HBO Max: The 21 best TV shows to watch tonight – CNET

On Sunday, make sure you catch the limited series finale of The White Lotus. The entertaining satire, featuring a murder mystery, is set at a tropical resort where the questionable guests eventually reveal darker layers.

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Veneno (2020)

The great Jean Smart rightfully takes the spotlight in this acclaimed comedy-drama series. Throwing iPads into swimming pools and delivering withering looks, Smart plays Deborah Vance, a legendary Las Vegas comedy diva who must face the prospect of appealing to a younger audience or disappearing into obscurity. She’s partnered with Ava (Hannah Einbinder), a young and equally snarky comedy writer, to freshen up her material. Perfectly balancing its biting insight into how the comedy business treats women, with the warmth of an odd couple buddy comedy, Hacks is one of the best originals to come out of HBO Max.

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The White Lotus

The sibling rivalry is strong and primed for hilarity in this comedy from a couple of Saturday Night Live writers. Chris Kelly and Sarah Schneider tell the story of Cary (Drew Tarver) and Brooke (Heléne Yorker), siblings in their late 20s who struggle with the sudden rise to internet fame of their 13-year-old Justin Bieber channeling brother. Molly Shannon is a treat as their mother Pat, ushering her children through open doors to success. Once you get over the gimmicky premise, The Other Two’s pop culture satire and surprisingly heartfelt storylines are a winning combination. Schitt’s Creek fans should give this a look.

HBO Max

HBO Max
Stath Lets Flats is one of the best new British TV shows that trades in quintessentially absurd British humor. Stath is a socially inept Greek-Cypriot letting agent, whose dad hands him a job working for his company. Despite his ineptitude, Stath perseveres with his new vocation, showing flats to potential customers with the electricity cut off or with the security alarm blaring because he can’t remember the code. His attempts to impress his father burn the same cringe appeal as The Office, which also sprinkled in poignant moments ensuring you rooted for the characters. Stick around for the even better season 2, which won three BAFTAs.

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What was initially a limited series was so good HBO renewed it for a second season. The satire about guests at a fancy resort gradually unveils the darker edges of its picture-perfect postcard. The White Lotus features an ensemble cast, including Jennifer Coolidge, Alexandra Daddario, Steve Zahn, Molly Shannon and more hilarious people, who make this series soar. If that wasn’t enough, a murder mystery with the big reveal waiting till the very end will keep you thoroughly entertained.

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HBO Max thankfully brings this lauded Spanish miniseries to screens around the world. Veneno chronicles the life of Spanish icon Cristina Ortiz Rodríguez, a transgender singer and ’90s TV personality better known by the nickname “La Veneno” or “poison” in Spanish. Her enigmatic story comes under the lens of a curious journalism student grappling with her own identity. By turns hilarious, explicit and heart-breaking, this must-watch biographical miniseries explores survival and the influence of mass media.

HBO Max
Not a fan of cartoons? Let Infinity Train change your mind — all four seasons of the critically acclaimed show explore complex themes through character-driven storylines. Season 1 follows Tulip Olsen, a girl struggling with her parents’ recent divorce. Along with her pals — a confused robot and a talking corgi — she explores a seemingly endless train, whose passengers all have unresolved emotional issues or trauma. How do they leave the train? By resolving their issues, of course. Dark, challenging and magnificent, this is animated viewing like you’ve rarely seen it. Definitely not just for kids.

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Two years after Adventure Time ended, this four hour-long special came along, and it’s a brilliant treat for fans of the animated series. The miniseries nails the spinoff brief, introducing new characters and expanding on the Land of Ooo universe, while remaining true to its source material. Its heroes Finn and Jake, his magical doggo pal, set off on new adventures, along with Princess Bubblegum, Marceline the Vampire Queen and BMO. The hourlong format is a nice way to change up and add to the exciting storytelling. A surprisingly emotional ride packed with every ingredient that made the original so beloved.

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Made for Love (2021—)

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Search Party caught the eye of HBO Max, shifting to production with the streamer in its third and fourth seasons. The latter is arguably its best yet, taking the story of four, clueless millennials to even greater extremes, including a bizarrely brilliant Susan Sarandon cameo. But we begin when twenty-something Dory becomes an amateur detective to track down a missing woman she barely knew in college. Really, she’s searching for something else: Herself. Equally conceited are her boyfriend Drew, the scene-stealing Elliott and the hilariously blonde Portia. This oddball show somehow creates the perfect cocktail of dark humour, mystery and insane characters. A collector’s item that won’t come around very often.

HBO Max

HBO Max
I Hate Suzie sees Billie Piper team up once again with Secret Diary of a Call Girl writer Lucy Prebble. The result is a frenetic tour de force of ideas, steered by a vulnerable performance from Piper. She plays the titular Suzie, an actress who, moments after winning a part in a Disney movie, discovers she’s one of the victims in a celebrity phone hacking scandal. Each episode explores a stage of trauma, tackling the question of how compromising leaks both upend and perhaps liberate a person’s life. Amid the ruthless satire is a wonderful friendship between Suzie and her manager Naomi (Leila Farzad).

HBO Max
This comedy-drama about a Syrian asylum seeker leans heavily on the warmer, cosier side of the equation. It follows the lives of a British family after they return from a holiday in France and discover a passenger hiding in the back of their car. There’s endless charm in Sami’s fish-out-of-water hijinks as he adapts to his new home. Home mines that feel-good vein, filled with nice people willing to help a good man, even if that’s a struggle for some of the family members.

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Adventure Time: Distant Lands (2020-2021)

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Last week’s new episodes include documentary series Small Town News: KPVM Pahrump and Obama: In Pursuit of a More Perfect Union, along with the premiere of Furry Friends Forever: Elmo Gets A Puppy. For more options, check out the best of the HBO Max Originals below.

Raised by Wolves will satisfy those who want to spend a lot of time (nearly 10 hours) in a world brought to the screen with the help of Ridley Scott. Two androids, Mother and Father, attempt to establish an atheist human colony on a new planet, after a war with a religious order destroys Earth. But they soon discover controlling the beliefs of humans is a tricky task. Directing the first two episodes, as well as pulling the strings as an executive producer, Scott sets up a provocative exploration into AI and religious beliefs. There’s blood, big performances and a powerful lead in Amanda Collin’s “Mother.”

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In the words of CNET reviewer Richard Knightwell: “2020 sucked. You got up every morning and it all was all just a tiny bit worse. But every now and then a ray of sun would appear through the clouds. One of those bright spots was Betty, a fly-on-wall-style tale of skateboarding teens in a balmy New York. Utterly real and breathlessly dreamy at the same time, HBO’s TV follow-up to the indie hit Skate Kitchen painted a picture of young women facing the world head-on, pushing off and gaining speed and reducing obstacles into things waiting to be jumped over while looking cool. My baby daughter turned one while this show was on, and I can’t wait to plonk her on a skateboard. I hope she finds a Betty crew of her own.”

The Other Two (2019—)

HBO Max

HBO Max

HBO Max
Starstruck is a classic screwball comedy, starring the lovably goofy Rose Matafeo. She plays Jessie, a twentysomething Londoner who parties it up on New Year’s Eve, then later discovers she had a one-night stand with Tom Kapoor, a celebrity played by Nikesh Patel. Follow Jessie as she juggles odd jobs, from cinema worker to nanny, and her blossoming relationship with a film star that involves no hijinks whatsoever. Watch out for scene-stealer Minnie Driver as Tom’s agent in this witty, neatly crafted comedy package.

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Read more: The 10 best movies to watch on HBO Max | Everything you need to know to sign up to HBO Max

Black Mirror, but there’s light at the end of the tunnel. This satirical comedy hinges on Cristin Milioti’s comedic talents. Hazel Green escapes a 10-year marriage — until she realizes her husband, a tech billionaire, has fitted a chip into her brain. He can see her every move and track her down to negotiate their marriage. Hazel searches for freedom with the help of her dad, played by Ray Romano, who’s in an unorthodox relationship of his own. A few twists, a helpful dolphin and socially awkward people also tag along for this disturbing ride.

HBO Max
Another show premiered on Thursday. The Hype is a competition series where those in the fashion game design streetwear. On the same day, the third season of superhero series Titans premieres, featuring young DC heroes such as Dick Grayson, aka Robin, as they band together and fight evil.