In the US, HBO is home to some of the biggest and best must-watch dramas and comedies in the entire world.
But in the UK? We here at Sky are home to HBO.
From sci-fi fantasy worlds, to families fighting it out for their slice of a billion-dollar empire, to hilarious comedies that take you all the way to the White House, dozens of HBO shows have become iconic classics, or simply the latest show everyone is talking about.
Want in on the latest watercooler gossip show? We here at Sky have you with programmes on Sky Atlantic, Sky Comedy, Sky Max and Sky Documentaries.
In December 2024, Sky announced an expanded partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery in the UK and Ireland – until early 2026 when Max, Warner Bros. Discovery’s premium streaming service, launches in the U.K and Ireland. After Max launch, the new deal means Sky and NOW customers benefit from more content at no extra cost through bundled access to the streaming service that will exclusively feature new HBO Original and Max Original shows and more. And the existing franchises and their future series will continue on Sky Atlantic for Sky customers.
Want to know how good we’re talking?
Here are some of the best HBO shows you can watch right now on Sky and NOW.
The Last of Us
The Last of Us follows Joel (Pedro Pascal) whose life is changed forever when a parasitic virus sweeps the world, turning people into violent monsters.
20 years on from the start of the pandemic, Joel works as a medical supplies smuggler in a quarantine zone. But when one deal turns bad, Joel finds himself taking care of a feisty 14-year-old, Ellie (Bella Ramsey), who might hold the cure for everything.
Now they just need to survive and get to safety – and learn to trust each other.
Find out more about The Last of Us
Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones is a fantasy epic based on the books by George R.R. Martin, and is often – and rightly – named among the greatest TV shows of all time.
Set in the fictional world of Westeros, formed of Seven Kingdoms, Game of Thrones chronicles the power battles between the noble families who are all fighting for the Iron Throne – and therefore rule over the entire continent.
Alliances are formed, tested and broken, betrayal is all too common, and bloodshed is a typical day for those involved in the battle for power.
Find out more about Game of Thrones
Sex and the City
Sex and the City is a sex writer on the rise. With the help of her three best friends – Samantha (Kim Cattrall), Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) – they navigate their thirties and Manhattan (as well as the men in their lives) together, often with hilarious results.
This ultimate sitcom classic has become an international sensation, with two movies and a spin-off series.
Find out more about Sex and the City
Westworld
Westworld is a Western-themed amusement park filled with eerily lifelike robots playing the roles of residents, paying guests can live out their fantasies free from trouble and retaliation.
For customers and creators, things seem idyllic – but things start going drastically wrong when the robots begin malfunctioning.
The Sopranos
The Sopranos is a widely celebrated drama which has been hailed as one of the greatest TV series of all-time.
In the show, Tony Soprano is reigning supreme in New Jersey as the head of an Italian-American mob – but even crime moguls have to struggle to find that work-life balance.
In Tony’s case, that lack of balance can be dangerous, with rival gangs and mobsters ready to jump in on his turf at the first sign of weakness.
Find out more about The Sopranos
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm is a comedic sitcom created by Larry David, the co-creator of Seinfeld.
The series follows the amusing misadventures of a fictionalised and grumpy version of David, as he struggles to navigate everyday life in Los Angeles.
Find out more about Curb Your Enthusiasm
The Regime
The darkly comedic six-episode series tells the story of life within the walls of a modern authoritarian regime as it begins to unravel.
After not leaving the palace for quite some time, Chancellor Elena Vernham (Kate Winslet) has grown increasingly paranoid and unstable when she turns to a volatile soldier, Herbert Zubak (Matthias Schoenaerts), as an unlikely confidant.
As Zubak’s influence over the chancellor continues to grow, Elena’s attempts to expand her power eventually result in both the palace and the country fracturing around her.
Find out more about The Regime
Succession
Set in the high-stakes corporate world, Succession follows the lives of the Roy family – a powerful family dynasty who own Waystar Royco, one of the world’s largest media and entertainment conglomerates.
The series centres around the power struggle within the family as Logan Roy, head of Waystar Royco and patriarch of the family, battles with declining health and each of his four grown children follow a personal agenda to take over his position as head of the company.
True Detective
In this anthology crime drama, True Detective follows police officers and detectives around the US who are forced to face dark secrets about themselves and the people around them – all while investigating homicides.
Each season features Hollywood A-listers in the leading roles, with each season being completely cut-off from the one before it.
Find out more about True Detective
House of the Dragon
Set 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon tells the story of the once all-powerful House Targaryen, whose centuries-long hold on the Iron Throne is tested by an inter-family civil war that threatens to destroy their entire dynasty.
Find out more about House of the Dragon
True Blood
In a world where vampires have ‘come out of the coffin’ and into the public eye, the bloodsuckers are able to survive as normal with the help of ‘True Blood’, a synthetic alternative sold like beer.
Bon Temps, Louisiana, has never seen a real vampire – until Bill walks into the bar Sookie Stackhouse works one day, setting off a chain of events that enlightens her and her loved ones to even more creatures that go bump in the night.
This ultra-violent, ultra-sexual series came at the height of the vampire craze, and brought stars like Alexander Skarsgard, Stephen Moyer, Nelsan Ellis, Deborah Ann Woll and Joe Manganiello into the spotlight.
Find out more about True Blood
Euphoria
Euphoria is a dark drama that follows a group of high school students while they navigate teenage life, love and friendship in a world of sex, trauma, drugs and social media.
The series is told through the eyes of Rue Bennett, played by Zendaya, a troubled 17-year-old who is battling a drug addiction.
Rue’s peers come with problems of their own, all grappling with the decisions they have to make about their futures and the anxieties that come with day-to-day teenage life.
Girls
Lena Dunham brings the twisted world of the New York millennial twenty-something to life in Girls, leading the cast as wannabe writer, Hannah.
With her three best friends – Jessa, Marnie and Soshanna – by her side, the foursome navigate their hyper-dependent friendships, as they deal with finding their place in the world.
That’s before we even begin on their nothing short of chaotic love lives, with Hannah dealing with her on/off boyfriend, Adam (Adam Driver).
The Wire
The Wire is a critically-acclaimed, hard-hitting American crime drama detailing a police department's efforts to investigate and take down a drug kingpin and his empire.
Over the course of five seasons, the show aimed to shine a light on real-life corruption and systemic issues embedded into public institutions - from city government to media – and how it affects a collective of characters in the city of Baltimore, Maryland.
The Jinx
The Jinx: The Life and Crimes of Robert Durst, this Emmy-winning six-part documentary series follows three mysterious deaths, all attached to an eccentric heir to a billion-dollar real estate empire.
After a massively successful first season – which came with a finale even Oscar-winning directors couldn’t have come up with – the series released a season two in 2024, with the documentary unwittingly becoming central to the story they were watching from afar.
The White Lotus
The White Lotus is an American comedy-drama anthology television series created by Mike White for HBO.
It follows the rich and entitled guests of the fictional White Lotus resort chain, as well as the long-suffering disgruntled employees to make their stay a memorable one.
However, things can and will go off the rails, with seasons one and two both ending in a dead body as well as various other dysfunctions.
Band of Brothers
Created by executive producers Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, Band of Brothers follows the journey of “Easy” Company – 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division.
From their paratrooper training ahead of Operation Overlord, through the Normandy landing and the invasion of Germany, and eventually the end of World War II, the men have to club together and have each others’ backs in order to survive.
Find out more about Band of Brothers
And Just Like That...
A follow-up to Sex and the City, And Just Like That... picks up on the lives of Carrie, Charlotte and Miranda as they now navigate their older age.
From teenagers questioning their identity to questioning their own sexuality and place in the world, the three women at least still have each other and a cosmo ready to go – no matter how crazy their respective lives get in New York City.
Find out more about And Just Like That...
Boardwalk Empire
Enoch ‘Nucky’ Thompson, a politician in Atlantic City, New Jersey, plays both sides of the law by conspiring with gangsters during the 1920s Prohibition era. As he rises through the ranks of power, he has to keep his wits about him.
The lead character is loosely based on the real-life Enoch L Johnson, and as such we see recreations of real historical people, including politicians and mobsters alike.
Find out more about Boardwalk Empire
Veep
In this highly celebrated satirical comedy by Armando Iannucci, Julia Louis-Dreyfus plays Selina Meyer, a cutthroat former Senator who is given the opportunity of a lifetime to become the Vice President of the United States (or the ‘veep’ where the show gets its name).
Now tasked with one of the most important jobs in the world, Selina is now in charge of preventing political uproars and maintaining the status quo. Thankfully she has a team of staff around her who (kind of) know what they’re doing.
Entourage
Very (very, very) loosely inspired by Mark Wahlberg’s early life, Entourage chronicles the acting career of Vincent Chase (Adrian Grenier), a young and promising movie star who becomes an A-lister, and drags his friends up by their shoelaces in the process.
Among the troupe is Eric "E" Murphy (Kevin Connolly), Turtle (Jerry Ferrara) and Johnny "Drama" Chase (Kevin Dillon), each with their own important part in his world - for better or worse. Ari Gold (Jeremy Piven) is on hand as Vincent’s abrasive agent.
The light-hearted drama tracks their adventures through Hollywood.
Mare of Easttown
Set in a fictional Philadelphia town, Kate Winslet stars as Marianne ‘Mare’ Sheehan – a former hometown hero turned troubled detective whose life is hanging on by a thread.
While her personal life is in tatters, including a divorce and a custody battle for her dead son’s child, Mare is forced to put things aside when a murder of a teenage mother rocks the community.
Over seven episodes, the thrilling drama focuses on a whodunnit that digs up the past and puts Mare’s abilities and wits to the test.
Find out more about Mare of Easttown
Big Little Lies
Big Little Lies follows a group of friends in Monterey, California, whose lives are turned upside down when a murder takes place in their picturesque neighbourhood.
As the quest for answers continues, the masks of their perfect family lives begin to slip, with secrets boiling to the surface until the truth is revealed.
Originally a limited series, Big Little Lies proved so successful it was brought back for season two, with a new story away from the original novel by Liane Moriarty.
Find out more about Big Little Lies
The Gilded Age
George Russell and his wife Bertha are both fiercely ambitious, and they are determined to reach the highest echelons of New York.
However, breaking into high society is a lot easier said than done, especially with a divide between those considered ‘old’ and ‘new’ money.
In a glittering world on the brink of modern age, will the established rules of society prevail, or will they be able to change the game entirely?
Carrie Coon, Morgan Spector, Cynthia Nixon, and Christine Baranski star in the series.
Barry
Barry Berkman (Bill Hader), a former Marine and Afghanistan war vet, lives a lonely and isolated life as a hitman-for-hire, but is wracked with guilt for what he does.
While staking out his next target, he finds a true knack and love for acting via a class run by Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler).
With a new lease of life – Barry now he just needs to figure out how to leave his old one behind.
Silicon Valley
American comedy Silicon Valley follows a wannabe tech mogul and his co-workers as they try to navigate the cutthroat world of multi-billion dollar companies as they launch their start-up, Pied Piper.
The series, which ran for six seasons, mocked the ever-growing tech industry and the innovators at the centre of it around the famed Northern California area where most of the companies are based.
Find out more about Silicon Valley
The Pacific
The Pacific is a 10-episode war drama miniseries. It also acts as a companion series to fellow HBO war hit series, Band of Brothers.
The show focuses on the US Marine Corps and their actions during the Pacific War.
Central to the story are depictions of three real-life Marines from the War – Robert Leckie (played by James Badge Dale), Eugene Sledge (Joseph Mazzello) and John Basilone (Jon Seda)- each giving their perspectives from different regiments of the 1st Marine Division.
The series takes inspiration from With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa and Helmet for My Pillow, memoirs created by Sledge and Leckie respectively.
Find out more about The Pacific
Big Love
Bill Paxton stars as Bill Hendrickson, the patriarch of a Mormon family and polygamist who lives with his three wives in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Told across five seasons, the family and their children have to deal with the ups and downs of their life and lifestyle, including being in the public eye, and their association with a fundamentalist Mormon sect who live in their suburb.
Ginnifer Goodwin, Chloe Sevigny and Jeanne Tripplehorn star as his three wives in this drama, with Amanda Seyfried and Douglas Smith as their two eldest children.
The Staircase (TV Series)
Based on the true crime docuseries of the same name by Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, The Staircase stars Colin Firth as eccentric author and family man Michael Peterson, whose life is changed forever when his wife, Kathleen, dies after supposedly falling down their home’s staircase.
In this limited series, Michael soon becomes the prime suspect in her murder, sparking decades of criminal trials, and long-held family secrets being brought to the surface. The series focuses on multiple theories on what could have happened. Toni Collette, Patrick Schwarzenegger, Sophie Turner, Dane Deehan, and Juliette Binoche also star.