Our take
One of the most original, underseen, and unexpectedly wholesome shows on HBO, High Maintenance spends each episode looking into the everyday lives of various New Yorkers, often with eccentric jobs or alternative lifestyles. The only thing that connects them is that they all happen to be clients of an unnamed weed dealer (played by Ben Sinclair), who becomes a witness to their ordinary joys and struggles. Barely any of the stories we get to see throughout the show’s four seasons have a traditional dramatic arc to them, but the series remains a one-of-a-kind comfort nonetheless—showing us just how colorful and interesting a mundane life can be when we have well-meaning people surrounding us. And it’s a prime example of how television should be allowed to tell stories in any form, making perfect use of the half-hour episodic format to capture these fleeting, beautiful snapshots.
Streaming arrival
What it won
Berlin
1 win
Sundance
1 win
The story
Jump into the daily routines of a diverse group of New Yorkers and how they light things up. “The Guy” is a nameless pot deliveryman whose client base includes an eccentric group of characters with neuroses as diverse as the city.
Elsewhere
"When people call a dealer, they are in a moment of need. High Maintenance meets people at this crossroads and peers at them with a tender gaze."
— Rachel Syme
"High Maintenance stands out, not just because it's on the front end of what is apparently a reefer TV trend, but because it's so precisely made and has such an ambling, open heart."
— Jen Chaney
The details
Who picked it
Emil Hofileña is a curator at A Good Movie to Watch. He also writes as a theater critic, with work published in Rogue and Out of Print, among others. He’s probably crying over a movie or an episode as we speak.
