Silicon Valley (TV series)
Hacker ApprovedShares rank 3 of 60 TV series by recommenders
People recommend it as a comedy that satirizes the 2010s tech industry with accurate detail. Some critics say it turned dark and heavy-handed.
People recommend it as a comedy that satirizes the 2010s tech industry with accurate detail. Some critics say it turned dark and heavy-handed.
53 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 52
- criticize it
- 1
- approval share
- 98%
Recommended in 12 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 52 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 52 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 12 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Accurate satire of tech culture
“HBO's Silicon Valley was on point - they did their homework on nailing some of the absurdities of the industry.”
Comment from 16 Dec 2025 in “Meta's new A.I. superstars are chafing against the rest of the company” “Silicon Valley is hilarious in terms of how it parodies the 2010s tech culture”
Comment from 7 Apr 2026 in “Are We Idiocracy Yet?” “it was very popular with SV insiders precisely because it was so accurate”
Comment from 18 Jun 2026 in “Noam Shazeer is joining OpenAI” - Comment from 16 May 2026 in “Halt and Catch Fire”
- Comment from 7 Jan 2026 in “Google Co-Founder Sergey Brin's Unretirement Is a Lesson for the Rest of Us”
- Comment from 17 Sep 2026 in “I Don't Like LLMs”
- Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)”
Funny and entertaining comedy
“just knowing the inside jokes or the short clips on HN was worth it”
Comment from 3 Jun 2026 in “Agentic Mfw” “Silicon Valley never ceases to deliver top quality entertainment.”
Comment from 4 Aug 2026 in “Apple is getting this wrong” “everybody I know in tech loves it and appreciates the humor”
Comment from 1 Jan 2026 in “2025 Letter” - Comment from 26 Dec 2025 in “Tell HN: Merry Christmas!”
- Comment from 2 Sep 2026 in “Claude Fable 5.1 and Claude Mythos 5.1”
Holds up, ahead of its time
“Definitely in my top 5 favorite shows of all time. I still rewatch it from time to time.”
Comment from 11 Jul 2026 in “Apple Sues OpenAI for Stealing Trade Secrets to Build AI Hardware” “is it hitting even harder this time than when it was originally released”
Comment from 2 Mar 2026 in “Microsoft bans the word "Microslop" on its Discord, then locks the server” “This show was really ahead of its time.”
Comment from 13 Nov 2025 in “Tesla Recalls Powerwall 2 AC Battery Power Systems Due to Fire and Burn Hazards” - Comment from 12 Dec 2025 in “Meta's new A.I. superstars are chafing against the rest of the company”
Mike Judge's craft praised
“I loved that show. The love that went into it really shows.”
Comment from 18 Jun 2026 in “Noam Shazeer is joining OpenAI” “Mike Judge is a masterful satirist.”
Comment from 24 Apr 2026 in “Meta to cut 10% of jobs, or 8k employees”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Stressful to watch
“it made me feel like I was going to work on Sunday night”
Comment from 18 Feb 2026 in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)” “for me the funniest (and painful to watch, sometimes)”
Comment from 26 Dec 2025 in “Tell HN: Merry Christmas!” “can't bear to watch Silicon Valley”
Comment from 21 Dec 2025 in “Show HN: Books mentioned on Hacker News in 2025” Became dark and heavy-handed
“it wasn't funny or quirky anymore, just dark and bleak”
Comment from 14 Aug 2026 in “'The Nerd Reich' tracks the 'unmasking of Silicon Valley's true politics'” “It felt very heavy handed at the time”
Comment from 2 Jun 2026 in “Can the stockmarket swallow Anthropic, SpaceX and OpenAI?”
Other TV series people recommend
The four most recommended other TV series, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Halt and Catch Fire | 166 | 20 | 89% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Babylon 5 | 86 | 21 | 80% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Silicon Valley (TV series)This page | 52 | 1 | 98% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Andor | 52 | 5 | 91% | 9 | — | Approved |
| The Wire | 39 | 7 | 85% | 12 | — | Approved |
What people said
40 of the 56 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“We need a new season of Silicon Valley”
“Does a surprisingly good job at defining that subculture”
“this is my absolute favorite line from Silicon Valley”
“it wasn't funny or quirky anymore, just dark and bleak”
“Mike Judge needs to do another Silicon Valley series on HBO”
“Silicon Valley never ceases to deliver top quality entertainment.”
“If you haven't watched Mike Judge's Silicon Valley , you should”
“Definitely in my top 5 favorite shows of all time. I still rewatch it from time to time.”
“it was very popular with SV insiders precisely because it was so accurate”
“I loved that show. The love that went into it really shows.”
“I wish that show was rebooted, they'd have so much funny material nowadays.”
“Bonus points for silicon valley doubling the Emacs references”
“just knowing the inside jokes or the short clips on HN was worth it”
“It felt very heavy handed at the time”
“The out of touch antics of Gavin Belson or Peter Gregory are fucking spot on.”
“A lot of what we have today is a result of some of the stuff they had on the show back then.”
“The best part of Silicon Valley was that it had a very south park quality to it..”
“I knew by default that Silicon Valley was going to be good.”
“HACF, Silicon Valley, and The Soul of a New Machine are a trifecta.”
“It's a comedic but accurate take on west coast tech industry of the 2010s”
“Mike Judge is a masterful satirist.”
“Not as funny as the original, but available everywhere, instead of just HBO.”
“After I left tech, I found it to be amazing.”
“Yes, Silicon Valley has some bits that don't quite match real life.”
“Silicon Valley is hilarious in terms of how it parodies the 2010s tech culture”
“I miss the quality of TV shows we reached with Mr. Robot, Silicon Valley, Utopia (UK), and Westworld”
“is it hitting even harder this time than when it was originally released”
“the latter has pulled one scientific stunt regarding scientific advisory”
“it made me feel like I was going to work on Sunday night”
“the insanity that it's both a comedy and true to life”
“checkout Silicon Valley, the TV show, in particular when they discuss VC and promises done”
“HBOs Silicon Valley is more accurate than any Paul Graham essay”
“everybody I know in tech loves it and appreciates the humor”
“has a good episode where they discuss the importance of a start-up not having any revenue”
“for me the funniest (and painful to watch, sometimes)”
“can't bear to watch Silicon Valley”
“HBO's Silicon Valley was on point - they did their homework on nailing some of the absurdities of the industry.”
“it has so much spot-on social commentary”
“it seems to have aged pretty well”
“This show was really ahead of its time.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.