Home Box Office was once a channel that no one paid attention to unless they had insomnia. Then the channel made a show about dragons. The rest is history, as they say. HBO has been the front runner in ordering peculiar drama shows that no other channel dares to air.

If you are thinking about subscribing to the channel, here is a list of the best HBO series (16,000) to watch:

1. Game of Thrones

Game of Thrones is the most successful HBO show of all time. It’s also the most pirated TV show of all time. Created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss based on George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” book series, there’s hardly anyone on earth who hasn’t heard of this show. The hour-long episodes of the show are set in a medieval fantasy world of Westeros and Essos, a place where legendary knights, insane tourneys, magic, and dragons exist. The drama in the show has something for everyone: epic fights, palace intrigue, magical mysteries, and of course dragons.

The show has TV's biggest number of characters and cast. Game of Thrones has also made a name for itself for rather an explicit depiction of violence and sex. If you don't like people's arms getting ripped off or Dragonfire burning armies to a crisp, then you might not like watching it. But the gore and the nudity is used sparingly considering the overall, hugely complex plot of the show. If you are an avid TV watcher in general, you must watch Game of Thrones at least once. It is also one of top HBO proves that is available in all regions. The show may be heavily edited in some regions, like Southeast Asia.

2. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

If you like news satire as seen on The Daily Show or the Colbert Report, then you will love Last Week Tonight, also known as the John Oliver show among fans. John Oliver found his fame as the witty comedian with a thick British accent on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart. When most people expected him to take the helm from Jon Stewart, he surprised many by moving to HBO to do Last Week Tonight.

The show airs every Sunday night and spends about half an hour taking apart news of the week. Unlike most other satire shows, John Oliver dedicates about 20 minutes of each episode to talk about an important subject in depth, such as nuclear disarmament, fake news, climate change, or net neutrality. It’s the closest network television gets to investigative journalism, albeit with a hilarious twist. John Oliver is amazingly fun to watch, and you will end each episode more informed about current affairs. 

3. True Blood

Before Game of Thrones, True Blood was the sleazy show with all the nudity and gore. The vampire drama was also inspired by a book series and became popular among people who love horror, romance, and all things supernatural. True Blood is intended for adult audiences, so it’s a step above the vampire shows you might have seen on other channels. The show is not entirely about the supernatural. True Blood also tackles real-life gritty issues like drug addiction and poverty.

If you want to watch a show about vampires who are not sparkly, then True Blood will be right up your alley. It's got an amazing cast and a plot that will throw you off guard. True Blood is available on HBO in nearly all regions. But the show you get in some regions may be heavily censored to meet local restrictions.

4. Veep

Created by Armando Iannucci, the Scottish satirist who also made The Thick of It, Veep is political satire at its very best. The show's title refers to the vice president of the United States, a dominant position that in reality doesn't have much power at all. The protagonist of the show is vice president Selena Myers, played to Emmy-award winning perfection by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Veep follows the hilarious and also dreadful antics of the egomaniacal Veep and her band of ill-suited advisors and press people.

Veep is a fun show to watch, but it's much more than that. Like The Thick of It satirized the inner workings of the British government, Veep cleverly makes fun of the ridiculousness of inner DC politics. You may think it's a lighthearted comedy, but in hindsight, you will probably be horrified.

5. Silicon Valley

Set in eponymous Silicon Valley, this acclaimed show portrays the tech world as you have never seen it before. Most shows and movies portray the tech world as something to admire, filled with super intelligent programmers who come up with amazing innovations out of nowhere. Silicon Valley is the opposite of that. The show does not hold back in lampooning various techies in the Valley and their ideas of success.

 Silicon Valley is hilarious and shows a side of the actual Silicon Valley most people don’t get to see in hagiographic documentaries. Whether you are a tech lover yourself or not, this is a show everyone can get into and love.

6. Sex and the City

This is a classic title from HBO. Though the show has long since concluded, Sex and the City remains one of the must-watch HBO shows of all time. The show follows four women and their relationship problems in the Big Apple. Sex and the City was famous in its time for candidly exploring topics of sex and relationships affecting women, without much of the titillation that you find in shows aimed at men.

If you love classics, comedy, romance and girl power, Sex and the City is definitely for you. Unfortunately, the show is not available in all regions due to country restrictions. It was infamously banned in Singapore until the ban was lifted some years back.

7. The Sopranos

Possibly the most famous TV mob drama of all time, the Sopranos follows the trials and tribulations of Tony Soprano, the patriarch of a notorious crime family. Tony is not your typical mobster, however. He is a remorseless killer and a brutal mob boss, but he is also a father and a troubled man who sees a shrink every week.

If you like a complex drama that gets close to real life, then you won't regret watching this. The show is a dynamic exploration of character as it is a crime drama.

8. The Wire

The gritty police drama, The Wire, was conceived as a modern-day Greek tragedy. This show is best known for its realistic depiction of how a police force in Baltimore works. There are no doughnut-eating cop stereotypes. Also gone is the “hero cop” archetype common to most other police dramas. You won’t find mind-boggling CSI-type mystery unraveling here either. What you get is an intimate and honest portrayal of how the modern police force works.

The Wire is not lacking in drama and intrigue despite its serious subject matter. It’s just as addictive as Game of Thrones. If you love police drama, then The Wire is that one show you must watch.

9. Curb Your Enthusiasm

Curb Your Enthusiasm is the rightful comedy successor to Seinfeld. It is also one of the more laid-back HBO shows on this list. It’s funny without having the political weight of other HBO comedies like Veep. This is the show that will make you smile after a hard day at work.

Believe it or not, the show is largely improvised. The creator and star of the show is Larry David, who plays a version of himself on screen. Each episode has a pre-written outline, but the dialogue is mostly made up on the spot. That’s interesting enough to make even the broodiest of us watch.

10. Six Feet Under

Six Feet Under, like the name, strongly suggests, is about death. Why would anyone want to watch a show about death? Well, it has plenty of drama, hilarity, and intrigue to make viewers completely addicted to the show.

The show is unsurprisingly set in a funeral home and follows the trials and tribulations of the family that runs it. Despite the subject matter, the show is not morbid. It is heavy in irony, however. If you are sick of all the predictable shows out there, give yourself a dose of this wonderful and peculiar series.

How to Watch All HBO Shows without Regional Restrictions

You will notice that some of the above HBO shows, like Game of Thrones and Sex and the City, are shown in edited versions in some regions. Some shows may not even be available depending on where you live. If you want the full HBO catalog as it is without edits, then you will have to unblock the U.S. version of HBO.

The U.S. HBO has all the shows without any edits of scenes as ordered by various governments. Typically, you can only access HBO U.S. if you are physically located in the U.S. Even if you subscribed to the channel in the U.S., but you end up traveling to Turkey, you will not be able to watch Game of Thrones uncensored.

The best way to unblock HBO outside the U.S. is via Smart DNS Proxy. Smart DNS allows you to trick the HBO website into believing that you are accessing the site from the U.S. Your subscription will remain unchanged. But you will get unrestricted access to the complete HBO catalog. You will be able to stream full versions of episodes without any edits.

Getting Smart DNS Proxy on your computer, smart TV, tablet or any other device is easy. You don't have to download any software, unlike when using a VPN. You only need to open an account and use the proxy codes provided on the website.

Get Smart DNS Proxy today to watch all your favorite HBO shows anywhere you are located without censorship.