3 Best HBO Max Series To Binge-Watch This Weekend (Sept 11–13, 2026)

Published Sep 11, 2026, 6:25 PM EDT Greg is a Lead TV Writer & Critic at Screen Rant with expertise in new streaming releases. He's published over 3000 articles at SR, including weekly recommendation guides and dozens of reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. He previously worked in Development at ABC Television & Lawrence Bender Productions. Greg majored in Film Production at Chapman University's Dodge College. Greg also has years of broadcast TV production experience at major networks such as NBC, TNT, and ESPN. He currently lives in Greater Boston. The best HBO Max original series to binge-watch before the 2026 Emmys this weekend, September 11–13, 2026, combine for a total of 28 nominations. HBO leads all networks and streaming services with 122 total nominations at the 2026 Emmys, which will be held on Monday, September 14. The heavy favorites include the medical drama series The Pitt (25 nominations) for its celebrated second season and Hacks (24 nominations), the legendary comedy series that concluded earlier this year after five incredible seasons. While those two series are most likely to have the biggest night for HBO Max at the upcoming awards, the following three series are still among the very best new shows released on the platform recently. Between a masterful crime drama with a stacked ensemble cast, a darkly hilarious prequel series built for a one-night binge, and a twisted limited series that earned 13 nominations, these are the perfect HBO Max series to start and finish this weekend to be best prepared for Emmy night 2026. Task Task was one of the best new shows to come out on HBO last year, premiering over a year ago on September 7, 2025. Created by Brad Ingelsby, best known for his Emmy-winning work on Mare of Kingstown, Task earned a near-perfect 96% Rotten Tomatoes score and six Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Mark Ruffalo and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for Tom Pelphrey. Task follows a collision course between Ruffalo's Tom Brandis, a veteran FBI agent, and Pelphrey's Robbie Prendergast, a violent criminal, as Tom is assigned to lead a task force investigating a string of robberies that may be connected in rural Pennsylvania. At just seven episodes, each roughly an hour long, Task is deeply immersive, suspenseful, and rich in character development, making it a must-watch series before Emmy night on Monday. A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is another fantastic new series on HBO Max that is worth checking out this weekend. It just won its first award at the Creative Arts Emmys last weekend for Outstanding Stunt Performance and is in contention for Outstanding Drama Series. Even though it's competing in drama categories, the Game of Thrones prequel is quite funny, especially in the winning dynamic between Peter Claffey's Duncan the Tall and Dexter Sol Ansell's Egg. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms earned a total of nine nominations this year and has already been renewed for a second season, which is set to premiere sometime in 2027. The series earned a 94% Rotten Tomatoes score and is perfect to binge-watch in just one night, as its six episodes only amount to a total runtime of roughly 3 and a half hours. If you're looking for something with action and fantasy elements, this is your best bet this weekend on HBO Max. DTF St. Louis DTF St. Louis is the third most-nominated HBO original series at the 2026 Emmys, earning 13 nominations. It has already won six awards at the Creative Arts Emmys, including Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series for David Harbour and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series for Linda Cardellini. Jason Bateman was also up for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series and is also in contention for Lead Actor for his role in Netflix's Black Rabbit. DTF St. Louis, which earned an 89% Rotten Tomatoes score, follows the story of local weatherman Clark (Bateman) and his friendship with his self-deprecating neighbor Floyd (Harbour). Both stuck in a suburbia-fueled midlife crisis, Clark introduces Floyd to a dating app called DTF St. Louis, which sets off an irreversible chain of events that has much to do with Floyd's wife, Carol (Cardellini). If you're looking for the very best limited series to watch on HBO Max before the Emmys, DTF St. Louis is certainly it.