tv networks The Best HBO Dramas of All Time  

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List Rules Any drama that aired on HBO, including original HBO dramatic series

There's no denying it: HBO makes some of the best shows on TV. This list ranks the best HBO dramatic series, best to worst. With riveting storylines, grade-A acting, and high grade production value, the best HBO shows are popular favorites, even though the prime cable series costs a little extra. HBO's domination in the drama genre began in the late 1990s with prison series Oz (1997) and continued with fan-favorite mafia show The Sopranos (1999). The 2000s brought cult shows like Carnivale (2003) and Deadwood (2004) - both of which were canceled too soon - as well as long-running popular HBO dramas The Wire (2002), Big Love (2006), and True Blood (2008). More recently, fantasy series Game of Thrones (2011) has captured audiences all over the world, and the crime drama show True Detective (2014) became almost an overnight classic.

What is the best HBO drama show of all time? Vote up the series that grabbed up your attention fastest, held it the longest, and maybe even made you mad at the TV when a favorite character died.
list ordered by

1
390 96
Game of Thrones is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
Game of Thrones Emilia Clarke, Peter Dinklage, Kit Harington

The Best HBO Series of the 1990s The Best Sci Fi Television Series of All Time

2
249 124
The Sopranos is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
The Sopranos James Gandolfini, Lorraine Bracco, Edie Falco

3
256 102
The Wire is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
The Wire Dominic West, Lance Reddick, Sonja Sohn

4
238 111
True Detective is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
True Detective - Season 1 Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Alexandra Daddario

5
151 71
Deadwood is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
Deadwood Timothy Olyphant, Ian McShane, Molly Parker

6
142 84
Boardwalk Empire is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
Boardwalk Empire Steve Buscemi, Stephen Graham, Vincent Piazza

7
135 93
Six Feet Under is listed (or ranked) 7 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
Six Feet Under Peter Krause, Michael C. Hall, Frances Conroy

8
169 47
Band of Brothers is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
Band of Brothers Scott Grimes, Damian Lewis, Ron Livingston

9
126 79
Oz is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
Oz Ernie Hudson, J.K. Simmons, Lee Tergesen

10
80 77
Carnivàle is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
Carnivàle Michael J. Anderson, Adrienne Barbeau, Clancy Brown

11
124 96
True Blood is listed (or ranked) 11 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
True Blood Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, Sam Trammell

12
120 57
Rome is listed (or ranked) 12 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
Rome Kevin McKidd, Ray Stevenson, Polly Walker

13
55 62
The Newsroom is listed (or ranked) 13 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
The Newsroom Jeff Daniels, Emily Mortimer, John Gallagher Jr.

14
60 82
Entourage is listed (or ranked) 14 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
Entourage Kevin Connolly, Adrian Grenier, Kevin Dillon

15
69 61
The Pacific is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
The Pacific Hugh Ambrose, Ed Tracy

The Best HBO Series of the 2000s The Best Re-Casting of Famous TV Roles

16
69 64
John Adams is listed (or ranked) 16 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
John Adams Paul Giamatti, Laura Linney, John Dossett

17
51 82
Big Love is listed (or ranked) 17 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
Big Love Bill Paxton, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloë Sevigny

18
29 71
In Treatment is listed (or ranked) 18 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
In Treatment Gabriel Byrne, Dianne Wiest, Michelle Forbes

19
41 59
Generation Kill is listed (or ranked) 19 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
Generation Kill Alexander Skarsgård, James Ransone, Lee Tergesen

20
16 15
Angels in America is listed (or ranked) 20 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
Angels in America

21
47 66
Sex and the City is listed (or ranked) 21 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
Sex and the City Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis

22
20 80
Luck is listed (or ranked) 22 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
Luck Dustin Hoffman, Dennis Farina, John Ortiz

23
28 64
Treme is listed (or ranked) 23 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
Treme Khandi Alexander, Rob Brown, Kim Dickens

24
22 48
Looking is listed (or ranked) 24 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
DonPhillips added Looking Jonathan Groff, Frankie J. Alvarez, Murray Bartlett

25
23 61
The Corner is listed (or ranked) 25 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
The Corner Khandi Alexander, Lance Reddick, Tasha Smith

26
16 63
K Street is listed (or ranked) 26 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
K Street John Slattery, James Carville, Mary McCormack

27
24 34
The Killing is listed (or ranked) 27 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
claudio-ruffini-castiglione added The Killing Mireille Enos, Joel Kinnaman, Billy Campbell

28
18 64
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Ag... is listed (or ranked) 28 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Jill Scott, Anika Noni Rose, Harish Patel

29
23 65
Mildred Pierce is listed (or ranked) 29 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
Mildred Pierce Kate Winslet, Evan Rachel Wood, Guy Pearce

The Best HBO Comedies of All Time 51 High-Paying, Flexible Jobs

30
12 35
The Bridge is listed (or ranked) 30 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
claudio-ruffini-castiglione added The Bridge Sofia Helin, Rafael Pettersson, Dag Malmberg

31
14 66
John from Cincinnati is listed (or ranked) 31 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
John from Cincinnati Rebecca De Mornay, Greyson Fletcher, Willie Garson

32
15 58
From the Earth to the Moon is listed (or ranked) 32 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
From the Earth to the Moon Tom Hanks, Nick Searcy, Lane Smith

33
8 55
Enlightened is listed (or ranked) 33 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
Enlightened Laura Dern, Diane Ladd, Sarah Burns

34
8 48
Tell Me You Love Me is listed (or ranked) 34 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
Tell Me You Love Me Ian Somerhalder, Ally Walker, Michelle Borth

35
7 54
Philip Marlowe, Private Eye is listed (or ranked) 35 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
Philip Marlowe, Private Eye Powers Boothe

36
4 39
The Mind of the Married Man is listed (or ranked) 36 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
The Mind of the Married Man Kate Walsh, Sonya Walger, M. Emmet Walsh

37
3 46
Laurel Avenue is listed (or ranked) 37 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
Laurel Avenue Mary Alice, Mel Winkler

38
5 59
Parade's End is listed (or ranked) 38 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
Parade's End Benedict Cumberbatch, Rebecca Hall, Rupert Everett

39
2 45
Unscripted is listed (or ranked) 39 on the list The Best HBO Dramas of All Time
Unscripted Krista Allen, Frank Langella, Bryan Greenberg