Short episodes are cool and all, but what’s better than one hour of high-quality television? HBO knows this, and their drama series are often 60 minutes and over per episode, delivering a powerful hour of content and story. The best HBO shows out there, from The Sopranos to Game of Thrones, have some of the best one-hour episodes on television ever, but would you believe they also have episodes that are shorter than an hour?
Yes, the HBO all-time classics have amazing episodes that are under 60 minutes—sometimes even under 50—that tell it all. While 50 minutes doesn’t seem like a short amount, compared to episodes that often go over an hour, those 10-ish minutes aren’t missing from them.
10
“Prague” – ‘Succession’ (2018)
Season 1, Episode 8 – 51 Minutes
Succession is a dark comedy with a lot of dysfunctional family drama, and it was inspired by Rupert Murdoch and his vast entertainment empire, though its influences are apparent in many other billionaire families that are prominent in the American business landscape. Succession is one of the best Shakespearean tragedies that was never inspired or adapted from Shakespeare; it stars a great ensemble, comprising the great Brian Cox as the patriarch and Jeremy Strong, Kieran Culkin, Sarah Snook, and Alan Ruck as his children, potential heirs to the Roy entertainment empire.
Succession doesn’t have many episodes that are shorter than an hour, but one that is, and it’s a banger, is Season 1, episode 8, “Prague.” This episode depicts the bachelor party of Shiv’s (Snook) fiancé, Tom (Matthew Macfadyen), and in attendance are all three of her brothers—Roman (Culkin), Connor (Ruck), and Kendall (Strong). Roman is in charge of planning the party, but their frequent business collaborator, Stewy (Arian Moayed), invites them to an underground party at an abandoned rail station. This episode is incredibly chaotic and depicts the doubts between Tom and Shiv; it also prepares viewers for Kendall’s plans to take over the company, which is a running theme throughout. Not short, but definitely a masterpiece in its own way.
9
“The Whores Can Come” – ‘Deadwood’ (2005)
Season 2, Episode 11 – 47 Minutes
Deadwood, one of the GOATs of HBO, can never be overestimated; even the shortest episodes are still bangers, and those lower-rated don’t go below 8/10. It was simply one of the most perfect and complete drama series of its time, and remains a brilliant series people gladly go back to. Timothy Olyphant, Ian McShane, and Molly Parker star in all three seasons that had episodes over 50–60 minutes, and the show follows the residents of an Old Western town called Deadwood in South Dakota. The residents were inspired by real-life personalities of the time, from Seth Bullock to Wyatt Earp and Calamity Jane.
Deadwood has 36 episodes, with several under 50 minutes; the shortest is Season 2, episode 11, “The Whores Can Come,” checking in at 47 minutes. This episode sees Seth (Olyphant) and Martha (Anna Gunn) saying goodbye to William, their adopted son, emotionally coming to terms with what happened. Their grief is shown through affection, but Martha contemplates leaving town. Al Swearengen (McShane) confronts opium dealer Wu (Keone Young), and their negotiations become tense. These 47 minutes are an emotional rollercoaster with some brilliant camerawork and details that make it a masterpiece; it’s simply a beautifully shot and acted episode, though not much different in those terms from the rest of the series.
8
“Look for the Light” – ‘The Last of Us’ (2023)
Season 1, Episode 9 – 44 Minutes
It’s interesting that both seasons of The Last of Us were wrapped up with the shortest episodes within them: Season 1, episode 9, “Look for the Light,” comes in at 44 minutes only, and Season 2, episode 7, “Convergence,” comes in at 50 minutes; the rest of the episodes in both are an hour or so long. Still, “Look for the Light” is one of the most badass episodes on HBO. In The Last of Us, the protagonists are Joel (Pedro Pascal), a man who loses his daughter at the beginning of a virus outbreak, and Ellie (Bella Ramsey), a young girl who is immune to the virus.
In Season 1, Joel agrees to escort Ellie to Salt Lake City, where a group of rebels called Fireflies has a lab that can develop a cure for the virus, thanks to Ellie. However, as we follow them and see they saved each other in many ways, we notice a father-daughter bond growing between Joel and Ellie. When the Fireflies tell Joel Ellie’s brain is the carrier of the antivirus, Joel realizes he’ll lose her and decides to prevent that from happening. This The Last of Us episode was a bit rushed, but it’s an incredible installment—gritty, emotional, and vicious.
7
“Top Hat” – ‘The Penguin’ (2024)
Episode 7 – 47 Minutes
The Penguin is a fairly new miniseries on HBO, but it swept audiences off their feet with its incredible makeup, visual effects, acting, directing, and writing—an overall full house of greatness. This eight-episode marvel is likely to be nominated for numerous Emmys this year, with the main candidate being Colin Farrell in a transformative role. The Penguin is a follow-up series to Matt Reeves‘ feature film The Batman, and it follows one of his most notorious enemies, Oswald “Oz” Cobb, aka The Penguin (Farrell). Cobb is the right-hand man to Carmine Falcone (Mark Strong), Gotham’s most notorious gangster; after Falcone’s death, Oz prepares to take over, but Falcone’s daughter Sofia (Cristin Milioti) takes the reins instead, engaging in a power play against Oz.
Among The Penguin‘s episodes, out of ten, none have an IMDb rating less than 8.5. Its shortest episode, episode 7, “Top Hat,” which comes in at 47 minutes, is rated 8.9. The episode is the penultimate journey into Oz’s empire-building efforts, but also an insight into his childhood. It shows how Oz became the man he is and what really happened to his brothers at the time of their death. The episode is dark and emotional, and if anyone ever found Oz a sympathetic character, this one shows him as the villain he always was. Brilliant directing, exceptional performances, and a gripping story, all snug into 47 minutes.
6
“The Buys” – ‘The Wire’ (2002)
Season 1, Episode 3 – 53 Minutes
The Wire is a masterpiece many people still talk about, with numerous episodes often standing as defining moments in pop culture and television. Many defining episodes are usually over 60 minutes, and it’s really rare to find one that clocks in at less than that. Still, there is one—Season 1, episode 3, “The Buys,” and it stands at 53 minutes. The Wire follows Baltimore’s PD, prosecutors, and judges as they set up a wiretap to listen in on the drug business of notorious gangsters Stringer Bell (Idris Elba) and Avon Barksdale (Wood Harris) in the first season, and other gangsters in other seasons, too.
The Wire‘s third episode, “The Buys,” is only its third installment, but it becomes pivotal to the lore because of the appearance of the show’s most iconic villain—Omar Little (Michael K. Williams). He appears in the third act, briefly, but the episode establishes his presence and influence in the show’s criminal landscape. Besides, “The Buys” also sets McNulty (Dominic West) up as a serious detective ready to crack down and solve cases regardless of the cost. It’s only the third episode, and the show’s shortest, but still long enough to make significant moves.
5
“Full Leather Jacket” – ‘The Sopranos’ (2000)
Season 2, Episode 8 – 42 Minutes
The Sopranos remains glorious as one of HBO’s biggest ever dramas; it moved the boundaries of storytelling and character building, and it helped establish HBO as a television powerhouse. The Sopranos, like most HBO dramas, is filled with one-hour episodes, with some lasting even over 60 minutes. There are some shorter episodes, and the shortest comes at 42 minutes, which is Season 2, episode 8, “Full Leather Jacket.” The Sopranos follows the life and business ventures of Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) and the Soprano crime family. Tony frequently visits psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco), and the show interrogates Tony’s mental health struggles.
“Full Leather Jacket” is another episode jam-packed with the influence of a mobster’s lifestyle, which rubs off on Tony’s wife, Carmela (Edie Falco), too. She insists on getting a letter of recommendation for her daughter by intimidating a prestigious Georgetown alumna; also, one of the fan favorites, Christopher (Michael Imperioli), gets shot near the end of the episode after proposing to his girlfriend, Adriana (Drea de Matteo). It’s just another “day in the life” episode, but it really pushes the boundaries of what everyone on the show is willing to take. “Full Leather Jacket” is a crucial, albeit short, episode.
4
“6:00 PM” – ‘The Pitt’ (2025)
Season 1, Episode 12 – 40 Minutes
The Pitt is another very recent series on HBO, but the incredible reception that followed it showed that the series is more than just another medical drama. Firstly, it gave us Noah Wyle back in the ER, under his own terms; then, it gave us an interesting insight and twist on the common medical drama trope—it consists of 15 episodes, with each depicting one hour of a 15-hour shift in the emergency room. Wyle stars as the senior attending physician in the ER, Robby Robinavitch, and the show begins with Robby and his colleagues welcoming a group of medical students to what later turns out to be a chaotic shift.
The Pitt is generally considered great, but episode 12, “6:00 PM,” isn’t just its shortest (at 40 minutes), but it’s the highest-rated one, too. Many reviews consider “6:00 PM” to be a fast-paced, intense, highly emotional, and narratively gripping episode, defining the rest of the show. This episode depicts the rush at the emergency room after a mass shooting, mobilizing all the doctors available to attend to and tend to patients. It resonated with people a lot because of its heavy topic, and will stay one of the most memorable episodes on HBO.
3
“After You’ve Gone” – ‘True Detective’ (2014)
Season 1, Episode 7 – 52 Minutes
Although it isn’t short, 52 minutes in a season consisting of episodes that are 60 minutes or over can be considered as such. True Detective Season 1 boasts many bests, but it also has something unusual that other seasons don’t—the show’s shortest episode. This show is often considered one of the GOATs, specifically Season 1, which follows detectives Rust Cohle (Matthew McConaughey) and Marty Hart (Woody Harrelson) trying to solve a ritualistic murder in the middle of rural Louisiana. The story and its characters tend to get dark, philosophical, and downright filled with despair, but they also display a certain joy in nihilism.
True Detective has eight episodes in its first season, and the penultimate episode, “After You’ve Gone,” is its shortest. It’s slower than the rest, but it’s one of the most perfect setups for a finale you’ll ever see, no doubt about it. Filled with haunting images and a persistent Cohle, the two detectives meet again in 2012 to follow up on Cohle’s suspicions, which he’s been carrying around for decades. A detective tormented by an unsolved case, Cohle comes closer to resolution, while Hart is there out of a sense of duty for his old friend. The ending of “After You’ve Gone” is also bone-chilling and one of those scenes that stay etched in the brain.
2
“Day of Days” – ‘Band of Brothers’ (2001)
Episode 2 – 50 Minutes
The acclaimed and beloved miniseries Band of Brothers is the best television program about war—better than any movie. The miniseries consists of ten brilliant episodes, with each better than the previous, and most are 60 minutes or over. The shortest episode is the second, “Day of Days,” and it comes in at 50 minutes. Band of Brothers follows the well-known “Easy Company,” the 2nd Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, from their days in training camp to their participation in the Western Front. The series is packed with incredible acting talent, from Damian Lewis and David Schwimmer to Tom Hardy and even Jimmy Fallon.
“Day of Days” is the episode that follows the Easy Company’s arrival in Normandy with parachutes. They arrive behind enemy lines just before the rest of the chaos ensues, but most of them land in different spots, far from their designated drop zone. The Company struggles to reconnect, with a crucial player going missing, Lieutenant Thomas Meehan (Jason O’Mara). The scramble to come together, fight, and stay alive is shown intensely in the second chapter, and the episode promises a rise in intensity in the upcoming episodes. It’s a true masterpiece from start to finish.
1
“The Spoils of War” – ‘Game of Thrones’ (2017)
Season 7, Episode 4 – 49 Minutes
Game of Thrones remains one of the highest-rated and most popular HBO dramas of all time, despite its decline in later seasons and a highly controversial ending. After eight seasons and 74 episodes of one hour or over, Game of Thrones also boasts some episodes that are shorter but still incredibly important. One such episode is “The Spoils of War,” episode 4 of the seventh season; incredibly, this is also one of the highest-rated episodes of the entire series, even winning the Best TV Episode award from IGN, and receiving high praise from numerous critics.
“The Spoils of War” follows three vital storylines: Arya (Maisie Williams) returns to Winterfell after a long time, where she’s welcomed by her siblings. Jon (Kit Harington) and Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) still debate whether Jon should bend the knee to Daenerys, and she contemplates attacking King’s Landing with her dragons. Jaime (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Bronn (Jerome Flynn) take the Tyrell’s gold in a caravan as loot, as the episode’s final third turns into one of the most epic battles in the entire series—between Jaime and Daenerys, who attacks the caravan with her dragon, Drogon. Bronn and Jaime wound Drogon, and Jaime ends up in the water, sinking under the weight of his armor. It’s a brilliant, fast-paced, and intense episode, but the best part about it is that it gave people hope for the rest of the series when it first aired.
