10 little-known series (with good reviews) you must see on HBO

Between forgotten classics and overlooked big premieres, these series have to be on your next marathon.

There are some little known series that you should include on your list right now.

Since the 90’s HBO has been telling us that they do not do television like everyone else, and this they have proven time and again with great drama series, thrillers, horror stories and even comedies that make it very clear that for them the quality and good stories are the most important.

Maybe Netflix has the most watched series in history (like Bridgerton ) and sweeps the Oscars with its films directed by the best directors (from Cuarón to Martin Scorsese and Aaron Sorkin), but HBO definitely has some of the best series of all time and the seal of the study has become a guarantee.

Series like The Sopranos, The Wire, Chernobyl and Sharp Objects (which is one of the best miniseries on the platform and Amy Adams deserved all the awards she didn’t get) have turned HBO into an unstoppable force that keeps hooking on all of them, but with little time and so much to see, sometimes there are very good series that get lost between premieres and go into oblivion despite the fact that they are better than many other productions that make more noise.

Do you want an example? The I May Destroy You series was one of the best of 2020, but it was ignored by the Golden Globes and it did not receive as much attention as other series that, while entertaining, are definitely less important than it is. And that’s just one on the list, there are many other series that are there waiting for you to give them a chance, either because you didn’t find out about their arrival or because they were released in the pre-streaming era and no one remembers them anymore.

But it’s never too late to see a good series or movie (there are people who are watching Friends for the first time or who didn’t see The Lord of the Rings until The Hobbit came along and the new series was announced), so it’s time to check out. the titles you have on your next marathon list and make room for the best stories.

10 little known (or forgotten) series to watch on HBO:

I May Destroy You

It is not exactly little known, this series has received the best reviews and its theme about the culture of rape and sexual abuse was analyzed in dozens of media, but this series did not receive the attention it deserved and for some strange reason they decided to leave it out in the drama series category at the Golden Globes.

Created by Michaela Coel , the series follows a writer who, after a night out, wakes up at home not knowing what happened the night before. The memories begin to arrive little by little and she discovers that she was sexually abused, so now she must try to put all her memories together to find out who attacked her.

CB Strike

Based on the series of books that JK Rowling wrote under another name (yes, we know that she is problematic, but the series is not to blame). CB Strike stars Tom Burke and Holliday Grainger (The Borgias) and follows a private detective who must solve a series of complicated cases, with the help of a brilliant assistant who must deal with their toxic relationship while trying to prove that he has what needed to become a detective.

The series has two seasons that are divided into different cases, such as the murder of a teenager or that of a politician who is being extorted with a dark secret from his past.

Tell me who I am

This is not an original HBO production , rather it is one of those that the studio acquired from Movistar. The series follows Amelia ( Irene Escolar ), a Spanish woman who in the 30s becomes a blind spy (who is a spy who does not know what she is) for the Russians and who, upon learning the truth, decides to enter the world of espionage to stop the Nazis, becoming the mistress of an officer and witnessing some of the most important events in history.

Beforeigners

HBO’s first Nordic series. Beforeigners , starring Nicolai Cleve Broch and Krista Kosonen (Blade Runner 2049), premiered in 2021 and is a sci-fi murder story that begins when a group of Vikings appear in modern-day Oslo, announcing the arrival of each and more visitors from the past.

In the midst of the immigration crisis, a police officer from the present must work with a visitor from the past to uncover the truth behind a mysterious murder that appears to be connected to a conspiracy and a huge network of corruption operating in the city.

Oz

More than little known, this is one of the forgotten series of HBO’s past, Oz stars JK Simmons, BD Wong, Rita Moreno and Edie Falco, and it is one of the studio’s classics. Oz came before The Sopranos or Sex and the City and is a story full of violence and brutality about the prisoners who are in a very peculiar jail that, as the name of the series promises, is very loosely inspired by the world of the Emerald City from The Wizard of Oz.

The Leftovers

Justin Theroux, Carrie Coon, Liv Tyler, Margaret Qualley and Ann Dowd are the stars of this mysterious series created by Damon Lindelof (creator of Lost) and Tom Perotta. The Leftovers begins with the sudden disappearance of 2% of the world’s population, leaving destroyed families, desperate parents, orphaned children, and destroyed communities.

Three years later, the survivors still have no answers and a strange cult arises to force them not to forget the pain and suffering they feel. The series never explains what happened to the missing, rather it focuses on the experiences of those who were left behind and what they must do to deal with the trauma, loneliness and lack of answers.

Olive kitteridge

This 4-episode miniseries stars the Oscar winner Frances McDorman, which is already a guarantee. The series is a dramatic account of a high school math teacher, Olive, and her marriage to Henry, which spans 25 years.

The story takes place in a quiet New England town that under the surface hides a world of crime and tragedy, all analyzed by Olive herself, who in turn hides her own secrets, her family and members of the community.

Show Me a Hero

Starring Oscar Isaac, Carla Quevedo and Peter Riegert, this miniseries centers on the character of Nick Wasicsko, the mayor of Yonkers who takes office in 1987 and has to deal with the urgent problem of building public housing on the white side. middle class of the city. The situation ends up dividing the city and provokes a battle marked by fear, racism, murder and politics, which Nick Wasicsko must try to control.

Looking

This dramatic comedy (which has two seasons and a final film) is packed with personality and great performances, and is one of the most overlooked on HBO. The series stars Jonathan Groff, Frankie J. Alvarez, Murray Bartlett, Lauren Weedman, Russell Tovey and Raúl Castillo , and tells the story of a group of gay men trying to survive in San Francisco.

Some critics say that this is one of the best examples of modern television, and you only need to watch a few chapters to get caught up in its realism, its tragedies and the complexity of the characters.

Crashing

You should not confuse it with the Phoebe Waller-Bridge series of the same name. Crashing was produced by Judd Appatow and stars Pete Holmes, Lauren Lapkus, George Basil, Jamie Lee and Artie Lange, is a dramatic comedy for fans of stand-up comedy and is loosely based on the life of Pete Holmes and what had to happen before he began to take seriously the idea of ​​having a career in comedy.