10 TV Shows That Would Have Been Better On HBO

7. Firefly

Many shows on this list would be better on HBO due to their relaxed view on content and production style. Firefly would benefit because HBO actually bothers to give its shows a chance. A show like Firefly was released was essentially doomed on network television. There have been stranger shows that found a home on network television, but Firefly was a truly unique animal that FOX clearly never understood. As such, they treated it like no one else would understand it either and just bounced the show around timeslots.

HBO takes a different approach. Any other network besides FOX might have given Firefly a better chance, but as Game of Thrones proved HBO knows how to spot a slightly different winner and invest in it. Had Firefly been given similar exposure, there is little doubt that it would have eventually reached the audience it should have had. Plus while Joss Whedon's style doesn't necessarily need a TV-MA rating, as we saw in Cabin In the Woods his mind does wander to some pretty unique places when the kids aren't allowed to watch. It also doesn't hurt he had one of the hottest casts in television history to work with.