Show Snob
Fansided

Top 5 HBO Shows of All-Time: Where does True Detective rank?

By Josh Hill

facebooktwitterreddit

The second season of the hit HBO series True Detective is right around the corner, and all of the hype is reminding us of just how massive the first season was.

More from HBO

Just like House of Cards or Breaking Bad, HBO tapped into something special of it’s own in True Detective and the series is on its way to being a flagship program. But in the annals of HBO history, where does True Detective stack up against the other great shows that have aired?

We take a look at the top five dramatic series that HBO has ever aired to see if there’s a spot for True Detective after just one season of airing.

Note: Theses are just drama series, so comedy series such ‘Curb’ and ‘The Larry Sanders Show’ are not included.

5. Oz/Boardwalk Empire

Okay, so we’re cheating right off the bat but if they can have a tie in he top five of the college football AP polls, then we can have a tie here. Boardwalk Empire is just too good to leave off this list, as it’s turned in what will be five solid seasons and is among some of the very best shows that HBO has ever produced.

Oz was really the first original series that HBO could latch onto and call its own. The prison drama featured a slew of massive names in either regular roles or cameos and become a part of pop culture in the mid to late 1990s. It gets brushed to the side thanks to the series that succeeded it, but there’s always a special place for Oz in the hearts of HBO fans everywhere.

4. Deadwood

Another underrated series with critics, Deadwood is to the western as Game of Thrones is to fantasy. The production value was high, the quality of the acting was even higher and the series had it’s fair share of intense and memorable moments. It ended after just three seasons, but it remains one of the finest works HBO ever put forth.

3. Game of Thrones

The series is still airing but it’s safe to say Game of Thrones has cemented its status not only as one of the best HBO shows ever but one of the best television series ever. It’s multimillion dollar production budget per episode makes it feel like we’re watching a short film each week, and that’s part of what makes the series so great. It’s tapped into something incredibly special and seemingly can do no wrong with fans or critics.

2. The Sopranos

What’s an HBO list without The Sopranos. Better yet, what’s the current state of television without The Sopranos, as the mob drama not only showed us a new take on an old story, but it revolutionized the television drama game. We had near hits in the past with cable shows like NYPD Blue and even to a certain extent E.R., but the drama category was dragged out back, shot and dumped into a garbage bin with The Sopranos as it remains one of the best television shows to have ever aired.

1. The Wire

How do you top that sort of endorsement for The Sopranos? Somehow, The Wire managed to do so in it’s run on HBO. Taking what The Sopranos did for the genre, The Wire told the story not of a mob family or a lifestyle but of a city and it’s people. Like opening up a watch to see all the moving parts, The Wire used the changing digital times to show us a portrait of a city. It was brilliant, underrated during it’s time but now considered to be perhaps the greatest television show ever.

Where is Tue Detective?

Credit: HBO

As you can see, True Detective didn’t make the cut, but its close. There’s no doubting that the show is a top ten series, but that’s all based off of one season. If we were going there, then shows like Carnivale deserve mention. All of the top HBO shows have not one or two great seasons but incredible overarching runs. That’s what True Detective needs to strive for as we’ve seen great rookie seasons before, but not every standout goes on to have a Hall of Fame career.

More from Show Snob

Home/HBO