HBO has been home to some great television series over the years, including the 1990s, when the premium network aired some incredible scripted shows. HBO launched its pay-TV service in 1972, the first of its kind, offering viewers an exclusive chance to see shows for an extra cost on top of their regular cable TV bills. The network showed movies and began to make its own exclusive shows, with early efforts including anthology series like The Hitchhiker, kids’ shows like Fraggle Rock, and docuseries like America Undercover. However, things exploded in the 90s when the network began making critically acclaimed television shows.
From scripted comedy shows to dramatic masterpieces, here is a look at the seven best HBO shows of the 1990s.
7) Arliss
Image Courtesy of HBO
In 1996, HBO began producing its original comedy series Arliss (stylized as Arli$$). Seven years after appearing in Tim Burton’s Batman, Robert Wuhl created this HBO series and starred as Arliss Michaels, a Los Angeles sports agent who struggles to say no to his clients. The series was a comedy, but it also took a look at very serious topics at the time in sports, from gambling controversies and political corruption to domestic abuse and even transgender athletes, years before the subject became a hot-button topic again.
The series was influenced by the book The Art of the Deal, which Wuhl called “100 percent BS,” so each episode had Arliss explaining how he pulled off his great deals, only to reveal the truth behind them and show that all his explanations were lies. The show was critically acclaimed and featured countless cameos from nig names like Jimmy Johnson, John Elway, Derek Jeter, Kobe Bryant, Jerry Jones, and more.
6) Todd McFarlane’s Spawn
Image Courtesy of HBO
In 1997, HBO brought the Image Comics character Spawn to the small screen in an adult animated series called Todd McFarlane’s Spawn. This was one of two adult animated series to premiere on HBO in 1997, and it was the most successful of the two (the other being Spicy City). The storyline mostly followed Spawn’s comic book origins, with former Marine assassin Al Simmons murdered and then making a deal with an overlord from Hell to return as a Hellspawn.
The series lasted for three seasons, with Keith David voicing Spawn and Todd McFarlane overseeing the storylines. With 18 episodes, it was short but ended up beloved by fans and critically acclaimed. It won an Emmy Award in 1999 for Outstanding Animation Program and helped erase the memories of the disappointing theatrical release that came out the same year Spawn premiered on HBO.
5) The Larry Sanders Show
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The Larry Sanders Show was an amazing success story for HBO in the 1990s, serving as a perfect example of later self-referential shows like Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Office. Garry Shandling stars as Larry Sanders, a late-night talk show host, and the series doesn’t just show his preparations for the show and backstage drama, but also presents the fictional talk show with real-world guests.
The supporting cast was magnificent, with names like Janeane Garofalo, Jeremy Piven, Wallace Langham, and Jeffrey Tambor. Guests appearing as themselves included Jennifer Aniston, Drew Barrymore, Beck, Winona Ryder, Hugh Hefner, Jeff Goldblum, and more. The series was a hilarious look at celebrities, ran for six seasons, and won three Primetime Emmy Awards.
4) Mr. Show with Bob and David
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HBO had one of the best sketch comedy shows of the 1990s with the brilliant Mr. Show with Bob and David, which ran from 1995 to 1998. Bob was Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul), while David was David Cross (Arrested Development). The two were a perfect duo, delivering some of the most memorable sketches imaginable for four seasons.
What made Mr. Show stand out from other sketch comedy shows like Saturday Night Live, MAD TV, and In Living Color was that the sketches here were bizarre, often surreal, and many times made little sense. Taking more of an inspiration from Monty Python’s Flying Circus and MTV’s The State, the quirky comedy became a huge cult favorite, and its legacy remains strong three decades later.
3) Tales from the Crypt
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While The Twilight Zone remains the best anthology series of all time, when it comes to straight horror, nothing matches the dark comic brilliance of Tales from the Crypt. Based on the classic EC Comics of the same name, each episode saw the Crypt Keeper introduce the story, with a cackling laugh, and then the story ended up as a darkly funny morality horror tale. Sadly, Tales from the Crypt remains unavailable to stream due to licensing issues.
Tales from the Crypt featured some incredible actors taking on horror roles, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Hanks, Will Wheaton, Ewan McGregor, Steve Buscemi, Brad Pitt, and Daniel Craig. With such a rich selection of actors and a brilliant slate of terrifying tales, nothing has matched the horror anthology series in the years since.
2) The Kids in the Hall
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The 1990s saw some great sketch comedy shows hit the air, with MAD TV, The State, and Mr. Show with Bob and David delivering hilarious comedy for the masses. However, standing above them all is the Canadian sketch comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall, who received a television series that co-aired on CBC in Canada and HBO in the United States.
The TV series featured the troupe, some of whom have gone on to have tremendous success on TV and in movies in the years since. This includes names like Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, and Mark McKinney. This troupe owes its existence to comedy from groups like Monty Python, and The Kids in the Hall went a long way in keeping this surreal comedy alive. With six seasons, airing from 1989 to 1995, they helped influence everything from South Park to Portlandia.
1) Oz
Image Courtesy of HBO
Oz is not only the best HBO show of the 1990s, but one of the best of the 2000s as well. The series debuted in 1997 and ran until 2003, set in the Oswald State Correctional Facility (Oz for short). This is a level 4 maximum-security state prison on the East Coast, and it features some of the most dangerous prisoners and guards imaginable.
What is amazing when rewatching Oz is seeing how many famous actors got their start on the HBO prison series. Ernie Hudson (Ghostbusters) is the prison warden, and the prisoners include stars like Harold Perrineau (Lost), J.K. Simmons (Law & Order), Dean Winters (Sex and the City), Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Game of Thrones), and Christopher Meloni (Law & Order: SVU). Oz ran for six seasons and 56 episodes on HBO.
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