The Best TV Shows and Movies on HBO and HBO Max in September

The best movies and shows to watch on HBO and HBO Max in September are all about relationships: with your spouse (who may or may not have superpowers), your friends (who also may or may not have superpowers), your family, your night terrors, or some kid you've been hired to shuttle across the desert. That last one probably only applies to Clint Eastwood. In any case, there's something for everyone this September.

Our list of suggestions for the best shows and movies on HBO and HBO Max in September is below.

The Best TV Shows and Movies on HBO and HBO Max in September

Harry Potter movies
Sept. 1 on HBO Max
They made a quick stop on HBO Max earlier this summer for a grand total of 30 days, and now, all eight Harry Potter movies have accio'd their way back to the platform. The franchise will be sticking around for more than a month this time, but diehards will probably want to start their marathons ASAP anyway.

Malignant
Sept. 10 on HBO Max (also in theaters)
James Wan is serving up more terrifying nightmares with Malignant. The Conjuring director returns to the horror genre with this movie about a woman named Madison (Annabelle Wallis), who's haunted by visions of brutal murders. When her visions turn out to be real, she'll have to dig into her past to stop the killings.

Scenes from a Marriage
Sept. 12 on HBO, HBO Max
Oscar Isaac and Jessica Chastain star in this modern adaptation of the 1973 Ingmar Bergman miniseries about marriage (like it says on the tin). Isaac plays a philosophy professor desperately holding on to his relationship with Mira (Chastain), a tech exec who's feeling unfulfilled by their romance. The starry cast also includes Nicole Beharie, Corey Stoll, Tovah Feldshuh, and Sunita Mani. 

Cry Macho
Sept. 17 on HBO Max (also in theaters)
This is not Clint Eastwood's first rodeo. The 91-year-old actor got back in the saddle to direct, produce, and star in Cry Macho, a new Western set in 1979. Eastwood plays Mike Milo, a former rodeo star who's recruited by his old boss (Dwight Yoakam) to get the man's son (Eduardo Minett) across the border from Mexico into the States. If you like cowboy hats and speeches about what it really means to be macho, this one's for you.

Superman & Lois Season 1
Sept. 17 on HBO Max
The newest addition to The CW's Arrowverse could be its most mature series yet. Superman & Lois stars Tyler Hoechlin and Elizabeth Tulloch as the Man of Steel and Lois Lane, who move back to Smallville with their two teenage boys. It's a grounded story of parenthood and grief that just happens to be about parents with superpowers. If you missed Season 1 when it aired on The CW, this is your chance to check it out.

Doom Patrol Season 3
Sept. 23 on HBO Max 
The new season of Doom Patrol looks poised to take the show to weirder places than ever before (if that's even possible). Season 3 will find the team at a crossroads after Dorothy's (Abi Monterey) confrontation with the Candlemaker leads to a devastating loss, forcing the superheroes to take a hard look at themselves. Matt Bomer, Brendan Fraser, Diane Guerrero, April Bowlby, Joivan Wade, Skye Roberts, and Timothy Dalton all return, and the great Michelle Gomez joins the cast.

Nuclear Family
Sept. 26 on HBO, HBO Max
Filmmaker Ry Russo-Young explores her personal story in this three-part docuseries, which follows her mothers, Sandy Russo and Robin Young, as they started a family as a lesbian couple in the '80s. Their increasingly frayed relationship with Ry's sperm donor eventually led to a landmark lawsuit over paternity and visitation rights that changed Ry's life.

The Way Down
Sept. 30 on HBO Max
HBO Max's latest true crime series looks at Gwen Shamblin Lara, the founder of the Remnant Fellowship Church, which mixed the worship of Jesus Christ with a weight-loss program and was accused of being a cult. Lara parlayed her status as a best-selling author for her book The Weigh Down Diet into the leader of the church, which she founded in 1999 and led all the way up to May of 2021 when she died in a plane crash. The church was criticized for emphasizing looks and creating a Stepford Wives-like community of women and using religion to boost business. Three episodes premiere this week, with the final two coming in early 2022. 

Ten-Year-Old Tom
Sept. 30 on HBO Max
Steve Dildarian (The Life and Times of Tim) returns to television with a new animated series featuring the same charming animation and the same troubled protagonist who is surrounded by a bunch of weirdos. Except for this time he's 10 years old and dealing with the weight of the world... or at least the weight of the odd, adult problems put on a tween.

Looking for more recommendations of what to watch next? We have a ton of them! And if you're looking for more hand-picked recommendations based on TV shows you love, we have those too.