Severance (left) The Sopranos (right)
Credit: Apple/HBO
There was a time when HBO was the king of TV hill. Almost every year, HBO can be expected to receive the most Emmy nominations and win the most awards. The HBO show was the standard by which all other contestants were judged. And when streaming was in its infancy, companies like Netflix tried to emulate HBO’s success with their own meaty, intelligent dramas, often failing.
Even when streaming was in full swing and shows like The Sopranos and The Wire were in the rearview mirror, everyone wanted to create their own Game of Thrones. Amazon spent a lot of money on the rights to The Lord of the Rings to make Ring of Power, but it never came close to the success and acclaim of Thrawn.
Apple TV has had its own success with blockbusters, producing the post-apocalyptic series “See” and the space opera “Foundation,” both of which drew large audiences. But Apple’s greatest success in recent years has been in offering perhaps the best quality-to-quantity ratio of any streaming service out there, effectively stealing HBO’s thunder in 2024 in particular.
HBO’s last truly great show aired in 2023. “Succession” has finished airing for four seasons and has won many well-deserved accolades and awards. White Lotus gave us a second season that truly improved on every aspect of the first season. HBO has been in trouble ever since. Even The Penguin, which was one of my favorite shows of 2024, fell short of HBO’s past greatness and was never a great gangster story like The Sopranos. , did not embrace the manga’s origins as firmly as it should. A great manga series.
House of the Dragon, on the other hand, delivered a truly disappointing second season that even George R.R. Martin was upset about — and True Detective’s fourth season. The Night Country season was a complete disaster and was personally my favorite show of the year. It was a huge disappointment.
But Apple TV has plenty of great shows coming out in 2024. The second season of Shrinking was great. Bad Monkey was a great debut season for the new series. Slow Horses was better than ever in Season 4. Despite the terrible twist at the end, Presumed Innocent was an amazing adaptation of Scott Turow’s novel. Apple had a solid year with Sugar and Sunny. And with the second season of Severance just around the corner, my money is on Apple to give us one of the best shows of 2025 – one of the best shows ever. It will be.
Still, HBO and its streaming service Max have some cards up their sleeves this year. The new Game of Thrones spin-off, A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms, is great and I probably enjoyed it more than the main book, as it’s based on Martin’s novella. White Lotus season 3 is also great, with a pretty hot first trailer whetting our appetites. The Last Of Us is returning for a second season, and while it’s a very good show, I’d argue that the games are even better.
Still, I can’t help but feel like the old HBO has lost a tooth, even after a disappointing run like Dune: Prophecy. The assured quality we’ve almost always expected from new HBO dramas and comedies has been hit or miss. Apple has far fewer offerings, but it’s still a place where you can find shows like Slow Horses and movies like Killers Of The Flower Moon and Macbeth. While HBO still has hits and will no doubt continue to produce great shows, Apple has stolen at least some of the streaming era’s thunder. Of course, there are a lot of great shows on Netflix, but the ratio is very skewed the other way. In other words, quantity over quality.
In any case, I go back to the comforting thought that competition is good, and when it comes to streaming these days, there’s plenty of it, and then some.
Since Apple TV went free this past weekend, we’ve put together a list of some of the best shows and movies to watch on the streaming app, so check out our recommendations if you’re interested.
