HBO has given us some of the funniest, sharpest, and most unforgettable comedy series ever made. From political satires to dark comedies about hitmen, the network has never been afraid to take big swings.
These shows have made us laugh, cringe, and sometimes even cry. Whether you are a longtime HBO fan or just getting started, this list has something worth watching for everyone.
1. Curb Your Enthusiasm
Larry David has built an entire career out of saying what everyone else is thinking but would never dare to say out loud. In this semi-improvised comedy, his fictionalized self stumbles into one awkward situation after another, usually by following his own strict social code.
The show ran for 12 seasons, wrapping up in 2024. Its cringe-worthy humor and sharp wit have earned it multiple Emmy Awards over the years.
2. Veep
Julia Louis-Dreyfus won six consecutive Emmy Awards playing Selina Meyer, a Vice President whose political ambitions never quite match her actual competence. The rapid-fire insults and backstabbing office politics make every episode feel like a wild ride through Washington.
Running from 2012 to 2019, Veep also won Outstanding Comedy Series three times. Its writing is so sharp it almost feels like reading tomorrow’s political headlines before they happen.
3. The Larry Sanders Show
Before “Curb Your Enthusiasm” or “30 Rock” even existed, Garry Shandling was already rewriting the rules of TV comedy. His character Larry Sanders hosted a fictional late-night show while dealing with an avalanche of backstage neurosis and ego clashes.
Premiering in 1992, this groundbreaking series ran six seasons and helped put HBO on the map as a home for prestige television. It is widely credited with inventing the meta-comedy format we see everywhere today.
4. Barry
What happens when a hired killer discovers he has a passion for acting? That question drives four seasons of one of the most unexpectedly emotional comedies HBO has ever aired.
Bill Hader plays Barry Berkman, a hitman trying to trade bullets for Broadway.
The show ran from 2018 to 2023 and earned praise for blending dark humor with genuine heartbreak. Hader also co-wrote the series, proving he is just as talented behind the camera as in front of it.
5. Insecure
Issa Rae created something truly refreshing with this comedy-drama about two Black women navigating friendship, love, and careers in South Los Angeles. The show felt authentic in a way that TV rarely achieves, mixing humor with real emotional depth.
Issa Rae and Yvonne Orji brought so much natural energy to their roles that the friendship between their characters felt completely real. After five seasons, from 2016 to 2021, the show earned a Peabody Award for its honest cultural storytelling.
6. Hacks
Jean Smart absolutely owns every scene she is in as Deborah Vance, a legendary Las Vegas stand-up comic clinging to relevance. When a young, disgraced comedy writer named Ava gets assigned to help freshen up her act, sparks fly in the best possible way.
The chemistry between Smart and Hannah Einbinder is the beating heart of the show. Critics have celebrated Hacks for balancing sharp comedy with surprisingly moving moments about ambition, aging, and creative identity.
7. Flight of the Conchords
New Zealand’s fourth most popular folk-parody duo trying to make it big in New York City sounds like a recipe for disaster, and honestly, it is. Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie play fictionalized versions of themselves, bumbling through auditions and odd jobs with zero luck and maximum charm.
The show debuted in 2007 and ran for two seasons. Its original songs are genuinely catchy, and the whole series has a warm, goofy energy that is almost impossible not to love.
8. Mr. Show with Bob and David
Bob Odenkirk and David Cross built something genuinely strange and wonderful with this 1990s sketch comedy series. The show was famous for its seamless sketch transitions, where one scene would flow directly into the next with almost no setup needed.
Debuting in 1995, it ran four seasons and featured a rotating cast that included Sarah Silverman and Paul F. Tompkins.
Many comedy writers today point to Mr. Show as a major creative influence on their own work.
9. Sex and the City
Few shows have sparked as many conversations about love, friendship, and fashion as this iconic HBO series. Following four women navigating romance and careers in New York City, the show tackled topics that most TV avoided entirely in the late 1990s.
Sarah Jessica Parker led a cast that included Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, and Cynthia Nixon. The series ran from 1998 to 2004, won an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series, and became a genuine cultural touchstone that still influences pop culture today.
10. The Comeback
Lisa Kudrow plays Valerie Cherish, a fading TV actress who agrees to let cameras follow her around as she attempts a career comeback. The cringe comedy is almost painfully real, and Kudrow’s performance is nothing short of extraordinary.
The show originally aired in 2005 and then returned in 2014 for a second season. It was ahead of its time in exploring reality TV culture and the brutal side of Hollywood, making it more relevant now than ever before.
11. Girls
Lena Dunham created and starred in this raw, often uncomfortable comedy about post-college life in New York City. The show did not sugarcoat anything, from bad relationships to career failures to the messiness of figuring out who you are in your 20s.
Running for six seasons from 2012 to 2017, Girls sparked major cultural conversations about representation and authenticity in TV. The supporting cast, including Allison Williams and Jemima Kirke, brought real depth to the story of young women finding their footing.
12. Silicon Valley
Tech culture has rarely been skewered as perfectly as it was in this HBO gem about a group of programmers chasing startup glory in California. The show captured the absurdity of Silicon Valley’s hustle mentality with remarkable accuracy and genuine affection.
Thomas Middleditch led the ensemble cast, which included Kumail Nanjiani and T.J. Miller, through six seasons from 2014 to 2019.
Anyone who has ever sat through a pitch meeting or a team stand-up will recognize every joke immediately.
13. Eastbound & Down
Kenny Powers is one of TV’s most gloriously delusional characters, a washed-up baseball pitcher who moves back to his hometown and becomes a gym teacher while convinced his comeback is just around the corner. Danny McBride plays him with zero restraint and total commitment.
The show ran from 2009 to 2013 and essentially launched McBride’s HBO career. It set the template for his brand of loud, self-sabotaging comedy that he would later refine in his other HBO projects.
14. The Righteous Gemstones
Danny McBride returned to HBO with this wickedly funny satire about a famous televangelist family whose greed, feuds, and questionable morals are only matched by their enormous wealth. John Goodman anchors the ensemble as the powerful patriarch Eli Gemstone.
The show premiered in 2019 and has been a consistent crowd-pleaser ever since. With Edi Patterson and Adam Devine rounding out the family, every episode feels like a church service gone completely and hilariously off the rails.
15. Somebody Somewhere
Bridget Everett delivers a career-defining performance as Sam, a woman in her 40s who returns to her small Kansas hometown after her sister’s death and slowly rediscovers joy through an unlikely community of misfits. The show is tender without being sappy.
Running for three seasons from 2022 to 2024, Somebody Somewhere earned devoted fans who loved its quiet honesty. Jeff Hiller’s portrayal of Sam’s best friend Joel is pure gold, full of warmth and perfectly timed humor.
16. The Rehearsal
Nathan Fielder took reality TV and turned it into something completely unclassifiable with this mind-bending series. He helps real people rehearse difficult life moments by constructing incredibly detailed fake environments, hiring actors, and running through scenarios again and again.
The show aired for two seasons starting in 2022 and left viewers genuinely unsure where performance ended and reality began. Whether you call it documentary, comedy, or performance art, The Rehearsal is unlike anything else on television.
17. A Black Lady Sketch Show
Robin Thede created and stars in this Emmy-winning sketch comedy series built entirely around an all-Black, all-female cast and writing team. The result is comedy that feels genuinely fresh, with a perspective that mainstream sketch TV has rarely offered before.
Each episode packs in multiple sketches ranging from sharp social commentary to pure absurdist silliness. Gabrielle Dennis and Ashley Nicole Black are standouts in the ensemble, bringing charisma and comedic timing that make every sketch land with real impact.