Ranking Every HBO Drama Series From Worst To Best
31. Maximum Security
HBO’s reputation as the producer of great dramatic content took a huge leap forward with its release of a series set in a violent, dangerous prison. Unfortunately, it’s not this one. 1984’s Maximum Security was in its day a bold and daring programme, but while it paved the way for groundbreaking material, in itself it’s no great shakes.
The series, unsurprisingly, is set in a high risk prison, and accordingly the cast of characters is populated by violent thugs, remorseless criminals, and all sorts of unsavoury so-and-sos. Impressively for its time, this was no moralistic affair; the characters were somewhat fleshed out rather than presented as unredeemable objects of scorn.
There were some fine actors on show here, most notably the superb Jean Smart as the prison psychologist, but the show never quite commits to its grizzled settings. There’s violence beyond what you’d see on network telly, but Maximum Security fails to convey the terror and tension of life in such a dangerous place, thereby spurning a great setting for drama.