Move Over, HBO: These 8 K-Dramas Give Prestige TV Shows a Run for Their Money

HBO has earned genuine credibility in the world of Western television, giving Netflix and Amazon a run for their money with its unforgettable hits. From The Sopranos and The Wire to Barry and Succession, each of these shows has won the most prestigious awards, been lauded by critics and audiences alike, and the storytelling, acting, pacing, editing, directing, and everything in between has cemented these shows as masterpieces, gradually leaving feature-length cinema behind.

But in the age of streaming, as services go international, more and more audiences are familiarizing themselves with series produced in non-Western countries. Korean series like Squid Game and Kingdom have proven that South Korean productions can be just as high quality, deep, and compelling. Here are equally brilliant K-dramas that are more than capable of competing with HBO's most renowned shows.

8. Stranger (2017, 32 episodes)

IMDb rating: 8.5/10

Stranger follows a prosecutor and a police lieutenant as their investigation becomes entangled in the intricate and dangerous machinations between the corrupt Prosecutors' Office and a powerful corporation.

7. Signal (2016, 16 episodes)

IMDb rating: 8.5/10

Signal is a gripping thriller with mystical elements that tells the story of a joint investigation between a criminal profiler from 2015 and a detective from 1989. This procedural is inspired by real cold cases from Korean history, making it incredibly thought-provoking.

6. Reply 1988 (2020, 15 episodes)

IMDb rating: 8.5/10

This nostalgic show chronicles the friendship, love, and hopes of the members of a small community in a Seoul neighborhood in 1988.

5. Twenty-Five Twenty-One (2016, 16 episodes)

IMDb rating: 8.6/10

Twenty-Five Twenty-One is another deeply nostalgic show about two young people whose hopes and dreams were shattered by the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

4. Moving (2023, 20 episodes)

IMDb rating: 8.6/10

The story follows three high school students who discover they have supernatural abilities. However, their parents — also superhumans — are being hunted by spy networks around the world. The show is expected to become an entire franchise to rival the MCU.

3. Mr. Sunshine (2018, 24 episodes)

IMDb rating: 8.7/10

This poignant period drama follows a Korean-born U.S. Marine Corps officer and a Korean aristocratic member of the local militia as they discover Japan's plans to colonize Korea.

2. Mother (2018, 16 episodes)

IMDb rating: 9.0/10

Mother is an exploration of current issues of domestic child abuse through the story of a teacher who kidnapped a child who was being abused in the home.

1. My Mister (2018, 16 episodes)

IMDb rating: 9.1/10

This is the story of two people's friendship as they struggle with the unfair capitalist system and social pressures of modern South Korea.