If you’re stuck with the same five prestige dramas everyone’s already talking about, here are three that were criminally overlooked. For this weekend, we’ve got a yakuza thriller, a financial drama and a televangelist saga that still holds up after four seasons. All three underrated shows are currently streaming on HBO Max and deserve a spot on your watch list. If you don’t have the time or appetite to commit to multiple seasons, I’ve put together a list of the best Netflix limited series worth checking out.
We also have guides to the best new movies to stream, the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best free movies, and the best movies on Amazon Prime Video.
Tokyo Vice (2022-2024)
Genre: Crime, drama, thriller
IMDb: 8.0/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 89%
Jake Adelstein (Ansel Elgort) speaks at the crime desk of a Japanese newspaper in the late ’90s, then pulls strings until he tangles with the real yakuza. He is half-mentored, half-tolerated by Detective Hiroto Katagiri (Ken Watanabe), and their partnership carries the entire show. Beneath the neon and captions, this is really a story about how far someone will go for a byline.
Michael Mann directed the pilot and set a gorgeous, atmospheric, authentic tone that can be felt in every frame. The secret weapon here is Show Kasamatsu, who plays an aspiring mobster with incredible charisma. This HBO Max show has two tight seasons, zero filler, and an ending that really hits the mark.
You can stream Tokyo Vice on HBO Max
Industry (2020-present)
Genre: Drama
IMDb: 7.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 91%
Harper Stern (Myha’la Herrold) and Yasmin Kara-Hanani (Marisa Abela) are fighting for a handful of permanent jobs at a London investment bank, and are fighting for survival every day on the stock market. Their grueling late-night hours are drowned in drug abuse, complicated office politics, and profoundly terrible relationship decisions. The show is also about what ambition does to people who never learn to stop.
He didn’t get bogged down in financial jargon; it was watching characters make self-destructive decisions and finding myself still rooting for them. I’ve been recommending this to my friends who are enthusiastic, and halfway through the first season they texted me, “This is too real.” Four seasons in and a fifth already confirmed, this thing is getting sharper instead of running out of ideas.
You can stream Industry on HBO Max
The Righteous Gemstones (2019-2025)
Genre: Comedy, drama
IMDb: 8.0/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 91%
Eli Gemstone (John Goodman) tries to stop his three deeply flawed adult children from tearing apart the mega-church empire he’s built. Jesse (Danny McBride), Judy (Edi Patterson) and Kelvin (Adam DeVine) spend four seasons with each other and occasionally with the whole family at once. It’s a dark comedy about how faith and greed eventually seem the same when enough money is involved.
I put off watching this for years, assuming that Danny McBride was yelling for four seasons, but the show proved me wrong. He exudes pure satirical genius here, delivering funny moments without abandoning the narrative. There’s also a real tenderness under the chaos, which I liked. And this hidden gem on HBO Max ended its finale with a perfect critical score.
The Righteous Gemstones is available to stream on HBO Max
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