The entertainment landscape is a crowded one, especially when it comes to television. Thanks to streamers, there are more television shows available for viewers to tune into (or binge) than ever before between back catalogs of iconic series and new offerings as well. And when it comes to some of the best and most critically acclaimed television offerings, HBO is a leader, giving viewers a wide range of well-crafted, high-quality programs that often end up a part of the cultural conversation.
However, for every The Last of Us or Game of Thrones, there are series that were truly great but have to varying extents slipped into obscurity. Some of these series had deliberately short runs as miniseries while others were cancelled too soon, but no matter their duration they are true gems that deserve way more attention than they get.
7) Carnivale
Set in the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, Carnivale is a fascinating good versus evil series. After the death of his mother, teen fugitive Ben Hawkins is picked up by a traveling carnival run by a mysterious, unseen force known only as Management and soon, Ben finds himself reconnecting with his long-dormant supernatural powers. At the same time hundreds of miles away, an evangelical minister is tormented by visions of the apocalypse. Two men on two different paths, destined to collide, they are unwittingly players in the battle between Darkness and Light.
While it ran for only two seasons — cut short from a planned six — due to the high cost of production and the show seeing a significant drop in viewership from Season 1 to Season 2 — Carnivale was a rich, incredibly well-researched series that also had its own rich mythology and detailed world-building. It featured complex, overlapping narratives, an extremely slow-burn drama, and is one of the most creative television series ever made. Some consider Carnivale to be the precursor to just about every major successful genre television show that followed in terms of its scope and production, but other than its devoted group of fans, no one really talks about it anymore.
6) Sharp Objects
Technically a miniseries, 2018’s Sharp Objects was based on Gillian Flynn’s novel of the same name. The series starred Amy Adams, Patricia Clarkson, Chris Messina, and many more and followed Camille Preaker (Adams), a troubled, alcoholic reporter who returns to her small, Missouri hometown to investigate the murder of two young girls. However, going home also puts her under her mother’s critical eye and, in turn, forces Camille to face her own demons.
Sharp Objects received critical acclaim and for good reason. The series is a fantastic example of a slow burn done right and features incredible performances from both Adams and Clarkson as the series brings to life a dark, moody, and at times brutal story. Adams in particular is at her peak here in one of her finest performances ever. It’s also possibly one of the best adaptations of Flynn’s work to date — which is saying something considering how good Gone Girl is.
5) We Own This City
While the series featured multiple Marvel stars and the then-future Superman, We Own This City is one of HBO’s great series that people seem to have forgotten exists. The series follows the rise and fall of the Baltimore Police Department’s Gun Trace Task Force, centering on Sergeant Wayne Jenkins (played by Jon Bernthal). The miniseries is based on a book by Baltimore Sun reporter Justin Fenton. Bernthal is joined by an expansive cast, including Loki star Wunmi Mosaku and Superman’s David Corenswet.
Exploring systemic corruption in the law enforcement, the series has been described as a darker, more grim answer to The Wire and was a hit with critics. The series also features what might be one of Bernthal’s best-ever performances as Jenkins, one of eight officers who were convicted on various corruption charges. It’s a fantastic, six-episode crime drama and while just over three years has passed since it debuted, no one talks about it anymore.
4) Enlightened
Image courtesy of HBO
While Mike White would go on to have massive success with The White Lotus, his two-season series Enlightened may be one of the best television shows of its era, though no one remembers it or talks about it now. Debuting in 2011, Enlightened stars Laura Dern as Amy Jellicoe, a 40-year-old woman who returns home after a two-month stay in a treatment facility following a mental breakdown and attempts to put her life back together after having a philosophical awakening. In addition to Dern, the series stars Luke Wilson, Diane Ladd, Sarah Burns, Timm Sharp, and White himself.
The series received multiple award nominations — Dern even won a Golden Globe for Best Actress — and was a critical hit, particularly in Season 2. But despite being well-acted and brilliantly darkly humorous, the series suffered from poor ratings and has largely been forgotten — especially now that The White Lotus is thriving.
3) I May Destroy You
Image courtesy of Max
Created, written, co-directed, executive-produced by and starring Michaela Coel, I May Destroy You is one of those series that may well go down as one of the best television series of all time, but it’s barely talked about anymore even though it’s only been five years since it debuted. The series follows Arabella (Coel), a social media star turned novelist who is riding high off the success of her debut book. However, when struggling to meet a deadline for her second book, a break from the work for a night out with friends turns her entire life upside down after she’s sexually assaulted and has to rebuild her life. The series was met with wide critical acclaim and received multiple Emmy Award nominations, winning two including one for Outstanding Writing making Coel the first Black woman to win the award.
The series is touching, gut-wrenching, and at times hilarious as it explores and untangles the trauma of sexual assault and the impact it has on someone’s life. It’s also an incredible example of what one creator’s vision can do when allowed to flourish. It’s a must-watch.
2) Watchmen
Image courtesy of Paramount Television
For as talked about as it was when it debuted in 2019, no one really talks about Watchmen anymore. A sequel to the 1986 DC Comics series of the same name, the television series was created by Damon Lindelof and stars Regina King, Don Johnson, Tim Blake Nelson, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jeremy Irons, Jean Smart, and Hong Chau among others. Less a sequel in some ways and more of a series that is set in the same world as the comics, HBO’s Watchmen focuses on racist violence in present-day Tulsa, Oklahoma and sees Angela Aba (King) investigating the murder of police chief Judd Crawford (Johnson). However, her investigation reveals some deep, dark secrets about not only the man she thought was her friend, but the world of vigilante heroes as well.
The series took some big swings and made some serious connections to the Watchmen comics. It had its quirks but also had some solid performances and was very well-received by critics. The series was controversial with some comics book fans but genuinely is thought-provoking and does a great job of exploring what the world of Watchmen (the comic) would look like if the story had continued.
1) Los Espookys
Debuting in 2019 and getting just two seasons, Los Espookys is a unique series that not only was cancelled too soon but deserves to be talked about way more than it is. The series, told entirely in Spanish follows a group of friends who turn their love of horror into an unusual business: they provide horror to those who need it in an unspecified Latin American country where “the strange and eerie are just part of daily life.”
While the idea of a professional services that brings horror movie-style experiences to paying customers who just want the crap scared out of them by itself is just a fantastic premise, Los Espookys is actually a layered and complex series that draws both from horror movies and Latin American magical realism. It is also a deeply realistic series that shows the challenge of balancing operating a small business with the love for what one does. It’s funny, weird, a little unsettling at times, and very human.
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