Noah Romsdal Hallundbæk Sørensen
HBO is packed with brilliant comedies that never got the spotlight they deserved.
HBO’s reputation may rest on crime sagas and sprawling fantasy worlds, yet the network has long nurtured inventive comedy.
Tucked among its prestige hits are series that arrived with strong talent and sharp writing but never quite broke through to a wider audience.
These overlooked titles capture some of HBO’s funniest, oddest and most daring moments, even if many viewers missed them the first time around.
Liz Hersey, an editor for ScreenRant’s Classic TV team, shares her take on shows from HBO that have faded into the background.
Overlooked originals
Despite Danny McBride’s long-running partnership with HBO, one of his sharpest creations slipped into obscurity.
According to reporting from Entertainment Weekly, McBride said he designed Vice Principals as a “complete story,” which unfolded across two brief seasons beginning in 2015.
The series follows Neal Gamby, played by McBride, a vice principal furious about being passed over for a promotion after the principal retires.
Forced into an uneasy alliance with fellow VP Lee Russell, portrayed by Walton Goggins, Gamby plots to undermine the school’s new leader.
The show’s compressed run contributed to its cult status. Still, the combustible back-and-forth between McBride and Goggins showcased a pairing so strong that HBO later reunited them in The Righteous Gemstones.
Noir send-up
In 2009, HBO introduced Bored to Death, a lo-fi detective comedy featuring Jason Schwartzman as a fictionalized version of author Jonathan Ames.
After a breakup, his character impulsively begins taking on cases as an unlicensed private investigator in Brooklyn.
Supporting him are Zach Galifianakis as Ray, a comic book artist and loyal friend, and Ted Danson as George, a magazine editor with a taste for indulgence.
The series premiered just after The Hangover turned Galifianakis into a global name, yet the crossover never arrived. Its indie sensibility, droll, offbeat and lightly surreal, proved mismatched with the broader comedy audiences were seeking at the time.
Marriage unravels
Between Sex and the City and its revival, Sarah Jessica Parker returned to HBO for Divorce, created by Sharon Horgan.
Parker stars as Frances, a woman in upstate New York whose troubled marriage fractures after her husband Robert, played by Thomas Haden Church, discovers she has been unfaithful.
The series traces their separation and tentative reinvention as individuals after decades together. Critics, while subdued in their overall response, commended the chemistry between the two leads and the show’s thoughtful portrayal of emotional fallout.
Though quieter than Parker’s signature franchise, the series threaded humor through its portrait of upheaval, offering a surprisingly hopeful tone.
Sketch pioneers
Among comedy aficionados, Mr. Show with Bob and David remains a landmark. But for many viewers, the HBO sketch series has faded from memory.
Running from 1995 to 1998, it paired Bob Odenkirk and David Cross in a fast-moving sequence of stage pieces and prerecorded segments that morphed fluidly from one into the next.
Guest performers included a who’s who of ’90s comedy, from Brian Posehn and Scott Adsit to Sarah Silverman and Jack Black.
Its absurdism and cringe-heavy transitions anticipated later cult favorites such as I Think You Should Leave, making it essential viewing for anyone curious about the genre’s evolution.
Sources: Screenrant
