Max: what are the ten best series on the new streaming platform?

Max, the SVOD platform from Warner Bros. Discovery, arrived in France on June 11 and with it, a huge catalog of films and series opens up to streaming fans. Fans of the series will notice that Max has nearly 800 in his bag, so it can be difficult to know where to turn.

But instead of suggesting HBO series that everyone has been singing the praises of for decades, The Digitals decided to highlight content available on Max whose names do not come up as often in our ears as The Sopranos, Bugged, Six Feet Under and Company.

What are the best series to watch on Max?

Watchmen

In Tulsa, three years after White Night, a coordinated attack by white supremacists against law enforcement and their families, police officers now cover their faces with yellow bandanas to hide their identities. In this troubled context, detective Angela Abar and police chief Judd Crawford investigate a shooting which could mark the return of the Seventh Cavalry, the small group at the origin of the terrible White Night.

With this miniseries, showrunner Damon Lindelof (Lost, The Leftovers) appropriates Alan Moore’s cult graphic novel to extend its story and modernize it in order to better speak about America today. The result is a powerful show, intelligently written and staged, carried by a phenomenal cast, Regina King and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II in the lead. A real slap in the face to see again and again.

• Watch the trailer:

VEEP – Vice-President

After a meteoric rise, Senator Selina Meyer loses her party’s primaries for the American presidential elections. She was finally asked at the last minute to serve her country as vice president of the United States. She therefore accepts, thinking of carrying out her projects. Unfortunately, she seems to forget that it is her rival who is now her superior.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Seinfeld) is the headliner of this political comedy created by Armando Iannucci (The Death of Stalin, Avenue 5). Awarded four times the prize for best actress in a comedy series at the Emmy Awards for her interpretation of the character of Selina Meyer, the actress is indeed hilarious. Spanning seven seasons, the comedy also counts on the incredible talent of a gallery of equally astonishing supporting roles. A perfect series to relax, especially during election periods.

• Watch the trailer (in original version):

The Night Of

The day after a drunken night out, young Naz, of Pakistani origin, wakes up alongside a young woman bathing in his blood. Indicted for this murder, he is now a prisoner of the judicial system where, sometimes, the truth takes second place. A cheap but tenacious lawyer offers to help him.

This exciting eight-episode mini-series takes us through the twists and turns of a sordid investigation, and shows us the destructive power of the American police and judicial system. Worn by the dazzling Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal, Rogue One) and John Turturro (The Big Lebowski, Barton Fink), impeccable as usual, The Night Of is a brilliant HBO production to (re)discover without delay.

• Watch the trailer:

Girls

The entry into working life of four young girls in their twenties, from their humiliations to their rare triumphs.

Created by Lena Dunham in 2012 and broadcast until 2017, Girls is a dramatic comedy with accents of Sex and the City for millennials. She invites us to follow the setbacks of Hannah, Marnie, Jessa and Shoshanna as they navigate the troubled waters of their twenties, when we don’t yet quite know who we are or what we want to be. Funny, scathing, sometimes moving and often intelligent, the series is as neurotic as its characters, and does not shy away from any taboo.

• Watch the trailer:

Treme

Imagined by the creators of Wiretapped (The Wire), Treme takes place in one of the oldest neighborhoods of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and follows the daily lives of characters who try to rebuild their lives after the disaster.

With this series, screenwriters David Simon and Eric Overmyer paint the portrait of a devastated city to go beyond the image we have of New Orleans with its music and its Mardi Gras parades. In a very realistic tone, they feature a gallery of touching characters who allow us to better understand the soul of this place and its inhabitants. A rather little-known success story, which still had four seasons on HBO.

• Watch the catchy credits of the series:

Barry

An ex-Marine turned hitman goes to Los Angeles to fulfill a contract and is greeted by a community of optimistic people.

Bill Hader, former member of the comedy troupe of Saturday Night Livecreates Barry in 2018 with Alec Berg and took on the title role of this darkly humorous comedy which earned him a total of eight Emmy Award nominations (as producer, screenwriter, director and actor). With its original concept, centered on a killer who discovers a vocation for the theater, the series juggles with dark themes and a tone of offbeat humor. The result is a perfect delight, supported by an exceptional cast.

• Watch the trailer (in original version):

The Gilded Age

In 1882, young Marian Brook left Pennsylvania after the death of her father to settle with her aristocratic aunts in New York. Accompanied by Peggy Scott, an aspiring writer, Marian will discover high society and find herself in the middle of a conflict between one of her aunts and their neighbors, the ambitious railway magnate George Russel and his wife Bertha.

The Gilded Ageit is the period of prosperity which followed the Civil War in the United States, and it is in this context that the screenwriter Julian Fellowes decided to situate his new series after the success of his previous creation, Downton Abbey. He then goes back in time and abandons the British nobility to attack American high society, where old aristocratic families clash with the nouveau riche. If the first season was trying to find its feet a little too much, the second established the series as a truly successful piece of entertainment, carried by a great cast (Christine Baranski, Cynthia Nixon, Carrie Coon, Morgan Spector…) who play captivating characters. Perfect for fans of costume series!

• Watch the trailer:

Adventure Time

In a fantastical and supernatural world, a boy named Finn and his best friend Jake, a magical dog, experience crazy and surreal funny adventures.

Without doubt one of the best-known series in this selection, Adventure Time nonetheless remains an essential program to watch and rewatch without moderation. An animated treat, funny, absurd and touching as it should be, which takes us on adventures full of monsters, witches and quests of all kinds. Entertaining as can be, and the ideal program for Sunday morning with cereals.

• Watch a trailer for this animated series:

The Leftovers

On October 14, 2011, two percent of human beings inexplicably disappeared from the face of the Earth. The residents of the small town of Mapleton are faced with this disappearance when many of their neighbors, friends and lovers vanish into thin air in an instant. Three years later, life has returned to normal in the depopulated town, but nothing is the same as before.

Grief is at the heart of this incredibly trying series in which everyone must deal with the consequences of an inexplicable phenomenon. Some try to forget and move on while others want to understand, and all are confronted with the essence of their beliefs. Based on the book of the same name by author Tom Perrotta, the series by Damon Lindelof (Lost, Watchmen) evolves over its three seasons and digs deeper and deeper into its concept and its universe to ultimately deliver us a story as moving as it is exciting, served by absolutely perfect actors (Justin Theroux and Carrie Coon in the lead).

• Watch the trailer (in original version):

The prince of Bel-Air

On the advice of his mother, Will, a 17-year-old teenager, leaves Philadelphia and his modest background to settle in with his aunt and uncle in Los Angeles, in the very chic Bel-Air neighborhood, in order to have better chances of succeeding in life…

Cult for a certain generation, this series which allowed Will Smith to break into Hollywood is often unknown to younger people. However, this little nugget from the 1990s deserves attention. It allows us to rediscover the comic talents of the star of Bad Boys And Men in Black, but also to realize that this show has more in its stomach than it seems. Some episodes touch on very serious subjects for the time and genre of the sitcom (social inequality, racism, police discrimination, urban violence, etc.) and demonstrate that The prince of Bel-Air had more to tell than what remains in the collective memory. And then between its cult credits, Will’s antics and Carlton’s famous dance, admit that it was very funny.

• Rediscover the credits of the series: