ESQUIRE's HBO List: All That's Wrong

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know I like making “best of” and “worst of” lists. I think all critics do and, of all of my writing gigs, I have been paid the most for reviewing films and television series. I got kind of tickled when a March article from Esquire was being shared recently on social media, ranking the top series of HBO, the overall front-runner of the best television in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. The list, on the other hand, is a hot mess. Compiled by Justin Kirkland, Adrienne Westenfield, and Josh Rosenberg, there is so much wrong with it, I had to voice my concerns. I know the list is the opinion of three people and not much to be worked up about, but it’s 2025—we’re all worked up about something.

The criteria for the list is absurd, mixing anthology series, mini-series, and full series together. A big mistake because The Jinx (number 41 on the list) would be number one on a list of documentary series. Actually, it shouldn’t be 41 on any list. There is also a bevvy of shows still on the air that appear, which is another absurdity as how can one know they are great series when we have no idea how they were resolved. An ending is as important as a beginning, even a controversial one like The Sopranos’. Oh, and by the way, Sopranos is number two. So, believe me, you can’t trust Esquire on this one. Here are some observations from their “list.”

Right from the beginning, HBO has been much more successful at dramas than comedies. While they are a premium cable network and can get away with more edgy comedy, the results are not always endearing. Number 50 on the list is Entourage, 39 is Ballers, you get the idea. Yeah, Arliss is not on the list, but those shows were just as grating. While it is appropriate they are low on the list, they do not belong on the list at all. Fifty is the wrong number. If brought to 25, Esquire would have had something. That being said, the best comedies—Silicon Valley, Flight of the Concords, and Curb Your Enthusiasm—are appropriately closer to the top, but Silicon deserved a higher status than 36.

Then, there are just downright terrible shows. True Blood is 49, Westworld is 42, The Newsroom at 26, Boardwalk Empire is 22. There are dozens of things wrong with these shows—three are pretentious (an appropriate designation for many of HBO’s shows, unfortunately—including the number 15 slot, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver) and the other, True Blood, is Alan Ball’s worst work. His greatest work, the series Six Feet Under appears at number 17—a travesty as it is one of the most remarkable narrative series ever created.

Then, there are the miniseries. The authors of the article wish you to believe number 38, The Night Of, is some lost classic. It is not. Like all prison shows and movies, once you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. Prison life is dull and restrictive and fairly planned out. Not much excitement there. Up from that, at number 37, are the atrocious series The Young Pope and The New Pope, both of which make Conclave look like a masterpiece. Chernobyl and Band of Brothers are at the top of the miniseries on the list, but I still think it’s unfair to lump these in with the dramatic series of three seasons or more.

I have already discussed Euphoria once on the blog. The writers of the list apparently think it is today’s answer to Kids or Skins, but that film and series, respectively, are alive and vibrant, horrifying and gripping. Euphoria gives us the horrifying alone. And that does not a great series make.

I have other quibbles. True Detective ranks at 13 and that’s probably deserved, since it never lived up to its phenomenal first season; so, it deserves a slot, but the fact that it’s only a hair higher on the list than The White Lotus, a niche anthology series without a thought in its head, is a shame. Game of Thrones, another work that started out well and then crashed and burned, lands at number nine. So, let’s talk about “the best.”

It was probably always assumed The Wire and The Sopranos would vie for the top spot. In these overly political times, The Wire received number one. A remarkable show in its first seasons, it petered out in the last one in spectacular fashion, ruining everything that had come before. But, it’s a take on politics (for the most part) and so it gets the top spot in this day and age. It doesn’t take a genius to know it should have gone to The Sopranos, bested only by Twin Peaks and Six Feet Under as the greatest masterpieces of television.

But, even then, where’s Big Love? What’s wrong with Esquire? Do you agree or disagree? Comment below!