History Creator / HBO

* '''''Series/{{Barry}}''''' (2018-19, 2022-present) -- A hitman gets the acting bug.

* '''''Series/ABlackLadySketchShow''''' (2019, 2021-present)

* '''''Series/HowToWithJohnWilson''''' (2020-present)

* '''''Series/{{Perry Mason|2020}}''''' (2020, 2023) -- an OriginStory for the legendary defense attorney, set in 1930s LA.

* ''Series/TheRegime'' (2023 miniseries)

* ''Anime/SherlockHound''(1983) -- A one-off dub of one episode aired on HBO, marking possibly the first U.S. TV airing of a Creator/HayaoMiyazaki work, interestingly ''before'' the series aired in Japan.

* '''''Series/{{Succession}}''''' (2018-19, 2021, 2023) -- A dramedy about a dysfunctional family controlling a global media conglomerate.

* '''''Series/WhiteHousePlumbers''''' (2023) -- Miniseries about the Watergate Break-in.

* '''''Series/WinningTime''''' (2022-present) -- Biographical MiniSeries about the Los Angeles Lakers' "Showtime" era of TheEighties.

** HBO occasionally showed Creator/{{Disney}} films in the days before the debut of Creator/DisneyChannel in April 1983, such as ''Film/MaryPoppins'' and ''Film/PetesDragon''.

* ''America Undercover'' (1983-97, 2001-03, 2005-06) -- A series of hard-hitting documentaries, one of which, ''Soldiers in Hiding'' (1985), an examination of traumatized [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar Vietnam]] veterans living "off the grid", won the first-ever Academy Award given to a cable production (for Best Documentary).[[index]]

Home Box Office. Originally conceived in 1971 as "The Green Network", then changed to [[http://hbo.com HBO]] prior to its launch in November 1972.[[note]]As it turns out, "Home Box Office" was originally not going to be a permanent name, [[PermanentPlaceholder having initially been chosen (over Sterling Cable Network, a name referencing its initial parent company) while Time-Life management attempted to fill publishing deadlines for the proposed service's marketing materials with the intent of changing it to another name]].[[/note]] It was started by Sterling Communications, founded by cable television executive Charles Dolan and majority owned at the time by the legendary magazine company Time, Inc. (and in the channel's early years, was noted as being "from Time-Life"). It remained as part of the Time Warner conglomerate when Time merged with [[Creator/WarnerBros Warner Communications]] in 1989, and remained with [=TimeWarner=] even after the magazine side was sold off in 2013, and in turn was renamed [=WarnerMedia=] upon the company's acquisition by AT&T in 2018, then Creator/WarnerBrosDiscovery in 2022 with the Creator/{{Discovery|Channel}}-[=WarnerMedia=] merger. Unlike most cable networks, HBO is a premium channel, meaning you have to pay for the right to watch the channel on top of what you pay as far as cable packaging is concerned (though in recent years, most cable and satellite networks have started offering premium TV packages that ''do'' include HBO and its sister channels, including Creator/{{Cinemax}}). Note the start dates above, too - until about 1980 the concept of "basic cable" didn't exist. There was broadcast TV delivered by cable (at least one of each of the then-three major American networks plus at least one Creator/{{PBS}} station, several independent stations from a wide radius and, at least in the northern states, Creator/{{CBC}}, Creator/{{CTV}} and other Canadian broadcasters) and there was "pay TV".

* ''Series/{{Ballers}}'' (2015-19) - Stars Creator/DwayneJohnson.

* '''''Series/{{Barry}}''''' (2018-19, 2022-present) - A hitman gets the acting bug.

* '''''Series/CurbYourEnthusiasm''''' (2000-02, 2004-05, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2017, 2020-present) - A spiritual successor to ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' that pioneered the meta-sitcom. Preceded with a 1999 special titled ''Larry David: Curb Your Enthusiasm''.

* ''Encyclopedia'' (c. 1990) - an {{Edutainment}} series co-produced with [[Creator/SesameWorkshop Children's Television Workshop]]

* ''Series/{{Extras}}'' (2005-06, co-production with Creator/TheBBC) - A sitcom from Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. Followed by a Christmas special that aired in 2007.

* ''WesternAnimation/HappilyEverAfterFairyTalesForEveryChild'' (1995, 1997, 1999-2000) - as of 2021, being rerun on HBO Family

* ''Series/{{Oz}}'' (1997-2003) - Predating ''The Sopranos,'' ''Oz'' was HBO's first original drama series with major cultural impact.

* ''Sitcom'' (1983) - [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin The network's first original sitcom]].[[index]]

* ''Sneak Preview'' (1979-1982) - A monthly look at coming attractions on the HBO schedule, combining clips from the upcoming features with comedy skits. Hosted by Creator/JerryStiller and Creator/AnneMeara until 1982, when Leonard Harris took over. Later that year, it was replaced by ''HBO Magazine'' (hosted by [[Series/TheDickCavettShow Dick Cavett]]), which added interviews with such celebrities as Music/OliviaNewtonJohn and Sugar Ray Leonard to the mix, and later by ''Coming Attractions'', hosted by legendary New York radio host Dan Ingram.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpicyCity'' (1997) - A short-lived erotic dystopian future noir anthology series created by Creator/RalphBakshi[[note]]the same one that brought you ''Fritz the Cat'', the late 1980s ''Mighty Mouse'' revival that was canceled due to an alleged cocaine sight gag, and the live-action/animation flop ''Cool World'', among others[[/note]]. Notable for being the first American animated series to get a TV-MA rating (back in the early days of the American TV rating system), even though Comedy Central's ''South Park'' would be more well-known in that regard.

* ''Time Was'' (1979) - A six-part documentary mini-series focusing on a decade per episode, hosted by [[Series/TheDickCavettShow Dick Cavett]]. Its popularity led to several spinoffs, including ''Yesteryear'', ''Flashback'', and ''Remember When'', also hosted by Cavett.[[index]]

* ''Series/{{The Vow|2020}}'' (2020, 2022) - A true crime documentary series revolving around the cult [=NXIVM=].

* TheMoralSubstitute: Prior to HBO Family, HBO tried to create two of its own - Take 2 in 1979, and Festival in 1987. Take 2 was actually HBO's first attempt at a spin-off channel, predating Creator/{{Cinemax}}. Both Take 2 and Festival were aimed at older and/or more conservative audiences who found the content of the "parent" channel offensive. Their lineups included newer and classic films, along with a variety of specials. Unlike the similar HTN, Festival did carry R-rated films, but unlike HBO, those films were censored.[[note]]HBO itself showed "clean" versions of R-rated films, but only before 8pm, and they were "official" censored versions and HBO was not responsible for the censorship.[[/note]] As the case with HTN, customers weren't interested in either Take 2 or Festival (Festival was also attempting to cover territory that Creator/DisneyChannel and to an extent Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} had already covered for several years), and both services were very quickly discontinued. HBO would have more success with HBO Family, which simply doesn't feature anything "harder" than PG-13 content.

* ScrewTheMoneyIHaveRules: Bill Mesce's ''Inside the Rise and Fall of HBO'' tells the story of H. Taylor Howard, a former NASA scientist who, circa 1976, built himself the first TVRO (Television Receive Only) earth station[[note]]Satellite dish[[/note]] so he could watch HBO for free and without the hassles of cable, but sent HBO a check for $100 so that he couldn't be accused of "stealing" the service. HBO refused the check, telling Howard they weren't in the business of selling their services and only dealt with cable systems. Only later on, when satellite dishes became more popular - especially in areas already served by cable (as opposed to rural areas outside the reach of broadcast signals and cable providers) - did HBO and other cable networks become concerned about the business they were losing, which led to the network encrypting its signal in 1985 (requiring satellite viewers to purchase a descrambler to watch).

** [[https://youtu.be/i1NKoMNy5bY HBO in Space]], the [[StationIdent ident]] to new movies they'd play in the 80s and 90s where the camera goes up into space and the HBO logo spins. It was written by Ferdinand Jay Smith, who would later go on to compose several works for the network. Nothing got people more pumped up to watch a movie than this introducing it. Early on, this logo was used for just about ''every'' program on HBO, not only movies - concerts and comedy specials, sporting events, regular series like ''Series/FraggleRock'' or ''Series/NotNecessarilyTheNews'', you name it - and there were a number of variations of the ident in addition to the standard "Feature Presentation" and "Saturday/Sunday Night Movie." Each variation ("HBO Family Showcase", "HBO Comedy", "HBO Rock", "HBO Music", "HBO Special", etc.) had its own unique musical tag that played as the camera angle moved to inside of the "o": for example, for "HBO Rock" or "HBO Music," you'd hear a blaring rock guitar solo. The variations were phased out around 1986 or 1987, as HBO crafted new, separate idents for non-movie programming as well as a new "HBO Movie" ident with a blaring rock guitar/synthesizer musical logo.

*** The HBO "Spaceship" was made from brass and was chrome plated - it was not CGI.
*** The lights swooping around the "O" were ''not CGI nor animated'' - they were fiber optic.

-->--'''Creator/JohnOliver''', ''Series/LastWeekTonightWithJohnOliver''

As of 2021, HBO and Cinemax carry the cable premieres of new-release films from Creator/WarnerBros, Creator/{{Universal}}[[note]]excluding animated content and Creator/DreamWorksSKG productions[[/note]], Creator/FocusFeatures, Creator/TwentiethCenturyStudios, Creator/SearchlightPictures and Creator/SummitEntertainment. However, all of these deals barring Warner Bros. are set to expire in 2022 and 2023 to further [[Creator/{{Peacock}} the]] [[Creator/{{Hulu}} streaming]] [[Creator/{{Starz}} ambitions]] of said studios' parent companies. What HBO's position following the loss of these rights will be is unclear, though [=WarnerMedia=]'s merger with Discovery, Inc. may provide it some additional content.

* DoingItForTheArt: HBO's iconic [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1NKoMNy5bY 80s movie opener "HBO in Space"]]; so much so, there was even [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agS6ZXBrcng a short documentary]] produced about it. At that time, HBO had just recently gone to a 24-hour schedule and wanted a program opener that would accentuate the excitement of the move. It didn't debut until September 1982, but it was literally ''months'' in the making. All of the effects in the logo probably could've been achieved with very primitive [=CGI=] for 1982, but instead, Liberty Studios--the company behind the logo--went all out with making it using practical effects. The entire city landscape was an actual model that was 10 feet wide and 30 feet long, with so much stunning attention to detail that it took over three months to fully construct, and during the making, smoke was pumped through in order to give it the appearance of a three-dimensional environment. The music that scores the opener was produced with a 65-piece orchestra. The [=HBO=] logo was made with brass, and the laser effects were achieved with light and camera tricks. Other than some superimposition effects for the family at the beginning as well as the ending title cards, practically no computer effects were used to create the opening. No wonder it's such a favorite of many!

* ''[[Anime/AiNoWakakusaMonogatari Little Women]]'' (1987 Anime/WorldMasterpieceTheater version; 1989-90) -- English dubbed version by Creator/{{Saban}}

After its acquisition by AT&T, [=WarnerMedia=] announced the launch of a new streaming service, '''Creator/HBOMax''', in 2020, to compete in the streaming war. Unlike HBO Now, HBO Max features content from HBO and its corporate siblings in [=WarnerMedia=], including those aired in other networks. As a result, it essentially superseded HBO Now, which was depreciated; subscribers to the linear channel on select cable and satellite providers received all Max content through the HBO Max app at no additional charge, while direct and select third-party subscribers to HBO Now also received Max programming immediately upon launch as well. In June 2020, [=WarnerMedia=] announced that HBO Go would be shut down at the end of July that year, citing customer confusion over the different [=HBO=]-branded platforms and because most subscribers who receive the linear HBO channels now get access to HBO Max. HBO Now was briefly renamed to "HBO", before being discontinued in December 2020 after Roku and [[Creator/{{Amazon}} Fire TV]] reached agreements with [=WarnerMedia=] to carry HBO Max. However, the HBO Go branding is still used in Asia where the ''HBO Max'' and ''HBO Now'' branding were never used. Initially tethered to subscription to select Pay TV providers in the region, Asia's HBO Go is now following HBO Max's footsteps, with the service being open to direct subscription by the people in the region.

* '''''Series/TheWhiteHousePlumbers''''' (2023) -- Miniseries about the Watergate Break-in.

* TheRival: Several. Creator/TheMovieChannel and Creator/{{Showtime}} have competed with HBO since the late 1970s, and during the '80s there were several other, much shorter-lived competitors vying for a piece of the pay TV pie, including the LA-based "Z Channel", NYC-based [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wometco_Home_Theater WHT]], and nationally distributed channels such Home Theater Network (HTN) and Spotlight. Creator/DisneyChannel, which started as a pay channel in 1983, also competed for the eyeballs of younger viewers and those who preferred family-friendly programming, and was likely a big reason Festival, HBO's short-lived answer to Disney, failed. In the 2000s, [[Creator/FXNetworks FX]], previously filled with Fox-owned reruns, became its main rival, as far as copying HBO's formula and producing a line-up of shows (''Series/TheShield'', ''Series/NipTuck'', ''Series/RescueMe'', and ''Series/ItsAlwaysSunnyInPhiladelphia'') that rivaled HBO (and was on basic cable).

* ''Series/{{Martin}}'' (1992-97) -- Aired on Fox.

* OtakuOClock: HBO made its [[WesternAnimation/ToddMcFarlanesSpawn Sspawn]] adult animated series with the intent of airing it in this kind of time slot, and Creator/ToddMcfarlane ended up using the freedom that the time slot gave him to make the kind of show that ''could'' only be shown late at night when kids were asleep.

** A ''Website/YouTube'' user had the 1983 HBO opening shown in one of the YTP (WebAnimation/YouTubePoop) videos when he mixed the opening sequence with scenes from ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'' with the robotic cat saying "I have come for the fish" (in the style of "HBO has come for the fish")

* ''Tracey Takes On'' (1996-99) -- A sketch comedy show starring Tracey Ullman.

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* '''''Series/Avenue5''''' (2020, 2022)

* ''Series/{{Ballers}}'' (2015-2019) - Stars Creator/DwayneJohnson.

* '''''Series/HisDarkMaterials''''' (2019-present) -- Fantasy series based on the [[Literature/HisDarkMaterials trilogy of the same name]] by Creator/PhilipPullman. Co-production of HBO and Creator/TheBBC.

* ''Series/{{Industry}}'' (2020, 2022) -- Co-production with the BBC.

* '''''Series/TheNevers''''' (2021-present)

* ''Film/PointOfOrigin'' — A film about [[BasedOnATrueStory arson investigator and convicted serial killer John L. Orr]].

* ''Anime/SherlockHound'' -- A one-off dub of one episode aired on HBO in 1983, marking possibly the first U.S. TV airing of a Creator/HayaoMiyazaki work, interestingly ''before'' the series aired in Japan.

* '''''Series/TheVow2020''''' (2020, 2022) - A true crime documentary series revolving around the cult [=NXIVM=].

* '''''Series/TheWhiteLotus''''' (2021-22) -- A dramedy about vacationers who mask secrets of their own.

* '''''Series/TheVow(2020)''''' (2020, 2022) - A true crime documentary series revolving around the cult [=NXIVM=].

* '''''Series/TheVow''''' (2020, 2022) - A true crime documentary series revolving around the cult [=NXIVM=].

* '''''Series/LosEspookys''''' (2019, 2022) -- a comedy and the network's first Spanish-language show.

* '''''Series/TheNevers''''' (2021-22)

* '''''Series/{{Perry Mason|2020}}''''' (2020-present) -- an OriginStory for the legendary defense attorney, set in 1930s LA.

* '''''Series/{{Succession}}''''' (2018-19, 2021-present) -- A dramedy about a dysfunctional family controlling a global media conglomerate.