Not every week can be a banger of new material on HBO Max, but that's OK. When your back catalog includes some of the best series ever out on television, a quiet week is just an invite to crack open the vault.

So, for suggestion seekers with an HBO Max subscription in the U.S., we're digging into all things funny with a gleefully mean-spirited power struggle at the high-school level, a delightfully weird Spanish-language horror-comedy, and nearly four hours with a living legend, in honor of its Emmy nominations. They're in ascending order from lowest Rotten Tomatoes score to highest.

3 Vice Principals

Two petty tyrants, one unholy alliance

Before they shone together on screen in one of HBO's most hysterical comedy series, The Righteous Gemstones, Danny McBride and Walton Goggins first teamed up in Vice Principals, a dark comedy created by McBride and his Eastbound & Down partner, Jody Hill. The short and sweet series ran for only two seasons and 18 episodes on HBO from 2016 to 2017—enough to cover a single school year at North Jackson High, where one of the funniest shows you'll ever see all goes down.

Introducing our dueling vice principals: McBride plays Neal Gamby, a foul-mouthed disciplinarian, while Walton Goggins (The White Lotus, Fallout) plays sweater-vest-wearing schemer Lee Russell, both vying for the principal's office when the incumbent announces their retirement. But when they're both shunned in favor of a newcomer, Dr. Belinda Brown (Kimberly Hébert Gregory), Gamby and Russell go from rivals to partners to take down Brown by any means necessary. And if you know McBride's work, it gets hilariously ugly.

Vice Principals is McBride at his best, and, of course, Goggins shines in everything he's in, so expect some incredible cringe-worthy chemistry from these two masters. The series has an 83% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

vice principals
Vice Principals
Comedy
Release Date
2016 - 2017-00-00
Network
HBO Max
Cast
Danny McBride, Walton Goggins
Seasons
2
Streaming Service(s)
MAX

2 Mel Brooks The 99 Year Old Man!

The incredible career of the Spaceballs mastermind

Congratulations to Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! The excellent two-part HBO Max docuseries, which I pegged as one of the best docs of the year so far, is fresh off its six Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special. Also congratulations to Brooks, who is now the 100-year-old man!

The living legend EGOT winner behind Blazing Saddles, Spaceballs, and Young Frankenstein gets a well-deserved royal treatment from Judd Apatow and Michael Bonfiglio, the duo responsible for the Emmy-winning doc George Carlin's American Dream. If you’re a fan of Brooks, it's now the definitive chronicle of his life and career.

The film charts Brooks' journey chronologically from WWII to the Your Show of Shows writers' room and the "2,000 Year Old Man" routine he created with Carl Reiner, through his '70s spoof-movie dynasty and Broadway triumph with The Producers. Brooks is candid and razor-sharp throughout, joined by admirers such as Jerry Seinfeld, Nick Kroll, Ben Stiller, Dave Chappelle, and Sarah Silverman. The mini-series has a 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Quiz
8 Questions · Test Your Knowledge

Mel Brooks comedies and characters
Trivia challenge

From Blazing Saddles to Spaceballs — can you name the films and faces of Mel Brooks's comedy universe?

CharactersMoviesQuotesCastingSpoofs
01 / 8
Movies

In which Mel Brooks film does a corrupt politician and a con-man producer scheme to make a guaranteed flop that accidentally becomes a massive hit?

Correct! The Producers (1967) launched Mel Brooks's film career and won him an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder played the scheming duo, and the show-within-a-film, Springtime for Hitler, became one of comedy's most legendary set pieces.
Not quite — the answer is The Producers (1967). The story of Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom overselling shares in a doomed Broadway musical is the film that put Mel Brooks on the map and earned him an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
02 / 8
Characters

What is the name of the hunchbacked, scene-stealing assistant played by Marty Feldman in Young Frankenstein?

Correct! The character's name is Igor, though the running gag is that Dr. Frankenstein keeps mispronouncing it as 'Eye-gor' and Igor keeps shifting his hump from shoulder to shoulder. Marty Feldman's wild eyes and perfect comic timing made Igor one of the most beloved characters in the film.
Not quite — the character's name is Igor. The joke is that Dr. Frankenstein insists on calling him 'Eye-gor,' and Igor plays along by constantly moving his hump. Marty Feldman's unforgettable wide-eyed look made the role completely his own.
03 / 8
Spoofs

Spaceballs (1987) is primarily a parody of which famous science fiction franchise?

Correct! Spaceballs lovingly lampoons the Star Wars universe, with characters like Lone Starr (Han Solo), Princess Vespa (Princess Leia), and Dark Helmet (Darth Vader). Mel Brooks himself played both President Skroob and Yogurt, the latter being a direct spoof of Yoda.
Not quite — Spaceballs is a parody of Star Wars. From Dark Helmet's comically oversized helmet to the merchandising joke ('Spaceballs: The Flamethrower!'), nearly every gag targets George Lucas's galaxy far, far away. Interestingly, Lucas gave Brooks his blessing to make the film.
04 / 8
Casting

Which actor played the lead role of Sheriff Bart in Mel Brooks's Blazing Saddles (1974)?

Correct! Cleavon Little played Sheriff Bart with effortless cool and sharp comic timing. Richard Pryor was actually co-writer of the screenplay and was originally considered for the role, but Warner Bros. was unwilling to cast him as the lead. Little's performance became iconic.
Not quite — Cleavon Little played Sheriff Bart. Richard Pryor is a common wrong answer because he co-wrote the screenplay and was a leading candidate for the role, but the studio ultimately chose Little. Pryor's writing, however, was instrumental in shaping the film's sharp racial satire.
05 / 8
Quotes

In Blazing Saddles, which character delivers the famous line 'Badges? We don't need no stinking badges!'?

Correct! Taggart, the villainous henchman played by Slim Pickens, delivers the line as a parody of a similar quote from The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. The line has since become one of cinema's most quoted and parodied moments, appearing in countless films and TV shows.
Not quite — it's Taggart, played by Slim Pickens, who delivers that legendary line. It's a spoof of a quote from the classic 1948 film The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. Mel Brooks used the moment to poke fun at classic Western movie conventions while creating a new classic of its own.
06 / 8
Movies

In which Mel Brooks film does he play both King Louis XVI of France and a stand-up philosopher named Comicus?

Correct! History of the World, Part I (1981) is a sprawling comedy anthology covering the Stone Age, ancient Rome, the Spanish Inquisition, and the French Revolution. Brooks played multiple roles throughout, including the stand-up philosopher Comicus performing at Caesar's Palace — literally the palace of Caesar.
The answer is History of the World, Part I (1981). Mel Brooks played several roles in this episodic comedy spanning human history, including a stand-up philosopher in ancient Rome and a very distracted King Louis XVI. The film famously promised a Part II that never actually came — though a Hulu series eventually revisited the concept.
07 / 8
Characters

In Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993), Mel Brooks plays a character named Rabbi Tuckman. What is his occupation beyond being a holy man?

Correct! Rabbi Tuckman is Mel Brooks's twist on Friar Tuck — a mohel who travels the countryside offering circumcisions and peddling sacramental wine. It's a classic Brooks move: taking a familiar character from legend and reimagining him through a very specific Jewish comedic lens.
Not quite — Rabbi Tuckman is a mohel who also sells sacramental wine, Mel Brooks's hilarious reimagining of the classic Friar Tuck character. Brooks has long woven Jewish humor and identity into his films, and Rabbi Tuckman is one of his most memorable self-insert roles.
08 / 8
Movies

Which Mel Brooks film is a direct parody of Alfred Hitchcock's thriller style, featuring a blind man, a wheelchair chase, and a climax at a museum?

Correct! High Anxiety (1977) is Mel Brooks's loving tribute to Alfred Hitchcock, spoofing films like Vertigo, Psycho, The Birds, and Spellbound. Brooks also starred as Dr. Richard Thorndyke, a psychiatrist with a crippling fear of heights. He dedicated the film to Hitchcock, who reportedly enjoyed it.
The answer is High Anxiety (1977), Mel Brooks's affectionate parody of Alfred Hitchcock's body of work. Brooks starred as the anxiety-prone Dr. Thorndyke and packed the film with clever references to Vertigo, Psycho, and The Birds. Hitchcock himself was said to be a fan of the film.
Challenge Complete

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1 Los Espookys

A hilarious Spanish-language horror

If you love fast-paced, quirky, supernatural comedies, like What We Do in the Shadows, but with a feisty Spanish flair, then this perfect 100% Rotten Tomatoes series from 2019-2022 will totally scratch that itch. Los Espookys comes from incredible stock, having been created by SNL great Fred Armisen, Problemista's Julio Torres, and actress/writer/producer Ana Fabrega, who all star in the two-season show.

Set in a dreamy, unnamed Latin American country, Los Espookys follows a group of friends who turn their love of horror into a business, staging horror-movie-style situations—fake exorcisms, fake hauntings, fake sea monsters—and convincing people they're real. The crew includes gore-obsessed leader Renaldo (Bernardo Velasco), chocolate-empire heir Andrés (Torres), the level-headed Úrsula (Cassandra Ciangherotti), her scatter-brained sister Tati (Fabrega), and super-supportive uncle Tico (Armisen).

The gang hilariously conjures up a fake sea monster to drive tourism to a failing town; they fake a solar eclipse to sway voters; and real horror sets in when they actually trap someone inside a cursed mirror. The Spanish language masterpiece is a quick and fun binge, with just a dozen 30-minute episodes you can easily handle in a few days or over a weekend.

​​​​

los-espookys-tv-show.jpg
Los Espookys
TV-MA
Comedy
Drama
Family
Release Date
2019 - 2021
Network
HBO Max
Cast
Bernardo Velasco, Julio Torres, Ana Fabrega, Cassandra Ciangherotti, Fred Armisen, Alejandro Goic, Giannina Fruttero, Yalitza Aparicio
Main Genre
Comedy
Creator(s)
Fred Armisen, Julio Torres, Ana Fabrega
Seasons
2

The funny comes this week

Petty high-school vengeance, fake hauntings, or a legend telling stories—hopefully one of the suggestions on this week's list hits just right. For more picks across every service, check out our streaming recommendations.

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