The 18 greatest HBO comedy series of all-time

We’re starting here to get it out of the way, because “Barry” is comedy…ish. It starred Bill Hader, and because it was classified as a half-hour show, it was labeled a comedy at the Emmys. Then, it won several Emmys, including for TV icon Henry Winkler. However, it’s a dark comedy at best, and as the show went on, it became less and less comedic. “Barry” was a great show, and it was sometimes quite funny, but it’s not a pure comedy. So, this way we can acknowledge both the show’s quality, and its nebulous classification.

“Veep,” on the other hand, is an out-and-out comedy. Oh, it’s also dark. And vulgar. But it’s hilarious. Julia Louis-Dreyfus won several Emmys for playing Selina Meyer, and you can’t argue with a single one of them. She delivered an all-time comedic performance, and she wasn’t the only one. Political comedy doesn’t come more acidic, or funnier, than “Veep.”

“Saturday Night Live” is the definitive sketch show in the history of comedy, but it is not the only sketch show. Canada alone has given us a couple of cult favorites, “SCTV” and “The Kids in the Hall.” Produced by, hey, Lorne Michaels, the Kids had a show that aired on HBO in America and CBC in the Great White North. The five members of the cast played a litany of odd recurring characters, and even got the film “Brain Candy.” It’s weird! Not good, but interesting.

With all due respect to “30 Rock,” “The Larry Sanders Show” is a better take on a behind-the-scenes look at a comedy show. While Tina Fey’s show is funnier, because it is a joke factory, “The Larry Sanders Show” feels visceral, even when it’s being funny. Larry, Hank, Artie, and the gang are petty, vain, vindictive, you name it. On top of that, “The Larry Sanders Show” has a clever conceit wherein the scenes of Larry’s late-night show are filmed like an actual late-night show, while everything else is single-camera and feels almost like cinema verité.

From a fictional Larry to a semi-real Larry. Larry David is a real human man, but “Larry David” is a character as well. Solely by dint of being half of the creative team behind “Seinfeld,” David got to star as a fictionalized version of himself in a largely improvised sitcom. He got to make episodes when he felt like it. Truly, nobody has ever had a deal like David’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” deal with HBO. It’s also hard to argue he didn’t earn it.

Look, “Sex and the City” could be silly. Occasionally, we’d get a pun that made us not just groan, but wince. Also, Carrie’s professional life makes zero sense. That being said, “Sex and the City” was a cultural phenomenon, and it was a frank show (if a credulity-straining show) about the sex lives of a few gals on the go, and that was not the norm even in the early 2000s.

There’s a deadpan, absurdist specificity to “Flight of the Conchords” that really makes it stand out. Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement took their comedic musical act and made it the center of a TV show. The New Zealanders did the fish-out-of-water thing with gusto in New York. While the second (of two) seasons was quite good, the first season is the special one. That’s because Bret and Jemaine could use their pre-existing songs as opposed to having to write new ones.

Another sketch show, this one centered on an even smaller primary cast. There were five Kids in the Hall. Bob and David were just, well, Bob and David. Those would be Bob Odenkirk and David Cross, both of whom have gone on to successful careers, especially Odenkirk. “Mr. Show” was ambitious in terms of tying sketches together and doing thematic episodes. Maybe that’s why they only made 30 episodes, but there’s a lot of gold in those 30 episodes.

Ricky Gervais has gotten a lot of guff for a long time, so let’s hop in the time machine. First, he co-created, and starred in, the original “The Office.” That show literally changed the future of American television, impressive for a British sitcom. After that, he got to make “Extras” for HBO. This time around, Gervais played a background actor, and he got numerous celebrities to appear as themselves. It’s also a really good show! Gervais used to make good stuff!

“Friends” gave all the titular friends a chance at film careers, but they didn’t all take. Lisa Kudrow’s, for example, did not take. She returned to TV, but “The Comeback” is not just a warmed-over “Friends” riff. Instead, it’s a dark cringe-comedy people either tend to love or find uncomfortable to watch. Kudrow played, well, a sitcom actor trying to make a comeback. For a long time, “The Comeback” was one of those one-season wonders, but then a decade later it got a chance to produce a second season.

You’d think this Silicon Valley satire would have had more staying power, but it seems to have fallen by the wayside. That’s too bad, because “Silicon Valley” was really good. The show was co-created by Mike Judge, of “King of the Hill” and “Office Space” fame, who had worked in Silicon Valley in his younger days. He ran it with Alec Berg, who co-created “Barry.” Now, it’s not as dark as “Barry,” but there is plenty of punch in the humor of “Silicon Valley.”

Before there was “The White Lotus,” there was “Enlightened.” Mike White co-created this show with its star, Laura Dern. That would be future Oscar winner Laura Dern, mind you. She starred as Amy Jellicoe, a high-powered executive who has a self-destructive breakdown, and then believes she has emerged from it, well, “enlightened.” Spoiler alert: she didn’t.

You might know “A Black Lady Sketch Show” as the show that would get nominated alongside “SNL” in the Outstanding Variety Sketch Series at the Emmys. Or, after they changed the category to Outstanding Variety Series, got nominated against “SNL” and “Last Week Tonight.” Hey, four nominations out of four seasons meant people were paying attention, and enjoying the show. Kudos to Robin Thede, who created the show and was one of only two cast members to stick around for all four seasons.

Hey, a weed comedy that isn’t lazy! Starting as a web series, “High Maintenance” moved to HBO and produced 34 episodes. Ben Sinclair, who co-created the show, was the only regular cast member. He was “The Guy,” whose job was to deliver marijuana all over Brooklyn. The Guy would meet assorted eccentric characters and have funny experiences. This also allowed “High Maintenance” to have all sorts of notable guest stars, some playing themselves.

As “Portlandia” showed us, Fred Armisen has an odd, specific sense of humor. Now, have him join forces with Julio Torres, whose specific style and sensibilities is even stranger and more esoteric. That’s how a show like “Los Espookys” feels, and yet it was incredibly funny nonetheless. Taking place in a fictional Latin America country, the show operated with the Magical Realism that region is synonymous with. Three friends with a love for horror start a business built around scaring people for one reason or another. Of course, “Los Espookys” also wasn’t for everybody, so perhaps it is not surprising it only lasted 12 episodes.

For many, “Eastbound & Down” is where they first experienced the specific comedic sensibility of Danny McBride. Kenny Powers remains probably the most-McBride character of them all. When the show began, Powers had flamed out as an MLB pitcher and is rebuilding his life in his hometown. As the series went on, though, Powers finds himself in different ebbs and flows of his career, and his life, until the show reached its conclusion after four seasons.

Another McBride show makes the cut because, well, his HBO offerings have earned multiple entries. Of course, by the time of “The Righteous Gemstones,” McBride had earned enough plaudits to be more ambitious and to make a more-expensive show with a bigger-name cast. John Goodman! The Gemstones are a family of rich Southern televangelists, but crucial to the show’s thrust, they aren’t con artists. They are awful people, though. Once again, McBride told a story in four seasons, but with “The Righteous Gemstones” this was more of his own volition.

We mentioned “Last Week Tonight” before, and we’ll mention it here again to wrap things up. It makes sense to set it apart, because while it is a comedic show, it’s not a scripted show. Building off of John Oliver’s time on “The Daily Show,” “Last Week Tonight” is an informative, political, news-oriented show. Oliver goes deep on a subject every week, and it can be dark stuff. However, the show always keeps its comedic sensibilities, and can be downright absurd at times. There’s never been a show quite like “Last Week Tonight.” Maybe that’s why it has won 30 Emmys and three Peabodys.