‘It’s not TV. It’s HBO.” This was once the US premium cable network’s slogan. Home Box Office launched on 8 November 1972 as a pay channel for movies and live sport. It pivoted to original programming in the 90s and transformed the small-screen landscape.
To celebrate its 50th anniversary, we’ve painstakingly picked and ranked its Top 50 shows. Unshackled from the limitations of broadcast television, HBO was able to attract top-tier talent, push boundaries and redefine what the medium could do. It ushered in the era of “peak TV” with an astonishingly consistent output of prestige shows.
