HBO stands for Home Box Office which is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned and operated by Home Box Office, Inc. a division of Time Warner. It was founded on November 8, 1972, and Its headquarters is located in New York City, New York, US. With the slogan ‘it’s what connects us’, HBO features programs such as motion pictures, television series, documentaries, boxing matches, stand-up comedy, and specials.

HBO is the longest continuously operating pay cable in the United States has been in existence for almost 45years with over 45million subscribers and over 130million subscribers worldwide as of 2016. The network provides eight 24-hour multiplex channels, including HBO Comedy, HBO Latino, HBO Signature, HBO Family and HBO Now. HBO has birthed various TV programs that are ranked top in the television world.

Some of HBO top-ranked programs include:

The Wire:

The Wire, created by David Simon, examines the Baltimore drug scene from the perspective of both the police and the drug dealers, providing flawed but deeply human, sympathetic faces to both sides of the drug war. It confronts the inner-city drug problem from every perspective, from the politicians elected to stamp out drugs to the distribution channels that bring in the drugs to a flawed education system that produces drug dealers to the gang warfare that ensues and the journalists assigned to cover the drug trade from all angles. Spanning five seasons, The Wire is like a series of intricate, interconnected crime novels, a one-of-a-kind series that is not only entertaining, thoughtful, and insightful, but also necessary viewing.

The Sopranos:

The Sopranos is about New Jersey mobster Tony Soprano who is running a crime syndicate; putting hits out on his enemies and the FBI — closing in on him. But he’s also got a suburban family he has to protect, kids he has to raise, and a marriage he has to nurture. With all that pressure, Tony begins to seek therapy to help with the panic attacks, to cope with the anxiety that balancing his family life and a career in crime produces. Creator David Chase takes a villain who knows he’s a villain and finds ways to make us relate to and sympathize with him.

The series, which kicked off the Golden Age of Television, maybe the best-written and most well-acted series of all time. It’s certainly one of the most awarded, earning 21 Emmy Awards with 111 nominations. (three of those wins and eight of those nominations went to James Gandolfini). Notable for being one of television’s most groundbreaking series. The Sopranos is a stunning, surprisingly affecting, often funny family drama punctured with moments of devastating violence. It also boasts one of television’s most polarizing, heavily debated series finales ever.

Game of Thrones

This has got to be the most popular TV series from HBO. It has a great fan base both in Africa, Europe and beyond. The series, based on George R.R Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire book series, is an intricately woven fantasy drama. It’s more about political gamesmanship dragons and war. (Although it’s about that, too.) The series sees dozens of characters representing the seven kingdoms of Westeros vying for the Iron Throne. There’s also a supernatural outside force — an army of the dead — threatening to topple them all. It’s more than just a show; it’s a provocative, immersive, unpredictable weekly television event.

There are various shows and feature movies which make HBO one of the top television networks. For the sake of this post, we walk about only these three. To watch favorite HBO TV, you can check their websites www.hbo.org to stream and watch anytime.