The Best HBO Shows to Watch on Showmax

Lovecraft Country combines believability with the wonder of fantasy.
Lovecraft Country combines believability with the wonder of fantasy.
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It seems almost absurd to imagine that just last March we began the lockdown that would lay claim over the rest of 2020 — and ushered in the zoom meetings that turned our hair grey. The year of all things unprecedented has now steadily been receding, to become little more than a bleep in the space of our memories.

Yet, the pandemic (if nothing else) left us with a sense of how art captures our imagination, giving us the language to explain what we live through. Music, painting, movies and all these artforms also served as a means of escape that became painfully necessary as the Zoom meetings dragged on and on.

As an ode to these loves we cultivated over 2020, we've curated a stunningly beautiful list of HBO shows streaming on Showmax to brighten your March.

Lovecraft Country

A great story should combine believability with the wonder of fantasy; this is Lovecraft Country for you. The protagonist, Atticus, embarks on a journey across the South in search of his missing father. The story is set in 1950s America when Jim Crow laws were still in force. Atticus is joined on his quest by his Uncle George, who creates maps of the unexplored counties and the stylish and courageous Letitia.

The allure of this show is that it gives a face to the virulent racism in the US. While on their journey, the three are confronted with terrifying monsters, which they must survive all while still navigating the racial biases of the South. I'd give this one 8/10 stars for its uncanny ability to take a largely amorphous evil and give it a name.

The Scheme

I’d argue that documentaries, all documentaries, are a good excuse to sit in front of a screen on a weekday evening. Well-done documentaries are, arguably, the peak of storytelling. The Scheme, for me, qualifies for one of these lofty heights. And who wouldn't be enthralled to experience the uncanny cocktail of basketball, bribery and the FBI? The Scheme explores the dark underbelly of college basketball and the ways in which money made its way to players and their families.

The Scheme explores the dark underbelly of college basketball.
The Scheme explores the dark underbelly of college basketball.

As the rules stand, college football players shouldn't be paid anything beyond room, board and their college scholarship. The story of Christina Dawkins paints a stark picture of a scapegoat for a waiting FBI prosecution in a world of pay-to-play conspiracies that sort to subvert this rule. Even if you aren't much of a basketball fan watch this for nothing other than how brilliantly it portrays the skewing of truth to serve a set narrative.

Succession

The writing on this show is absolute genius. It justifies why it won the 2020 Golden Globe awards for best drama TV series in 2020. Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way, said Tolstoy. This show, with unflinching clarity, brings to the fore the dysfunction that remains hidden at the core of most families.

Centered around the Roys, the story begins when the family patriarch, Logan, becomes ill and unable to effectively manage the family business. Against this background, a battle for the succession of his global media empire begins between the four Roy siblings. I would argue that the selling print of the show is that it's able to display the frustrating idiosyncrasy in families while still retaining a charming lightness.

 The Outsider

I'll admit it: I'm hardly an authority on horror films. I generally avoid them based on my life philosophy of not looking for problems. But (yes there's always a but) I made an exception for this one for one main reason: Stephen King. You can fight me on this one, but Stephen King counts as one of the finest horror writers of our age and has a hand in this show.

The Outsider is based on Stephen King's best-selling novel.
The Outsider is based on Stephen King's best-selling novel.

The Outsider is based on his best-selling novel that bears the same name. The show is spun around a seemingly simple investigation that grows exceedingly complex following the murder of a boy by a police officer. Faced with this new challenge and unexplainable supernatural events, the investigators are forced to confront their own beliefs as they are pulled deeper into the case. Stephen King's unmatched gift for forcing us to look at our unnamed fears in the face makes this one of the most riveting viewing experiences you can hope for.

Tiger

Two-part Tiger documentary streaming on Showmax.
Two-part Tiger documentary streaming on Showmax.

This has to be one of the most anticipated shows of 2021. Tiger Woods is inarguably one of the most well-known sports personalities globally. After the widely televised cheating scandal that destroyed his marriage and almost equally wrecked his career, it was a coin-toss when and if he could ever come back from that.

This two-part documentary offers us, for the first time, a close-up look at the rise, fall, and return of the golf icon. To paint an accurate picture of the golfer, the series paints Tiger's early obsession with the support, his astounding success, the dark tunnel he eventually found himself in, and culminates in his decisive victory in the 2019 Masters. The show humanizes Tiger Woods in an uncanny way without trying to whitewash the choices he made in his past.

With this selection, you should be set for a March filled with prime television. To get the most out of your money, subscribe to Showmax today.