You would think HBO knew what it was getting itself into last week, given the rapid fandoms attached to so many of its original programming. HBO's Twitter account has been especially playful in the past few months, pitching out question and debate prompts to its nearly two and a half million followers. But it stepped in something it wasn't prepared for when it pitched out the simple prompt: Top 3 HBO characters of all time. Aaaaand go.
People immediately started chiming in, and while there are some frequent favorites, there's no clear cut winner in the crowd. Omar Little from The Wire, Cersei Lannister from Game of Thrones, and of course Tony Soprano of The Sopranos have come up quite a few times, but that doesn't eliminate any fringe favourites. People have a particularly soft spot for Selina Meyer of Veep and Cousin Gregg from Succession. Getting little to no love at all is Nora Durst from The Leftovers, which is a shame because you guys saw what she went through during The Departure. How dare you. How dare all of you.
That being said, the poll is a really solid reminder that HBO has put out a lot of excellent television over the past thirty or so years. As for a consensus? Don't wait for it any time soon.
A lot of Game of Thrones love in there, but nary a shoutout to Valerie Cherish. And note to self: after a long day on Twitter debating which HBO character is the best of the bunch, I don't want to see that.
Justin Kirkland is a Brooklyn-based writer who covers culture, food, and the South. Along with Esquire, his work has appeared in NYLON, Vulture, and USA Today.
