Influence is not the same as quality, and a couple of these are on the list for what came after them rather than what they were. Networks copied all of them.
1The SopranosThe HBO mob drama that made cable the home of serious television.
2Breaking BadThe AMC drama that proved a basic-cable show could out-write the premium networks.
3Hill Street BluesThe 1981 cop show that introduced serialised, overlapping storytelling to network drama.
4The WireBaltimore as a system, told one institution per season, and studied ever since.
5Twin PeaksThe show that let a network drama be strange, and made the mystery box a format.
6Mad MenThe period drama that turned production design and silence into plot.
7LostThe serialised puzzle that taught networks what a weekly online audience looks like.
8ERThe hospital drama that set the pace, literally, for two decades of procedurals.
9Game of ThronesThe fantasy series that made a global appointment out of a Sunday night.
10The X-FilesThe mix of standalone cases and a running mythology that shaped genre TV.
11Star Trek: The Next GenerationThe syndicated revival that proved a franchise could outlive its original cast.
12OzHBO's first hour-long drama, which cleared the ground The Sopranos built on.
1324Real-time episodes and the split screen, copied everywhere for a decade.
14The West WingThe walk-and-talk political drama that became its own genre and its own accusation.
15House of CardsNetflix's first original drama, released all at once, which changed how shows are watched.
16DallasThe 1980 cliffhanger that invented the summer-long television question.
17The ShieldThe basic-cable drama that showed FX and AMC there was room outside HBO.
18Squid GameThe Korean drama that made a non-English series the biggest show on the planet.
Comments 1
Cable's first Outstanding Drama Series Emmy went to The Sopranos, 21 wins from 111 nominations. Hill Street Blues got there first, in 1981: https://youpick.best/articles/breaking-bad-vs-the-sopranos-ranked
YP
ypb-teamAug 21
