It's Labor Day weekend, and that means three glorious days of doing...well, whatever the hell we want. If you're hiding out from the heat inside on the couch, it's the perfect time to binge-watch all the TV shows people have been recommending, and HBO Max is home to some of the best out there.
While HBO and its streaming platform HBO Max are home to some of television's most intense prestige dramas, from "The Sopranos" to "Game of Thrones" to "Succession," all those seasons don't fit neatly into a three-day weekend. With that in mind, I'm highlighting some of the best shows on HBO Max to binge-watch this Labor Day weekend, each with only a few seasons to make it easy to start and finish them before you head back to work.
Consider this your Labor Day guide for what to watch this holiday weekend. So without further ado, let's dive into what HBO Max shows deserve a spot on your watchlist.
'Somebody Somewhere'
The vibe: Catching up with an old friend at a tender moment in your life
I can't listen to "The Climb" by Miley Cyrus without bursting into tears, and I blame this show for that. I rarely re-watch things and have very few comfort shows as a result, but "Somebody Somewhere" is one I never get tired of revisiting. Comedian Bridget Everett really made something special with this one, and its rare 100% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes just goes to show it.
She stars as Sam, a middle-age loner at a crossroads in her life who returns to her Kansas hometown to care for her dying sister. While her shot at a singing career has long fizzled out, she rediscovers her passion through a former high school classmate (Jeff Hiller, in an Emmy-winning supporting performance), who talks her into checking out his church's unofficial choir practice. Across three tender, slice-of-life seasons, Sam really comes into her own, and it warms your heart to watch her embrace her light.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%
Watch "Somebody Somewhere" on HBO Max now
'Chernobyl'
The vibe: A tense and beautifully written historical drama that lives up to the hype
Before Craig Mazin led Ellie and Joel's television debut in "The Last of Us," he cut his teeth at Max as executive producer on "Chernobyl," one of the best TV shows of all time in my humble opinion. It's a bleak but devastatingly human story about those impacted by the 1986 disaster at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Pripyat.
Jared Harris stars as Valery Legasov, a nuclear physicist and the only one with an ounce of sense on a response team stacked with bureaucrats too busy pointing fingers or downplaying the damage to do what needs to be done. His idealistic sense of justice butts head with Boris Shcherbina (Stellan Skarsgård), an engineer turned politician leading the clean-up efforts. Their investigation uncovers the rotting stench of negligence while authorities continue to throw bodies at Chernobyl without understanding the full scope.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 95%
Watch "Chernobyl" on HBO Max now
'DTF St. Louis'
The vibe: A suburban noire with pitch-black humor and a messy love triangle
This dark comedy follows three adult friends (kind of) played by Jason Bateman, David Harbour, and Linda Cardellini) who are all stuck in the same midlife rut. I say "kind of" because the relationship between these three is so messy, "friend" doesn't even begin to cover it.
When local weatherman and microcelebrity Clark (Bateman) becomes fast friends with a married sign language interpreter Floyd (Harbour), he convinces him to check out a local dating app for swingers to try to help revive his dead bedroom. Given that we find Floyd dead in the first episode, you can guess about how well that went. "DTF St. Louis" is a gripping, emotional rollercoaster packed with deeply flawed but endearing characters you can't help but root for.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 89%
Watch "DTF St. Louis" on HBO Max now
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