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With that in mind, we wanted to go behind the list,David Benioff and D.B.
Weiss style, and expand the conversation about what we learned over the months-long process of putting it together.
Where is HBO going and where has it been?
What was our rationale for ranking the shows where we did?
(How could we do that toSix Feet Under?)
We discuss those topics and more below.
Show) for another day we were left with 74 shows, and creating the list became surprisingly plausible.
74)andLucky Louie(No.
59)on Amazon Prime or tracking down unavailable series through creative means.
(Want to borrow my complete-series DVD of Steven SoderberghsUnscripted(No.
Its pretty clever.)
The timing of the list was ideal.
It was pitched to us shortly beforeGame of Thrones(No.
And plenty of the shows below that threshold are failures of ambition, likeVinyl(No.
67)orThe Newsroom(No.
66), that took a big swing for the fences and whiffed on their potential for greatness.
But HBO wasnt always so impeccably curated.
You and I have both been writing professionally since beforeThe Sopranos(No.
1)debuted in 1999 and the Its not TV.
But getting toThe Sopranostook some work.
So going beyond the 10,000 words weve already written, what have we learned here, Noel?
NOEL MURRAY:I have an unusual relationship with HBO because I grew up in a house without cable.
I used to binge-watch HBO the old-fashioned way: via DVD box sets ofSix Feet Under(No.
14)andDeadwood(No.
I have my cant believe I dug this up episodes ofThe High Life(No.
48)andMaximum Security(No.
61), unavailable even on YouTube but found hither and yon on services like Vimeo and Dailymotion.
Im glad I tracked those down along with the likes ofDream On(No.
72)and, yes, low-rankedThe Mind of the Married Man(No.
- because they really helped clarify the whole HBO story.
Once you get toThe Larry Sanders Show(No.
4),Oz(No.
10),Sex and the City(No.
6), andThe Sopranos, the difference is obvious.
Theyre mature in a whole other way.
16)andBarry(No.
13)appearing so high?
It deserves a spot in the top ten.
And that brings me to a point on list-making methodology.
(During this process,Entouragemagically landed at No.
69, and there it would stay.)
That said, I take full responsibility forSix Feet Unders conspicuously low ranking at No.
14, behind current series likeThe Deuce (No.
12)andBarry, which both have only two seasons under their belt.
Keeping in mind that No.
55), which drained the fun from its bayou vampire pulp, andHere and Now(No.
71), which makes an even more concerted bid for relevance.
However you feel about the shows missteps along the way, it landed gracefully.
Many feltBarryshouldnt have had a second season, but it quietly upstagedGame of Thronesweek after week.
So consider that ranking a vote of confidence for its future.
How about you, Noel?
Any ratings controversies you gotta defend?
And what were some of the hidden gems on the list?
And one more question: Where do you expect HBO to go from here?
19, or even No.
15, Im not as fussy.
Im a little surprised at the pushback on the low ranking of shows that landed in the top 25.
The top 25 is excellent!
Heck, as youve noted, the top 40 is all pretty much in the Very Good range.
If you read our write-ups of series likeEnlightened(No.
11)orThe Comeback, theyreglowing.
The number isnt everything.
Still, you ask for regrets.
26)shouldve been higher.
(Have you seenGentleman JackandMy Brilliant Friend?
Some of the standouts for me while doing my research werent necessarily shows that we ranked super-high.
19)andCarnivale(No.
33),The Comeback,andCurb Your Enthusiasm(No.
That was a good year!
I hope HBO can get on that kind of run again.
There are some really interesting projects in the works.
And Lindelofs formerLeftovers(No.
The originalVeep(No.
9)creator Armando Iannucci is back withAvenue 5, a science-fiction comedy, starring Hugh Laurie.
Matthew Rhys is playing a young Perry Mason in an upcoming miniseries.
What stood out about those early 2000s series is that they werenew.
So I want to end my part of this conversation by noting a few of them.
The big standout for me wasTell Me You Love Me(No.
34)andTogetherness(No.
Beyond that, quick binges onHigh Maintenance(No.
I also gained a newfound affection forJohn From Cincinnati(No.
Any interesting odds and sods for you, Noel?
Our readers probably know all the big canonical shows, but what have they missed?
MURRAY:I wish more of those early originals were readily available because some of them are quite interesting.
51)andBored to Death(No.
I do think anyone who hasnt seenHow to Make ItorBored to Deathshould make time for them.
(DittoGetting On(No.
(Ratings are a different story, alas.)
Some critics and commentators used to mock the smugness of the slogan Its not TV.
But give the internet credit.
For the past 20 years especially, HBO really has lived up to its branding.
