedlongbeforeyouopenedyourmouth.
Youtrustyourselftohandle things.Heistheoneproblemintheworldthathasnointerestinhowcapableyouare.
NoCountryforOldMenrewrotethescreenvillainbyremovingthethingaudiencesquietlyrelyonthe sense thattalkingmightwork.
Youcallit.He willwait.
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