Hidden HBO Gems You Definitely Haven't Seen Yet

Westworld isn't coming back until 2018, and Game of Thrones may take longer than that. The Deuce is promising, but it's only dropping an episode a week, and they're not exactly fast-paced. Meanwhile, you still have this HBO app, whether it's Go or Now or just the On-Demand section of your cable menu, and you're trying to figure out what to binge. Have no fear, HBO fans: even if you've seen every episode of Game of Thrones, The Wire, Deadwood, and Curb Your Enthusiasm, we can find something in the HBO vaults that you haven't watched yet, and should. All these shows and miniseries are worth watching—and we're betting there's more than one you haven't seen.

There's nothing else quite like Bored to Death, a comedy that began in 2009 and ran for three seasons. It stars Jason Schwartzman as Jonathan Ames, a writer who decides to distract himself from the daunting prospect of his next novel by becoming an unlicensed private detective. Zach Galifianakis plays his best friend Ray, a comic book artist, and Ted Danson appears as an older friend and mentor who edits an acclaimed magazine where Jonathan writes. Jonathan doesn't take his detective work all that seriously, having learned everything he knows from Raymond Chandler novels, but as the series goes on, he gets involved in some surprisingly dire situations, even getting kidnapped and failing to stop Ray from being stabbed by a stalker. Bored to Death isn't for everybody, but if you're a mystery fan or a fan of comedies about overeducated stoners failing at things, it might be for you.

The Comeback is a comedy that ran for two seasons, adding up to 21 episodes, over the course of nine years—and if that math doesn't seem to make much sense, it's just a part of what makes the series so unique. It had a strong meta angle from its launch in 2005, starring Lisa Kudrow (previously of Friends) as a '90s sitcom star making a comeback with a new sitcom as well as a reality show. Unlike Phoebe on Friends, Kudrow's new character Valerie Cherish is shallow, self-centered, and lazy. She's obsessed with her own image, but constantly fails to make a good impression. Despite her unlikability, the series also effectively satirizes the sexist and ageist entertainment industry, which has little room and even less respect for a middle-aged sitcom actress. The Comeback was initially canceled after one season, but in the years to come its reputation grew.

In 2014, The Comeback made a comeback with an unexpected second season.  Valerie Cherish was now starring in an imagined HBO series based on her former producer's negative experiences working with her, in which she was cast as the fictionalized version of herself. Seeing this as an opportunity, she makes her way back into the world of reality TV as well, hoping to find the respect that has always eluded her. The Comeback was an insightful and biting satire from the beginning, but the long arc enabled by such an unusual break between seasons makes it something truly special. We can only hope it returns for a third season in 2023.

Five Days was also a 2007 BBC/HBO co-production, and also dealt with family, but it could not have been more different from Family Tree. This series is a mystery, but also very much an emotional drama. Each of the five episodes tells the story of one day in the investigation of a mystery; what's interesting, however, is that the days aren't subsequent. In fact, the episodes cover days 1, 3, 28, 33 and 79 of the investigation into the disappearance of a young mother and her two children, allowing the audience to see how that investigation changes as the days, weeks, and months roll on. David Oyelowo, future star of Selma, offers a riveting performance as the father whose family vanishes. In 2010, the BBC made a second Five Days series telling a completely different story, but HBO wasn't involved, and that season isn't available on their platforms.

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, another BBC/HBO co-production, is based on a series of novels by Alexander McCall Smith. Jill Scott stars as Precious Ramotswe, the first female private detective in the sparsely-populated African nation of Botswana—where the series was entirely filmed, giving it a completely unique look and setting compared to anything else on American or British TV. The double-length pilot, in which Precious sells her dead father's cattle and moves to the city of Gaborone to open her detective agency, was originally intended as a theatrical movie. However, producer Anthony Minghella decided to present it to TV networks, leading to HBO and BBC ordering six additional episodes. That pilot also features Idris Elba and David Oyelowo, who make an impression despite not returning to the series.

Titans of indie filmmaking, brothers Mark and Jay Duplass pioneered the Mumblecore movement long before they had the chance to produce a pilot for HBO with their collaborator Steve Zissis. That pilot became Togetherness, which premiered in 2015 and ran for two seasons. 

Mark Duplass plays Brett Pierson, a Los Angeles sound editor with a wife and two kids. Melanie Lynskey plays his wife Michelle, who's concerned about their sex life. Amanda Peet is Tina Morris, Michelle's sister who unexpectedly moves in with their family after splitting up with her boyfriend in Houston. Zissis appears as Alex Pappas, Brett's best friend, who also moves in when his acting career isn't going well. 

As anyone who's watched a television show could guess, an attraction develops between Tina and Alex which gets increasingly complicated as the show goes on. In other ways, starting with the Duplass brothers' dialogue, the show is quite unlike the usual TV comedies, and its two seasons are well worth a look. In general, HBO shows are often more timeless than network fare, because they're less tied to commercial concerns of the moment. That's why HBO's such a resource for bingeworthy content, no matter what you're into.