The topic 3 great new HBO Max shows to watch this week (June 15-21) is currently the subject of lively discussion — readers and analysts are keeping a close eye on developments.
This is taking place in a dynamic environment: companies’ decisions and competitors’ reactions can quickly change the picture.
Dragons are about to eat your weekend. HBO Max’s House of the Dragon returns for season 3 on June 21, and depending on who you ask, it’s the most anticipated thing landing on any streaming service all year. The small catch, though: it arrives on the last day of this post’s window, which makes this week more about prepping—rewatching season two (or at least the last few episodes), remembering which Targaryen wants which other Targaryen dead, names, illegitimate children, etc. But if Westeros isn’t your favorite destination, HBO Max is hardly short on other new shows to watch, either.
Beyond the dragons, I’ve also highlighted a chiseled-jaw-dropping documentary about new-age models that’s climbing the charts, plus the 42nd season of a long-running kitchen showdown show that’s a perfect palate cleanser before (or after) all the fire-breathing begins.
If A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms was a slightly kinder, gentler Game of Thrones spinoff, prepare yourselves for what critics have said promises to bring George R.R. Martin’s monstrous franchise roaring back to its fiery, bloody true form—the third season of House of the Dragon, which premieres June 21st. Adapted from Martin’s Fire & Blood, House of the Dragon has been bringing to life the story of legend that is the Dance of the Dragons, a brutal civil war between a Targaryen royal family torn in two over a contested Iron Throne.
While season two took some criticism for feeling a bit slow and short (only eight episodes), season 3 is wasting no time making up for it. Episode one opens with the highly anticipated Battle of the Gullet, which, in Game of Thrones lore, is known as one of the bloodiest sea battles in all history, featuring dragon-on-dragon clashes, and a naval battle between the mighty Velaryon fleet (the Blacks) and the warships of the Triarchy, a fleet of allied cities fighting on behalf of the Greens. At the heart of all this conflict are estranged besties Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen (Emma D’Arcy) and Queen Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), each fighting for their claims, Alicent’s menacing son Aemond (Ewan Mitchell), and Rhaenyra’s loyal uncle/husband Daemon (Matt Smith).
From the Red Wedding to the Dance of the Dragons — how well do you know Westeros?
The fan theory ‘R+L=J’ refers to the true parentage of which Game of Thrones character?
The Red Wedding saw the massacre of which Stark and his allies at the Twins?
Which Targaryen queen is at the center of the civil war known as the Dance of the Dragons in House of the Dragon?
The Battle of the Gullet, a pivotal naval conflict in House of the Dragon, saw the Triarchy fleet face off against which Targaryen forces?
Ser Duncan the Tall, the protagonist of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, eventually rose to hold which prestigious position?
What is the meaning behind the iconic Stark words ‘Winter is Coming’?
The Battle of the Bastards in Season 6 of Game of Thrones saw Jon Snow fight to reclaim Winterfell from which villain?
Daenerys Targaryen’s dragons were named after people important to her. Which of the following is NOT one of her dragon’s names?
The first two seasons of House of the Dragon have earned the show a combined 14 Emmy nominations with two wins, and so far, early reviews of season three have it at a whopping 97% on Rotten Tomatoes. Take this week to get up to speed with what happened at the end of last season, before all the new madness begins on Sunday. In the meantime, I’ll just leave this quote from after the Battle of the Gullet here for you: “If this be victory, I hope I never see another.”
One of the most bizarre and fascinating documentary series I’ve watched in a long time, Bring Me The Beauties: A Model Cult is a trippy, three-part HBO original documentary that has been climbing the streaming service’s charts and has a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score. Decades in the making, the series largely centers on Hoyt Richards, who, during the height of the 1980s, was (and is) considered by many to be the world’s first male supermodel—and, quietly, a devoted member of a weird new-age cult.
That group was Eternal Values, and its leader, a gorgeous, well-to-do New York socialite named Frederick von Mierers, who had his followers believing that he was a “walk-in,” an alien from the star Arcturus living in von Mierers’s body. Von Mierers preached empathy and the importance of youth and beauty to his followers—which included many young models and professionals—while also relieving them of their money.
Directed by Chris Smith, the man behind Fyre, Bad Vegan, and the Emmy-winning 100 Foot Wave, Bring Me The Beauties uses excellently hazy, 80s-style archival footage, private recordings, and clips from Eternal Values’ cable access TV show, and candid interviews from Richards and many other cult members to illustrate the extent of von Mierers’s grip and influence over the group.
Season 42 of this long-running staple of a Food Network cooking series has landed on HBO Max (Food Network is already a season or two ahead of streaming), just in time to offer some low-stakes, hunger-inducing programming to settle your nerves after all those fire-breathing dragons. But don’t let celebrity chef/host Bobby Flay’s calm, cool demeanor fool you; when he’s got two competing chefs vying to take him on in a battle to outcook him, the gloves always come off.
Let’s back up a bit—Beat Bobby Flay’s premise is simple: two professional chefs from around the country and from a range of restaurants, from high-end to catering businesses, arrive to first go head-to-head to create a dish featuring a secret ingredient chosen by Flay. A pair of celebrity judges, from Food Network personalities to other pro chefs to actors, musicians, and more, decides the winner who then takes on Flay in the show’s main event. The winner gets to pick the dish they make, in the hopes that it’s a specialty that the quick-witted Flay might struggle with, again judged blindly by the celebrity guests.
It’s a Food Network mainstay that’s been going since 2013 for a reason—the charismatic Flay is fun, there are loads of good-natured trash talking, and the guests are usually good, too, with some examples including SNL cast members Colin Jost, Heidi Gardner, and Ego Nwodim. All seasons up to 42 are available, should you want a supreme binge-watch, or you can just jump around as you see fit.
Whether you’re bracing for the spectacle of Westerosi dragons or just want something gently simmering on the stove (see what I did there?), hopefully the suggestions above offer some options. If not, the streaming roundups on How-To Geek are always serving up fresh picks for whatever mood strikes next.
HBO Max is a subscription-based streaming service offering content from HBO, Warner Bros., DC, and more. In 2025, the service re-branded itself as HBO Max after having previously cut “HBO” from its name.
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