Premium network
HBO
From The Sopranos and The Wire to Succession and The Last of Us: the network that set the bar, graded.
HBO spent the late nineties proving a subscription channel could make television people argued about like novels, and it has set the standard other networks chase ever since. This collection keeps to the series HBO made itself, graded on the site's scale, beside the episodes that are still the reference points and the characters the shows are remembered by.
The episodes
The hours the rest of television is still measured against, ranked.
- Pine BarrensThe Sopranos, 2001
- The Rains of CastamereGame of Thrones, 2013
- Long, Long TimeThe Last of Us, 2023
- Middle GroundThe Wire, 2004
- Connor's WeddingSuccession, 2023
- Everyone's WaitingSix Feet Under, 2005
- Who Goes ThereTrue Detective, 2014
- International AssassinThe Leftovers, 2015
- 1:23:45Chernobyl, 2019
- Battle of the BastardsGame of Thrones, 2016
The characters
The people these series are remembered by.
- The Sopranos, 1999Tony SopranoA mob boss in therapy, and the template for every antihero since.
- The Wire, 2002Omar LittleA shotgun, a code and a whistle coming down the street.
- Deadwood, 2004Al SwearengenA saloon keeper with the best monologues in television.
- Game of Thrones, 2011Tyrion LannisterThe cleverest man in Westeros, rarely allowed to act like it.
- Veep, 2012Selina MeyerPower with no purpose, played for the sharpest laughs HBO has made.
- True Detective, 2014Rust CohleTime is a flat circle, and he will explain why at length.
- Succession, 2018Logan RoyA father running his family like a hostile takeover.
- Euphoria, 2019Rue BennettAn addict narrating her own relapse with terrifying clarity.
- The Last of Us, 2023Joel MillerA grieving smuggler who learns, against his will, to be someone's father again.