The weekend is here, finally, and that means downtime and maybe watching something great on TV. HBO Max is no stranger to premium TV, but there’s so much to choose from that finding the right show can still feel like a part-time job.
For the weekend of March 13 to 15, skip the scroll with these picks: a globe-trotting freak of a man with even freakier hair, a sprawling dragon-filled fantasy in Westeros, and a dark and satisfying superhero drama unlike any other.
3
Conan O’Brien Must Go
From late-night host to world traveler … sort of
If you’re a fan of legendary comedian and host Conan O’Brien, or even just a fan of his podcast, Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend, then this off-the-wall travel show, done the way that only Conan can do, will delight you. OK, so it’s less of a traditional travel show (you’re not going to learn much), but this Emmy-winning show is peak Conan. The gangly comedian sets out on an epic adventure around the world to surprise select listeners of his podcast in their home countries.
Season one’s four episodes take Conan to Norway, Argentina, Thailand, and Ireland, where he awkwardly gets to know each listener, mingles with the locals, learns (or tries) local customs, and generally makes a boob of himself. Along the way, Conan also gets some backup from a lineup of great celebrity guests, including Javier Bardem and Taika Waititi. Highlights of season one include Conan dressing up in full Viking garb in Norway and, my favorite, a Muay Thai lesson and scorpion eating in Thailand, all saturated in Conan’s self-depracating humor and awkwardness. It’s a hilarious fish-out-of-water series, and season two gets even better with Conan visiting Spain, New Zealand, and Austria. Both seasons of Conan O’Brien Must Go are streaming on HBO Max.
2
House of the Dragon
It’s dragons versus dragons in this Game of Thrones sequel series
With only a few months to go before season three of George R.R. Martin’s dragon-infested Game of Thrones prequel series on HBO, if you haven’t delved into the realm of House of the Dragon yet, you might want to give yourself the time to fully ingest it. Set roughly 80 years before the events of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms and roughly 200 years before Jon Snow, House of the Dragon takes place during a brutal Targaryen civil war known as The Dance of the Dragons. And believe me, there are dragons.
The conflict, in a nutshell, is a matter of succession. When King Viserys I (Paddy Considine) dies, he controversially names his daughter Rhaenyra (played young by Millie Alcock, and older by Emma D’Arcy) as heir to the Iron Throne. But Viserys’ second wife, Alicent (Emily Carey, then Olivia Cooke), and her supporters, believe that their firstborn male son, Aegon, is the true heir. The rift splits the kingdom in two, pitting armies, dragons, and Targaryen relatives against one another in fire-breathing war.
House of the Dragon is as epic as it gets on TV, and is a worthy accompaniment to the original GoT universe, with stellar performances for the cast, epic battle scenes, and some fearsome dragon CGI. It’s been a critical hit for HBO, with a serious 15 Emmy nominations (with two wins), and an overall Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score of 87%. Get ready for season three now.
1
Watchmen
A mind-bending but poignant reimagining of a DC Comics classic
I remember watching HBO’s darkly original mini-series Watchmen when it first hit the streamer in 2019, and it was unlike any “superhero” show or movie I had ever seen. From the insanely creative mind of Damon Lindelof, the guy who created/wrote Lost, Prometheus, World War Z, and The Leftovers, among others, Watchmen isn’t a reboot of the 2009 film; it’s instead something entirely new while being a direct sequel to the original Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons 1986 graphic novel.
Set in 2019, Watchmen takes place 35 years after the events of the graphic novel, but moves the action to Tulsa, Oklahoma, in an alternate history, where Robert Redford is president, there’s no internet, and a white supremacist group wearing Rorschach masks called the Seventh Cavalry starts targeting police officers. At the center of it all is Angela Abar (Regina King in an amazing performance), a detective who doubles as the masked vigilante Sister Night, hunting down the Seventh Cavalry. Watchmen is a deep tapestry of conspiracy that brings in key characters from the past, and that morphs into a mind-bending race to save humanity.
The nine-episode series also features star performances from Jean Smart, Jeremy Irons, Tim Blake Nelson, Don Johnson, and Wonder Man‘s excellent Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. Watchmen was a marvel for HBO, winning a ridiculous 22 Emmys. It currently maintains a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Watchmen
Release Date
2019 – 2019-00-00
Network
HBO
Directors
David Semel, Fred Toye
Sometimes the hardest part of the weekend is simply deciding what to watch. Hopefully, this shortlist solves that problem.
Subscription with ads
Yes, $10.99/month
Simultaneous streams
2 or 4
HBO Max is a subscription-based streaming service offering content from HBO, Warner Bros., DC, and more. In 2025, the service re-branded itself as HBO Max after having previously cut “HBO” from its name.
