HBO takes a lot of the credit for the rise of prestige TV. Shows such as The Sopranos, The Wire, Sex and the City and Game of Thrones were appointment TV, and that tradition lives on with newer series including Industry, Euphoria and more. Its streaming service, HBO Max, is also the home of tons of great movies, live sports and excellent documentaries.
Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon is returning to HBO Max for season 3, and while it’s been a couple of years since I last thought about the rightful heir to the Iron Throne, we’re about to get a swift reminder when the Targaryens face off in a war between the armies they spent the past two seasons building up.
This month also marks the return of another long-term friend of HBO, Larry David. After more than two decades helming Curb Your Enthusiasm, David is back with a new comedy series, Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness, which is co-produced by Barack and Michelle Obama. These are just a couple of the titles I’m most excited to watch on HBO Max in June.
June 1
Bring Me The Beauties: A Model Cult
Why watch: You love real-life drama that combines cults, crime and ’80s fashion.
Documentaries about cults are almost as ubiquitous as documentaries about mysterious murders, but there’s a reason for that: they feed our obsession with true crime and stranger-than-fiction tales. The new HBO Documentary series, Bring Me The Beauties: A Model Cult, is the story of Hoyt Richards, who became one of the world’s first male supermodels in the 1980s, all while getting sucked into a cult called Eternal Values. It was run by a seductive leader named Frederick von Mierers, who promised Richards and many others like him enlightenment, while exploiting and preying upon them. The limited series consists of three episodes that roll out weekly; the first arrives June 1.
June 7
Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial vs. That’s the Weight of the World)
Why watch: Director Questlove’s respect and love for his subjects is apparent in every documentary he makes.
Questlove is the longtime drummer for The Roots, but he’s also a talented filmmaker whose films include Summer of Soul and Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius). His newest project, Earth, Wind & Fire (To Be Celestial vs. That’s the Weight of the World), arrives on HBO Max this month and tells the history and impact of the legendary, genre-spanning band formed by Maurice White. It features an ensemble of musicians that has included Verdine White, Philip Bailey, Ralph Johnson, Al McKay and many others. You can tune in on June 7.
June 19
How to Make a Killing (2026)
Why watch: It’s further proof that you can’t not like Glen Powell… even when he’s the bad guy.
How to Make a Killing is one of this month’s A24 films arriving on HBO Max. In the comedic thriller, Glen Powell stars as Becket Redfellow, the heir to a massive family fortune who was disinherited as a boy. Now in prison, Redfellow tells the story of how he landed there, as he attempted to reclaim his inheritance by knocking off his remaining family members who stood in his way. The film, directed by John Patton Ford, co-stars Margaret Qualley, Jessica Henwick, Bill Camp, Zach Woods and Topher Grace, and arrives on HBO Max on June 19.
June 21
House of the Dragon (Season 3)
Why watch: The war between the Targaryens has been brewing for two seasons; we’re more than ready to see them battle it out.
House of the Dragon, the Game of Thrones prequel that’s set 200 years before the events of that series, returns for season 3 on June 21. While Daenerys Targaryen was the only blonde dragon rider featured on Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon is a deeper look at her ancestors, their power struggles and their fire-breathing companions. The series last aired in the summer of 2024, so you’d be forgiven if you’ve forgotten where we left off. To sum it up quickly, Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy), exiled to Dragonstone, had been building up a dragon-riding army and plotting how to overthrow her half-brother Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney), who’s been illegitimately seated on the Iron Throne. There will be eight episodes of the show this season, with the first premiering on Sunday, June 21, and the rest arriving weekly after that.
June 26
Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness
Why watch: Because it’s basically Curb Your Enthusiasm, but with time travel.
As a kid, I received a shocking and not entirely accurate history lesson from Mel Brooks’ History of the World: Part One, and it looks like we’re about to get a similarly skewed education in American history from comedian Larry David. His new limited series Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness debuts this month on HBO Max. The seven-episode show stars David, along with Bill Hader, Kathryn Hahn, Jon Hamm, Sean Hayes and several more of David’s regular collaborators. (Oh, and Barack and Michelle Obama co-produced the show.) Every episode will feature four comedy sketches about different moments in US history — or at least, David’s cringe-inducing, outrageous and hilarious interpretation of them. The series will premiere on June 26 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and stream on HBO Max.
June 30
Bang My Box: The Robin Byrd Story
Why watch: You’re nostalgic for the New York City of the 1970s and ’80s
Robin Byrd was a fixture of New York public access television for over 20 years and became locally famous for her late-night call-in show that often featured adult entertainers and experimental artists. Known for hosting her show clad only in a crocheted bikini, she was sex-positive before that was a term we used regularly. Bang My Box: The Robin Byrd Story was co-produced by another iconic New Yorker, Sarah Jessica Parker (consider Byrd a raunchier version of Carrie Bradshaw). The HBO original documentary premieres on June 30.
