What to Watch
After HBO's 2020 Trending Series
2020 has been quite a year and we’ve leaned on our favorite shows to help get us through it. HBO series ranging from heartfelt dramas, compelling coming-of-age narratives, thrilling mysteries, and much-needed comedies have — as great stories always do — provided us with comfort and allowed us to escape into new worlds.
And there’s plenty more must-watch series to cue up right after these 2020 trending hits. Below are our expert recommendations on what to watch next, all available to stream on HBO Max.
What to Watch After The Undoing
We didn’t see that ending coming. For more shows that keep you guessing, check out our picks below.
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Based on characters created by Erle Stanley Gardner, this crime drama series follows the discovery and trials of American fiction’s most legendary criminal defense lawyer: Perry Mason, played by Emmy winner Matthew Rhys.
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Jude Law and Naomie Harris star in this mystery limited series about exploring an island and unearthing the dark secrets of its inhabitants.
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Steven Soderbergh presents a new storytelling experience in this unique mystery narrative, compelling the viewer to do the detective work through a series of shorts in which the story isn't complete until all the pieces are viewed.
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What to Watch After Lovecraft Country
Step out of the world of Lovecraft Country and into these reality-bending series.
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Set in an alternate history of 2019, Watchmen brings the masked vigilante world featured in the iconic graphic novel into the present day, exploring various aspects of the Black experience in America along the way.
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Looking for another series based on a book? His Dark Materials, based on Philip Pullman’s beloved trilogy, follows Lyra, a brave young woman from another world who attempts to find her kidnapped friend — and ends up uncovering a sinister plot in the process.
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Reality and otherworldly beings collide in this series based on the best-selling novel by Stephen King, as the investigation of a young boy's murder becomes intertwined with an insidious, supernatural force.
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What to Watch After I May Destroy You
Personal transformation doesn’t come easy, but these shows prove that it’s a worthy journey. (Usually.)
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The coming-of-age story from Luca Guadagnino (Call Me by Your Name) follows two American teenagers as they encounter the highs and lows of youth while living on an American military base in Italy.
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After experiencing a very public breakdown and spending months in a treatment center, a successful corporate buyer (Laura Dern) returns to her daily life newly enlightened — but quickly discovers there’s much more to learn about herself.
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A woman's humdrum life is thrown upside down when her college sweetheart invites her to drop everything and meet him in New York, causing her to re-evaluate everything. Merritt Wever and Domhnall Gleeson star.
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See which HBO original series and new movies will be arriving in the coming months — including The Nevers, Succession Season 3, Wonder Woman 1984 in theaters and on HBO Max on the same day, and so much more.
What to Watch After Insecure
These picks are lowkey great ways to spend your time as you wait for Season 5 of Insecure.
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Robin Thede and Issa Rae executive-produce this narrative sketch comedy series starring a core cast of Black women and set in a limitless magical reality full of dynamic, hilarious characters and celebrity guests.
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Issa Rae stars alongside Bette Midler, Kaitlyn Dever, Dany Levy, and Sarah Paulson in this socially distanced comedic satire that spotlights five characters breaking down and breaking through as they grapple with politics, culture, and the pandemic.
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Insecure star Yvonne Orji celebrates her Nigerian-American upbringing in her debut special, which intersperses her stand-up with documentary footage of a trip to Nigeria.
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Amanda Seales — aka Insecure's Tiffany — delves into catcalling versus compliments, a woman's "vagenda," workplace email etiquette, and more in this stand-up special.
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What to Watch After Curb Your Enthusiasm
We think these other shows are pretty, pretty, pretty good, too.
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Similar to Larry in Curb Your Enthusiasm, John Wilson is just like everyone else. In a uniquely hilarious odyssey of self-discovery and cultural observation, he covertly and obsessively films the lives of his fellow New Yorkers while attempting to give everyday advice.
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If you are looking for people that, like Larry, say exactly what is on their mind, look no further than the Pied Piper team. These introverted programmers and pals stumble through the outrageous world of tech start-ups and even create a few companies along the way.
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In need of a laugh and maybe a song? Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie star in this music-comedy series about life, love, and the pursuit of the elusive music video.
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What to Watch After Watchmen
For Dr. Manhattan, all of these shows exist at the exact same time.
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Showrunner Misha Green brings to life the story of two friends as they struggle to survive and overcome racist terrors and monsters while on a road trip through 1950s Jim Crow America in this adaptation of Matt Ruff’s 2016 novel.
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Before Watchmen, producer Damon Lindelof created The Leftovers (along with co-creator Tom Perrotta), a dramatic series that focuses on the people left behind after 2 percent of the world’s population disappears.
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Dive into another alternative universe, but this time one where vampires have come out of the coffin and now live among humans.
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What to Watch After Succession
Logan Roy would just tell you to f**k off. But we’re here to help.
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Take a break from news, and learn about a different industry. Discover a group of ambitious and intelligent twentysomethings struggling to secure their future at one of the top international banks.
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If family-focused series are your thing, uncover a family that might be just like your own in Years and Years. As each year passes and society changes, the Lyons family experiences everything we hope for in the future — and everything we fear.
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Who loves news as much as Logan Roy? Will McAvoy. The cable news anchor and his team are on a quest to answer the age-old question, is it possible to produce good TV news and still make it popular?
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A carefree, self-assured Londoner (Michaela Coel) has a group of great friends, a boyfriend in Italy and a burgeoning writing career. But when her drink is spiked with a date-rape drug, she must navigate the aftermath while questioning and rebuilding every element of her life.
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If you want to dive more into stories about teenage identity, look no further. Betty follows a group of young women as they explore the growth of their own identities through the male-dominated world of skateboarding in New York City.
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Mark Ruffalo stars as twin brothers with family history and mental illness in this depiction of individual journey and the complications of one’s own mind, directed by Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine).
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What to Watch After Big Little Lies
Perfect crime shows for your cold little heart.
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Check out Nicole Kidman in a different but equally mysterious role as she stars as an Upper East Side psychologist whose seemingly perfect life is upended by a very public disaster.
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If solving murders suits you, join Camille Preaker (Amy Adams) on a journey to uncover a string of unsolved murders in her hometown.
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Just as the women of Monterey learned, one night can change everything. Nasir's (Riz Ahmed) perfect night out becomes a nightmare when he's arrested for murder in this limited series created by Steven Zaillian (Schindler’s List) and Richard Price (The Wire).
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What to Watch After Chernobyl
What happens when power ends up in the wrong hands — or no hands at all?
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Amid scandal, intrigue, and immense conflict, Russian empress Catherine the Great (Helen Mirren) develops a unique relationship with Grigory Potemkin (Jason Clarke) as they overcome their adversaries.
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While Chernobyl looks at what happens when government fails, Deadwood looks at what could happen when it doesn’t exist at all. Set in 1876, the fictional Western follows a throng of restless, lawless misfits as they struggle with power and greed during the richest gold strike in U.S. history.
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Like Chernobyl, Our Boys tells the story of true, relatively recent events through an illuminating lens. Filmed in Israel, the drama explores what led to the outbreak of war in Gaza, including the murders of several young men.
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Can’t get enough of Kit Harington? Watch him as Robert Catesby in this historical 17th-century drama about England’s conflict with Spain and its domestic effect on noble life.
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Set in a past world, generals and soldiers, masters and slaves, and husbands and wives all find themselves players in this epic series about political flux and the altering of the most powerful empire in history.
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Explore “beyond the wall” of what we know in this drama series that asks questions about the nature of our reality, free will, and what makes us human.
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What to Watch After Veep
Just when you thought there’s nothing more absurd than the idea of Selina Meyer being president...
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In this futuristic comedy from Veep creator Armando Iannucci, a captain and crew of a luxury space cruise ship navigate disgruntled passengers and unexpected events after experiencing technical difficulties.
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Former TV “it girl” Valerie Cherish (Lisa Kudrow) tries to revive her career by starring in a reality show about her life, and soon discovers Hollywood isn’t exactly welcoming to women her age — but that doesn’t stop her from trying to break through.
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Meet the Gemstones, a famous family of televangelists known for charitable work to the public, but for deviance and greed behind the scenes. Creator Danny McBride stars alongside John Goodman and Adam Devine.
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What to Watch After The Wire
As Omar would say: These shows are just part of the game.
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For more from The Wire co-creator David Simon, watch this miniseries based on the true story of a young mayor (Oscar Isaac) whose attempt to fulfill a federal court order to build low-income housing in white neighborhoods tears his city apart.
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Each season of this anthology drama follows a different set of troubled cops trying to work through investigations that drive them to the edge.
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At Oswald Maximum Security Penitentiary, inmates are considered lucky if they get into the prison's "Emerald City,” a unit allegedly focused on rehabilitation. They're even luckier if they get out alive.
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What to Watch After The Sopranos
After that last scene, you probably aren’t ready to walk away from your screen. These shows are here for you.
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Barry (Bill Hader) might be a hitman, but he’s not just a hitman. The Emmy-winning comedy-drama, also featuring Henry Winkler, follows the title character as he attempts to tap into a new side of himself through theater.
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Follow the birth and rise of organized crime in "the world's playground" at the dawn of Prohibition in this drama starring Steve Buscemi as the man in charge of Atlantic City in 1920.
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Discover the secrets of patient/therapist confidentiality with this unique drama series starring Gabriel Byrne as Dr. Paul Weston, a therapist wrestling with his own issues as he tries to help patients with theirs.
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What to Watch After Sex and the City
I couldn’t help but wonder, what if there was another show that explored love, sex, and friendship?
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Four women living in New York City. Need we say more? Lena Dunham's fearless series captures both the hilarious and cringe-worthy moments of four young women discovering who they are.
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Sarah Jessica Parker stars in this comedy series that follows the unexpected consequences of one couple's breakup after 17 years of marriage.
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Three thirtysomething friends living in San Francisco explore the exciting, sometimes overwhelming, options available to a new generation of gay men.
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