
Scripted series · HBO
Bored to Death
A noir-rotic comedy
Who's in it
Cast
The principal ensemble across the run of the series.
The Nutevio profile
TV DNA
How Bored to Death actually feels to watch, measured on the traits our editors track across every series.
Signature profile
Bored to Death reads strongest on Tension, Bingeability and Character Depth.
The sustained pressure the series keeps you under.
How hard it is to stop after one episode.
How fully written and psychologically layered the ensemble is.
How often an episode ends on a hook you can't ignore.
How much each hour depends on the one before it.
How often the series is genuinely funny, by design.
How much the series is designed to affect you.
Visual ambition — scale, craft and set-piece filmmaking.
The scale, internal logic and texture of the world.
The story
What it's about
Jonathan Ames, a young Brooklyn writer, is feeling lost. He's just gone through a painful break-up, thanks in part to his drinking, can't write his second novel, and carouses too much with his magazine editor. Rather than face reality, Jonathan turns instead to his fantasies — moonlighting as a private detective — because he wants to be a hero and a man of action.
The run
Seasons
3 seasons · 24 episodes.
- Poster unavailableSpecials
Season 0 · Complete
Specials
20096 episodes

Season 1 · Complete
Season 1
20098 episodes
6.5IMDbBest episode · S01E07 The Case of the Stolen Sperm

Season 2 · Complete
Season 2
20108 episodes
6.8IMDbBest episode · S02E04 I've Been Living Like a Demented God!

Season 3 · Complete
Season 3
20118 episodes
7.0IMDbBest episode · S03E03 The Black Clock of Time
Where the series peaks
Best Episodes
The hours that define the show, ranked by audience response and editorial signal.

S03E07 · Signature episode
Forget the Herring
Rose Hiney connects with Jonathan on new leads. George and Ray attempt to right their unrightable wrongs.
- Directed by Adam Bernstein
- Written by Rachel Axler

S03E08 · Signature episode
Nothing I Can't Handle by Running Away
In the Season 3 finale, George celebrates Emily and Bernard’s wedding; and Ray is comforted by his son, Spencer. Meanwhile, Jonathan considers breaking up with his new girlfriend, but when he’s kidnapped, an army of Super Ray fans spring into action.
- Directed by Adam Bernstein

S01E02 · Signature episode
The Alanon Case
As Jonathan tries to mend his relationship with Suzanne, another case falls onto his lap. This time, he is tasked by a woman named Jennifer to gather proof of her boyfriend Gary's infidelity. Jonathan, who learns his new client loves to drink as much as he does, tracks down Gary and stumbles upon an unsatisfying outcome.
- Directed by Alan Taylor

S01E01 · Signature episode
Stockholm Syndrome
Broken up after his breakup with his girlfriend Suzanne, Jonathan Ames reads through Farewell My Lovely, his favorite book by Raymond Chandler. Enlivened by the novel, Ames places an online advertisement as an unlicensed private investigator. His first unwitting client who seeks his services is a 19-year-old girl looking for her missing sister.
- Directed by Alan Taylor

S01E06 · Signature episode
The Case of the Beautiful Blackmailer
Jonathan is enlisted to retrieve a sex tape that a female escort is using to extort money from a married New Jersey man. With Ray and George in tow, Jonathan ends up in a motel room with the escort, who attempts to blackmail him as well. Can the very stoned Ray and George save Jonathan's neck before the woman's enraged brother breaks it?
- Directed by Adam Bernstein
- Written by Martin Gero

S01E03
The Case of the Missing Screenplay
While attending a New York film society function, George introduces Jonathan to a filmmaker, who asks him to rewrite a screenplay. Later, he goes out with a party girl and leaves the script at her home, which happens to be a shrink's office. Jonathan asks Ray to pose as a patient to recover the script. Meanwhile, George encounters his ex-wife and her smug new husband.
- Directed by Michael Lehmann
- Written by Jonathan Ames
Recently aired
Latest Episodes

S03E08 · Signature episode
Nothing I Can't Handle by Running Away
- Directed by Adam Bernstein

S03E07 · Signature episode
Forget the Herring
- Directed by Adam Bernstein
- Written by Rachel Axler

S03E06
Two Large Pearls and a Bar of Gold
- Directed by Tristram Shapeero
- Written by Mike Schwartz

S03E05
I Keep Taking Baths Like Lady MacBeth
- Directed by Tristram Shapeero

S03E04
We Could Sing a Duet

Behind the series
Created by
Showrunners, creators, executive producers and the writers who set the voice of the series.
The craft
Key Crew
Directing, writing, production, camera, music and editing.
Executive production
- Troy MillerProducer
Writing
- Mike SchwartzWriter
- Sam SklaverWriter
- Jonathan AmesWriter
- Donick CaryWriter
- Martin GeroWriter
- Rachel AxlerWriter
Direction
- Adam BernsteinDirector
- Paul FeigDirector
- Tristram ShapeeroDirector
- Troy MillerDirector
- Tucker GatesDirector
- Michael LehmannDirector
Where to watch
Streaming
Availability verified against regional listings.
- Amazon VideoBuy
- Amazon VideoRent
- Apple TV StoreBuy
- HBO Max Amazon ChannelStreaming
- Google Play MoviesBuy
- Fandango At HomeBuy
- YouTube TVStreaming
- HBO MaxStreaming
If you liked this
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