HBO succeeded by putting screenwriting first. Letting its writers develop their shows with almost full control on the creative side.
HBO took risks and let them play out. Even if they didn’t pay off immediately with ratings, they paid off eventually in the cultural consciousness.
Take a look at what the hype is all about and read some of their best scripts below!
Ballers | 2015
A series centered around a group of football players and their families, friends, and handlers.
Barry | 2018
A hit man from the Midwest moves to Los Angeles and gets caught up in the city’s theatre arts scene.
Big Little Lies | 2017
The apparently perfect lives of upper-class mothers, at a prestigious elementary school, unravel to the point of murder when a single-mother moves to their quaint Californian beach town.
Boardwalk Empire | 2010
An Atlantic City politician plays both sides of the law by conspiring with gangsters during the Prohibition era.
Bored To Death | 2009
A well-meaning but struggling writer decides to lead a sort of double life by pretending to be a private detective using the methods he read about in old detective novels.
Carnivàle | 2003
During the Great Depression, an Oklahoma farm boy and a charismatic minister learn that they are key players in a proxy war being fought between Heaven and Hell.
Chernobyl | 2019
In April 1986, an explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics becomes one of the world’s worst man-made catastrophes.
Deadwood | 2004
A show set in the late 1800s, revolving around the characters of Deadwood, South Dakota; a town of deep corruption and crime.
Eastbound and Down | 2009
Many years after he turned his back on his hometown, a burned-out major league ballplayer returns to teach Physical Education at his old middle school.
Euphoria | 2019
A look at life for a group of high school students as they grapple with issues of drugs, sex, and violence.
Game of Thrones | 2011
Nine noble families fight for control over the lands of Westeros, while an ancient enemy returns after being dormant for millennia.
Girls | 2012
A comedy about the experiences of a group of girls in their early 20s.
Insecure | 2016
Follows the awkward experiences and racy tribulations of a modern-day African-American woman.
Lovecraft Country | 2020
A young African-American travels across the U.S. in the 1950s in search of his missing father.
Oz | 1997
A series chronicling the daily activities of an unusual prison facility and its criminal inhabitants.
Silicon Valley | 2014
Follows the struggle of Richard Hendricks, a Silicon Valley engineer trying to build his own company called Pied Piper.
Six Feet Under | 2001
A chronicle of the lives of a dysfunctional family who run an independent funeral home in Los Angeles.
Succession | 2018
The Roy family is known for controlling the biggest media and entertainment company in the world. However, their world changes when their father steps down from the company.
The Leftovers | 2014
Three years after the disappearance of two percent of the global population, a group of people in a small New York community try to continue their lives while coping with the tragedy of the unexplained nature of the event.
The Newsroom | 2012
A newsroom undergoes some changes in its workings and morals as a new team is brought in, bringing unexpected results for its existing news anchor.
The Night of | 2016
After a night of partying with a woman he picked up, a man wakes up to find her stabbed to death and is charged with her murder.
The Sopranos | 1999
New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano deals with personal and professional issues in his home and business life that affect his mental state, leading him to seek professional psychiatric counseling.
The White Lotus | 2021
Set in a tropical resort, it follows the exploits of various guests and employees over the span of a week.
The Wire | 2002
The Baltimore drug scene, as seen through the eyes of drug dealers and law enforcement.
True Blood | 2008
Telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse encounters a strange new supernatural world when she meets the mysterious Bill Compton, a southern Louisiana gentleman, and vampire.
True Detective | 2014
Seasonal anthology series in which police investigations unearth the personal and professional secrets of those involved, both within and outside the law.
Westworld | 2016
Set at the intersection of the near future and the reimagined past, explore a world in which every human appetite can be indulged without consequence.
Screenplay Collection by Luis Bou.
Luis is a passionate film major from Puerto Rico. If not caught rock climbing on weekends, you’ll probably see him standing over a keyboard, typing away.
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