Every notable HBO original TV show, ranked from worst to best by critics

"Watchmen"HBO

• With the launch of HBO Max looming, we looked back at HBO's years of stellar programming.
• We ranked all of HBO's notable shows from worst to best by Metacritic scores, from classics like "The Sopranos" and "The Wire" to modern hits like "Watchmen" and "Succession."
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HBO has brought us some of the greatest TV shows of all time, like "The Sopranos" and "The Wire," throughout its history of original programming, which started in the early '80s.

Last year, its hit fantasy series "Game of Thrones" wrapped up, but the network has still delivered quality programming like "Barry," "Succession," and "Watchmen."

As WarnerMedia, HBO's corporate parent, prepares to launch the new streaming service HBO Max next month, we're taking a look back at the premium cable network's library of acclaimed (or reviled) shows, based on ratings data from review aggregator Metacritic.

(Note: We left off animated, children's, sketch comedy, documentary/reality, international programming, and talk shows. We excluded most miniseries, with notable exceptions. We broke any ties by number of total reviews counted by Metacritic.)

Carrie Wittmer contributed to an earlier version of this story.