The Sopranos

The Sopranos (1999-2007) pioneered the modern antihero drama, with the show winning 21 Emmy Awards over its run and holding a 92% critics' approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes across 86 episodes. By redefining television's storytelling ambitions when it premiered in 1999, it is widely credited with ushering in the prestige-television era that followed, paving the way for the serialized, cinematic dramas that came after it. The Writers Guild of America ranked it the single best-written TV series of all time on its 2013 list of the 101 best-written shows.