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Home Box Office, more commonly known and referred to as HBO, kicked off its pay television network in 1972 and has been a powerhouse player in the entertainment industry ever since. Beginning in the early '90s the network began producing original comedy series to run alongside its stand-up comedy special, and documentaries that the network had become known for. In the following two plus decades, the network would make some of the funniest and innovative television programs in history. Let's examine the best HBO original comedy series.
10 Flight of the Conchords
Flight of the Conchords features real life New Zealand folk musical comedy duo Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie star as fictionalized versions of themselves trying to make it big is America. The show features an innovative combination of music and comedy as the two find themselves in numerous misadventures. The series helped propel the future careers of the two main stars while also launching the careers of costars Rhys Darby and Kristen Schaal.
9 Vice Principals
Creators Danny McBride and Jody Hill have collaborated on numerous HBO comedy series over their careers, one of the funniest being Vice Principals. With McBride starring alongside Walton Goggins, the show explores the rivalry of the two as they gun for the principal job at the fictional North Jackson High School. With a somewhat novel concept, the show diverts into some comedically dark areas as become common place with a McBride and Hill show.
8 Silicon Valley
More commonly known for creating animated hits such as Beavis and Butt-Head and King of the Hill, Mike Judge took his comedic talents to HBO and helped to create one of the best shows in the networks' history. Silicon Valley ran for six seasons between 2014 and 2019, winning several awards throughout that time span. The hilarious dynamic of five tech-savvy characters trying to make it in Silicon Valley produced some gut-busting laughs while also keeping a story of the highest quality.
7 Insecure
Based on the web series created Awkward Black Girl by Issa Rae, this series adaptation from Rae and Larry Wilmore tells the intimate and often times awkward stories of a modern day Black woman. The show presents what can sometimes be uncomfortable topics and presents them in a comedic light while getting its point across. The show's success has earned it several Primetime Emmy Award nominations throughout its run and remains one of HBO's best comedy series and perhaps even one of the greatest TV shows of all time.
6 Entourage
HBO
Entourage tells the story of actor Vincent Chase and his group of childhood friends as they traverse the rocky terrain of Hollywood. This critical darling turned cultural punching bag produced by Mark Wahlberg, would go on to have a lengthy run between 2004 and 2011, earning a whopping twenty-six Emmy Award nominations and winning six.
5 The Larry Sanders Show
The late, great Garry Shandling helped to create and star in one of the most influential comedy series ever, The Larry Sanders Show. Over the course of 90 episodes, the show would follow fictional late night television host, Larry Sanders; the show explores the everyday life and interactions of a late night show and the celebrities that visit. Featuring hilarious costars, Jeffrey Tambor, Rip Torn, and Megan Gallagher, the show would go on to be heralded as one of the greatest TV shows of all time by TV Guide and Time Magazine.
4 Barry
Created by Bill Hader and former Seinfeld and Silicon Valley writer, Alec Berg. Barry is a dark comedy and drama subverting series that follows the life of former assassin turned actor, Barry Berkman. The show ventures into some profoundly dark areas but is well-balanced by the sporadic comedy by Hader and costars like Henry Winkler, Stephen Root, and Sarah Goldberg.
3 Veep
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What started off as a political satire, Veep quickly evolved into an almost documentary-type series as American politics began to become as outrageous as any story creator Armando Iannucci could have imagined. With outstanding performances by all involved, it is truly Julia Louis-Dreyfus who helped carry the show to the success it achieved. The role of Selina Meyer would earn the actress six consecutive Emmy Award wins.
2 Eastbound & Down
The team of Danny McBride and Jody Hill makes the list yet again with Eastbound & Down, a series centered around major-league-turned-out-of-work baseball player Kenny Powers. Throughout its run, the show received rave reviews and earned syndication in over ten international markets, making Kenny Powers a global sensation.
1 Curb Your Enthusiasm
Larry David's follow-up to Seinfeld came in the form of a series focusing on a semi-fictionalized and somewhat sociopathic version of himself and his ups and downs working in Hollywood. Much more off script and improvisational than Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm would feature much more offbeat and raunchy comedy than it's network television predecessor. The show's initial run between 2000 and 2011 produced the bulk of the series best episodes, and a revival in 2017 continued the success of the show well into the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021. Curb would go on to win two Emmy Awards and one Golden Globe for its efforts. It remains synonymous with the HBO network as its most popular comedy series of all time, and it has the quality to back it up.