Very first episode of Detectorists is much cruder, language-wise, than the rest of the series. It’s clear that MacKenzie Crooks wasn’t quite sure the direction the show would take, and it developed a different, softer vibe going forward.
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I HATED the first episode of Derry Girls ( the bathroom humor is not my jam). I ended up absolutely loving the show.
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Same. That nun. 
Also the same with Schitts Creek. Took me three tries ro get into that one. Now I consider it one of the best comedies ever.
“You can’t put a price on dignity”
“Tell that to your outfit”
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Same–the family weren’t sympathetic at the start. And Roland was awful (actually, Roland was almost always awful). Glad I stuck with it, because by the end of the first season, I was hooked and definitely consider it one of my very top favorite shows of all time.
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Double same here! For both Derry Girls and Schitts Creek. Stopped watching Schitt’s Creek after a few episodes mostly because I really didn’t like the Chris Elliot character but a friend convinced me to keep going. Same with Derry Girls except that my reaction was more ‘meh’ than not liking it. They both turned out to be absolutely one of the best comedies ever and both were one of the few shows that had perfect endings. So everyone on the fence - don’t give up!
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I fast forwarded Chris Elliots scenes whenever I could
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I think I’m just not a big comedy fan - black humor maybe? I love MASH. I liked The Good Place most of the time. I like the Orville, but actually more when it was being somewhat serious. I watched a bunch of sit-coms as a kid, but there’s not one I’m tempted to watch again. I do like screwball comedy movies and rom-coms.
I purchased the HBO Max $2/month Black Friday deal for the 3 months. It expires in 1 week. During the past 3 months, I’ve been binge watching HBO Max. I previously had an HBO subscription several years ago and enjoyed many great shows – Curb Your Enthusiasm, Game of Thrones, Silicon Valley, Sopranos, True Blood, The Wire, .etc.
This time I focused on shows that were not available at the time of my earlier subscription, which is generally shows than began in 2018/19 or later. None of these shows are on the level of the older shows I mentioned, but I still enjoyed watching them. A ranking is below, based on my opinion of what I have watched so far, which is at least the first season unless otherwise noted. Being ranked essentially means enjoying it enough to continue watching at least 1 full season.
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White Lotus – I initially kept watching due to the teaser about the murder, but after a short time, solving the murder was no longer the main event. Instead the interesting characters and character dynamics made the show enjoyable. The character personalities have elements that most have experienced, making them relatable. I’ve never seen a show quite like this before. It’s not the type of show where you need to catch every detail to enjoy. Instead I usually watch in the background while using the computer, and it fits this role very well.
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Watchmen – I am a big fan of both the original graphic novel and movie. After hearing good things about the series, I thought I’d really enjoy the series as well, and it would be among my all time favorite series on HBO. Instead I was initially disappointed. The original Watchmen had such interesting non-standard superheroes with personalities that contrasted and conflicted with one another in unique ways. My initial impression was all of these characters that made the initial Watchmen great are gone. The new story is more about police in masks living in a bizarre world, than superheroes. I almost didn’t continue. However, as the story developed and pieces came together, it became evident how thoughtful and amazing a show this is. Rather than traditional superheroes don’t age after many decades, the world has advanced decades after the events of the original watchmen in unique ways, becoming increasingly distant from our own – Vietnam is 51st state, Rosarch’s writings + Nixon inspired a White supremacist group, etc. They also introduce some new interesting characters like Lady Trieu and bring back some familiar ones.
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Chernobyl – I’m usually not in to historical docudrama type series. However, Chernobyl is such an amazing show that even I really enjoyed it. The sense of impending doom feels kind of like Jurassic Park. I know the general idea of what is going to happen, but don’t know exactly how it is going to play out. Unlike Jurassic Park, it feels very realistic. One can easily connect with the characters.
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Euphoria – Dramas about teens doing bad things is nothing new. They’ve been around for many decades. This is the best I show I can recall seeing in this genre. It tells the stories in such interesting ways, focusing on particular persons and why they became the way they are. It doesn’t come off as preachy or as an after school special. This is the most popular HBO series since Game of Thrones, which I expect partially relates to the shock value. However, it is a very thoughtful and well done show.
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Peacemaker – This was the last HBO DC series I watched. I didn’t have high expectations of a spinoff from a Suicide Squad side character starring a former wrestler with little major acting experience. However, it was a really fun series to watch, by far the funniest show on this list. It has a campy feel, with great dialogue that emphasizes how different the characters are from typical superheroes, with events like Peacemaker going to an elementary school bring your parent to work type event. I especially liked interactions with Vigilante.
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Harley Quinn – The statements above about Peacemaker also largely apply to Harley Quinn. Unlike Peacemaker, it emphasizes more standard DC heroes/villains that most are familiar with, but twists their personalities and interactions for humor. It also doesn’t have the low budget feel that Peacemaker does.
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Doom Patrol – This is another DC universe show. It’s a very different tone from Peacemaker and Harley Quinn. There is still plenty of humor, but it’s darker and takes itself more seriously. It tells interesting and bizarre stories about a group I didn’t know existed. They aren’t heroes. They are more reluctant rejects with special abilities due to events gone wrong. Some of the stories are captivating. Some episodes don’t hit the mark as well.
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Lovecraft Country – I expected this show to be horror / sci-fi in the style of HP Lovecraft. It was not what I expected. There are elements of horror / sci-fi, as well as supernatural adventure and various other things. The show tries to do a lot of things. It succeeds at some and some and misses at others, but overall I enjoyed it.
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Primal – Primal does show and not tell better than any show I’ve ever seen. Nobody speaks in a human language until the final episode. Instead it shows how a neanderthal forms an unlikely partnership with a T-rex over a shared tragedy, and shows their experiences surviving in a hostile, fantastic world. It’s a a non-intellectual animated show that doesn’t require much thought to understand, but there is still has good character development, such that by the end of the series both Spear and Fang would risk their life to save one another without hesitation, and it’s easy to connect with the characters. My feelings may be biased in being partial to pets, although Fang is clearly a partner and not a pet.
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Titans – This is yet another DC universe show. HBO Max bought the rights to DC and has several others that I did not list. It’s a new, darker take on the typically light hearted Teen Titans or more true to comics Young Justice. Some of the new takes work well, such as the obnoxious Jason Todd who you love to hate. Others do not work as well, such as casting Iain Glen (60 years old) as Batman. Overall I found it to be an entertaining show.
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House of Dragon – I previously listed Game of Thrones as one of my all time favorite HBO series. I had high hopes for House of Dragon, but was largely disappointed. The show is high budget with great sequences with dragons that look amazing on a big screen, but the story just wasn’t anywhere near as interesting as Game of Thrones to me. Game of Thrones introduced me to an amazing world filled with amazing characters. House of Dragon focused more over political issues in a world I already know. I also found the time skip awkward and didn’t like the Matt Smith (Dr. Who) casting. While it fell far short of Game of Thrones, overall I still enjoyed the series and thought it was worth watching.
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Mare of Easton – I’m not into the child murder in small town genre. Among the many HBO shows in this genre (Sharp Objects, The Outsider, 3rd season of True Detective, …) I thought this was by far the best. It’s the only one I enjoyed enough to continue.
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The Staircase – This is another show that’s not my genre, but I recognize that is done well. I am currently watching it and should finish before my subscription runs out.
? – The Last of Us – I only watched the first episode because my subscription will run out before the season finishes, and I did not want to be left mid season. Based on what I saw in the first episode, I think it’s like the show would have been in my top 10.
? – Jujutsu Kaisen – This anime started off better than any new anime I have seen in a long time. Unfortunately HBO dropped the show before I could watch much of the season. Based on what I saw, I think it’s likely the show would have been ranked well. I’m glad none of the other shows above were dropped, with Westworld and various others in recent months.
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Wow, what a great recap! Thanks!
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Thanks for the great recap. 
If you have a chance and it’s still on HBO, try to catch Gentleman Jack (at least the first 3 episodes of S1). It may not be your genre - it is not a superhero series and has no dragons because it’s closely based on a real person who wrote very detailed diaries… let me rephrase that: it has a sort of superhero who happened to be a real person in small-town 1800s England. No saving the world but trying to live as “god-ordained nature” would - which is… not like what people expected/respected/knew how to handle. Anyway, give it a try if you have a couple hours before your subscription expires.
(To me, the fact this is real is just completely mind blowing- and I did check the original diaries because it didn’t seem possible considering the times&place. YMMV as to the importance of this factor but the show is very good even if you think of it as a fiction about s.o unconventional, business sharks, and romance.)
Add me to the Chris Elliot hate – maybe it’s the Rowland character but never been a fan of him – and also what made me stop watching Schitt’s Creek the first time I started it. Eventually tried it again and watched all the seasons. And then watched them again.
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Well, definitely by the end of Season 3 (final episode). 
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While I don’t think the intent of his character was for people to turn the show off, I think he NAILED the undesirable character many thought him to be! And how sort of opposite he was of gentle, pretty (except for that weird haircut that one time!!), a little ditzy, Jocelyn.
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I started it and stopped, went back and loved it, watched the entire season again with my husband, brilliant.
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I’m not saying he’s not good as an actor. But I just hate the characters he likes to play. Eugene Levy is also attracted to this kind of character/comedy. It was when E Levy let his son take over all creative controls in Season 2 that the show really began to work for me. Dan levy has a much more interesting ( to me) sense of humor. I saw an interview once where Dan Levy said that he wanted his father to play in SC the guy Dan grew up with: good at his job ,smart, handsome, well dressed. His father had resisted but came around.
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Fascinating! That explains why things got less annoying! I much prefer Dan’s humor; I like the increase of real heart that the show moved toward–people you could care about, without losing the humor. Never treacly, just a lot warmer.
Even Roland got slightly less awful along the way. Still could have lived without him entirely. But more palatable when he became a little more human.
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Roland was an interesting character because even though he was odd and annoying, it was him (and wife) that welcomed them the most. There was one episode where the Roses met up with former friends passing through…. and they turned out to be shallow and unkind in contrast.
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I too hated the Roland character. But a good recommendation is to watch Episode 1, season 1, then episode 12, and move straight to Season 2. The show is more bearable that way. And if you love the characters you can go back to S101 and watch from start to finish, fast-forwarding through the Season 1 Roland scenes - just too crass. 
After that, he’s an annoying/unlikable character like you happen to meet from time to time but with some discernible qualit(ies/y) here and there.
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That was an excellent episode–one of my favorites.
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Both daughters keep raving about the Great Pottery Throwdown on HBO. But every time Comcast gives us a free week of HBO Max, that show isn’t available—strange.