Modern television has become dominant on streaming networks, and it seems that a more nuanced streaming service catches fire every month. Lately, I’ve been really taking advantage of my HBO Max subscription. There’s a variety of premium TV shows that you can’t find on other streaming services, both old and new. Here are a few of my recommendations for new subscribers.
- Insecure
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Insecure chronicles the dynamic between friends Issa and Molly. Both independent Black women trying to navigate relationships, occupations, and everyday insecurities in Los Angeles, they must come to terms with how to grow and support each other throughout their chaotic lives. I’m only on season 1 of this show, but I love the imperfect nature of Issa and Molly’s relationship, and the show touches on crucial discussions of race and womanhood.
- Big Little Lies
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Still disheartened that this show has NOT been picked up for a third season, but the dark comedy of the two seasons redeems itself as a standalone series. Big Little Lies revolves around five moms living in the bourgeois beach town of Monterey, California. A semblance of perfect lives, families, and marriage is unveiled through various subplots in the show, and subsequently escalates to a murder mystery that brings the women closer together.
- Nora from Queens
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Starring Awkwafina, Nora from Queens is a playful sitcom that centers on Nora Lin, who is trying to reorient herself in her young adulthood. Still living with her father and grandmother, she gets herself into amusing situations in trying to find a job and cementing a solid relationship with her cousin Edmund. The laid-back nature of Nora’s father, coupled with her grandmother’s goofy comedic relief, make this show especially memorable.
- The Other Two
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For a little slapstick break from your finals preparations, consider watching The Other Two. A sitcom revolving around a trio of siblings, Brooke and Cary are just trying to make a name for themselves in New York, but feel their self-esteem plummeted when their younger brother Chase becomes a teen heartthrob overnight with a viral music video under the stage name ChaseDreams. Brooke and Cary are “the other two” who become more involved in their brother’s shenanigans to superstardom as the series progresses.