20 What To Watch On Max

Explore our hand-picked selection of 20 titles. Ratings, reviews, and streaming options included.

If you're searching for what to watch on max, this listicle cuts through the noise with curated picks across drama, thriller, action, crime, and horror. From high-octane entries like The Pitt (2025) and Weapons (2025) to genre-bending offerings such as A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (2026) and the fan-favorite Abbott Elementary (2021), you’ll find both prestige and crowd-pleasers. Whether you want recommendations for what to watch on max right now or are scouting the best what to watch on max 2026 releases, this guide highlights standout titles, short blurbs, and who each show or film is best for. Read on for quick, spoiler-free takes and practical notes on runtime and tone so you can pick your next watch fast.

Table of Contents

1. The Pitt
2. If I Had Legs I'd Kick You
3. One Battle After Another
4. Sinners
5. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
6. Weapons
7. The Smashing Machine
8. Abbott Elementary
9. Heated Rivalry
10. Greenland
11. Sorry, Baby
12. Task
13. 11.22.63
14. Industry
15. Eddington
16. Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!
17. Mad Men
18. IT: Welcome to Derry
19. A Nightmare on Elm Street
20. Primal

1. The Pitt

Year: 2025 | Rating: 8.9/10 | Type: Movie

Genres: drama

The staff of Pittsburgh's Trauma Medical Center work around the clock to save lives in an overcrowded and underfunded emergency department.

Available on: Max

Directed by: Damian Marcano, Amanda Marsalis, John Cameron, John Wells, Quyen Tran

2. If I Had Legs I'd Kick You

Year: 2025 | Rating: 6.7/10 | Type: Movie

Genres: drama, thriller

While trying to manage her own life and career, a woman on the verge of a breakdown must cope with her daughter's illness, an absent husband, a missing person, and an unusual relationship with her therapist.

Available on: Max

Directed by: Mary Bronstein

3. One Battle After Another

Year: 2025 | Rating: 7.8/10 | Type: Movie

Genres: action, crime, drama, thriller

Washed-up revolutionary Bob exists in a state of stoned paranoia, surviving off-grid with his spirited, self-reliant daughter, Willa. When his evil nemesis resurfaces after 16 years and she goes missing, the former radical scrambles to find her, father and daughter both battling the consequences of his past.

Available on: Max

Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson

4. Sinners

Year: 2025 | Rating: 7.5/10 | Type: Movie

Genres: action, drama, horror, music, thriller

Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.

Available on: Amazon Prime Video, Max

Directed by: Ryan Coogler

5. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

Year: 2026 | Rating: 8.3/10 | Type: Movie

Genres: action, adventure, drama, fantasy

A century before the events of Game of Thrones, two unlikely heroes wandered Westeros: a young, naive but courageous knight, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his diminutive squire, Egg. Set in an age when the Targaryen line still holds the Iron Throne and the last dragon has not yet passed from living memory, great destinies, powerful foes, and dangerous exploits await these improbable and incomparable friends.

Available on: Max

Directed by: Owen Harris, Sarah Adina Smith

6. Weapons

Year: 2025 | Rating: 7.4/10 | Type: Movie

Genres: horror, mystery

When all but one child from the same class mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly the same time, a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance.

Available on: Max

Directed by: Zach Cregger

7. The Smashing Machine

Year: 2025 | Rating: 6.4/10 | Type: Movie

Genres: action, biography, drama, history, sport

In the late 1990s, up-and-coming mixed martial artist Mark Kerr aspires to become the greatest fighter in the world. However, he must also battle his opioid dependence and a volatile relationship with his girlfriend Dawn.

Available on: Max

Directed by: Benny Safdie

8. Abbott Elementary

Year: 2021 | Rating: 8.2/10 | Type: Movie

Genres: comedy

In this workplace comedy, a group of dedicated, passionate teachers — and a slightly tone-deaf principal — are brought together in a Philadelphia public school where, despite the odds stacked against them, they are determined to help their students succeed in life. Though these incredible public servants may be outnumbered and underfunded, they love what they do — even if they don’t love the school district’s less-than-stellar attitude toward educating children.

Available on: Hulu, Max

Directed by: Randall Einhorn, Jennifer Celotta, Jaime Eliezer Karas, Matt Sohn, Shahrzad Davani

9. Heated Rivalry

Year: 2025 | Rating: 9/10 | Type: Movie

Genres: drama, romance, sport

Two of the biggest stars in Major League Hockey are bound by ambition, rivalry, and a magnetic pull neither of them fully understands. What begins as a secret fling between two fresh faced rookies evolves into a years-long journey of love, denial, and self-discovery. Over the next eight years, as they chase glory on the ice, they struggle to navigate their feelings for each other. Torn between the sport they live for and the love they can’t ignore, they must decide if there’s room in their fiercely competitive world for something as fragile – and powerful – as real love.

Available on: Max

Directed by: Jacob Tierney

10. Greenland

Year: 2020 | Rating: 6.4/10 | Type: Movie

Genres: action, thriller

John Garrity, his estranged wife and their young son embark on a perilous journey to find sanctuary as a planet-killing comet hurtles toward Earth. Amid terrifying accounts of cities getting levelled, the Garritys experience the best and worst in humanity. As the countdown to the global apocalypse approaches zero, their incredible trek culminates in a desperate and last-minute flight to a possible safe haven.

Available on: Max

Directed by: Ric Roman Waugh

11. Sorry, Baby

Year: 2025 | Rating: 7.2/10 | Type: Movie

Genres: comedy, drama

Agnes feels stuck. Unlike her best friend, Lydie, who’s moved to New York and is now expecting a baby, Agnes still lives in the New England house they once shared as graduate students, now working as a professor at her alma mater. A ‘bad thing’ happened to Agnes a few years ago and, since then, despite her best efforts, life hasn’t gotten back on track.

Available on: Max

Directed by: Eva Victor

12. Task

Year: 2025 | Rating: 8/10 | Type: Movie

Genres: crime, drama

In the working-class suburbs of Philadelphia, an FBI agent heads a task force assembled to put an end to a string of violent robberies led by an unsuspecting family man.

Available on: Max

Directed by: Jeremiah Zagar, Salli Richardson-Whitfield

13. 11.22.63

Year: 2016 | Rating: 8/10 | Type: Movie

Genres: drama, mystery, romance, sci-fi, thriller

An English teacher travels back in time to prevent the Kennedy assassination, but discovers he is attached to the life he has made in a bygone era.

Available on: Netflix, Max

Directed by: James Strong, Frederick E.O. Toye, John David Coles, James Franco, James Kent

14. Industry

Year: 2020 | Rating: 7.5/10 | Type: Movie

Genres: drama

In the cutthroat world of international finance, a group of young graduates compete for a limited set of permanent positions at a top investment bank in London. The boundaries between colleague, friend, lover, and enemy soon blur as they immerse themselves in a company culture defined as much by sex, drugs and ego as it is by deals and dividends.

Available on: Max

Directed by: Isabella Eklöf, Ed Lilly, Tinge, Mickey Down, Konrad Kay

15. Eddington

Year: 2025 | Rating: 6.6/10 | Type: Movie

Genres: comedy, drama, western

In May of 2020, a standoff between a small-town sheriff and mayor sparks a powder keg as neighbor is pitted against neighbor in Eddington, New Mexico.

Available on: Max

Directed by: Ari Aster

16. Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!

Year: 2026 | Rating: 8.5/10 | Type: Movie

Genres: documentary

A two-part documentary on comedy legend Mel Brooks.

Available on: Max

Directed by: Judd Apatow, Michael Bonfiglio

17. Mad Men

Year: 2007 | Rating: 8.7/10 | Type: Movie

Genres: drama

Set in 1960-1970 New York, this sexy, stylized and provocative drama follows the lives of the ruthlessly competitive men and women of Madison Avenue advertising.

Available on: AMC+, Max

Directed by: Phil Abraham, Michael Uppendahl, Jennifer Getzinger, Matthew Weiner, Scott Hornbacher

18. IT: Welcome to Derry

Year: 2025 | Rating: 8/10 | Type: Movie

Genres: fantasy, horror

In 1962, a couple with their son move to Derry, Maine just as a young boy disappears. With their arrival, very bad things begin to happen in the town.

Available on: Max

Directed by: Andrew Bernstein, Andy Muschietti, Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour

19. A Nightmare on Elm Street

Year: 2010 | Rating: 5.2/10 | Type: Movie

Genres: crime, drama, horror, mystery

Teenagers Nancy, Quentin, Kris, Jesse and Dean are all neighborhood friends who begin having the same dream of a horribly disfigured man who wears a tattered sweater and a glove made of knives. The man terrorizes them in their dreams, and the only escape is to wake up. But when, one by one, they start dying violently, the friends realize that what happens in the dream world is real, and the only way to stay alive is to stay awake.

Available on: Max

Directed by: Samuel Bayer

20. Primal

Year: 2019 | Rating: 8.6/10 | Type: Movie

Genres: animation, action, adventure, drama, fantasy, horror

A caveman forms a bond with a dinosaur as they struggle to survive in a hostile world.

Available on: Max

Directed by: Genndy Tartakovsky

Wrapping Up

This roundup delivers a compact, curated mix of genres—drama, thriller, action, crime, and horror—with notes on quality, pacing, and standout performances so you can match a title to your mood. Keep this guide handy for what to watch on max; we flag critical buzz, viewer suitability, and quick-hit reasons to press play. Bookmark or share the list and check back regularly: we update it with fresh releases, ratings, and availability changes as new titles arrive. Want more detail or to confirm streaming rights in your region? Explore our full reviews and availability checks to plan your next session, and return often for updated top what to watch on max picks.

Last updated: February 1, 2026