Revolutionary TV Shows That Changed the Game
These groundbreaking TV shows have redefined their genres and left a lasting impact on the television industry. From animated sitcoms to crime dramas, these shows have brought fresh ideas to the table and set new standards for storytelling and innovation. Let's take a look at the top 9 revolutionary TV shows that changed the game.
The Sopranos
The Sopranos came to define prestige TV, with plenty of great shows owing a lot to the story of Tony Soprano and his family. It marked a new approach to serialized storytelling, breaking every convention of traditional TV formats. Episodes of The Sopranos don't follow any kind of template, so viewers never knew what to expect from the show each week. Aside from its structure, the content of the show was much more violent and shocking than what was usual at the time. After six remarkable seasons, the finale of The Sopranos provided one last revolutionary shock, refusing to wrap up its story with a neat little bow.
Tony Soprano sitting down in a chair in Dr. Melfi's office in The Sopranos
The Sopranos came to define prestige TV, with plenty of great shows owing a lot to the story of Tony Soprano and his family. It marked a new approach to serialized storytelling, breaking every convention of traditional TV formats.
Black Mirror
When Black Mirror first started, the obvious comparison was The Twilight Zone, but Charlie Brooker's sci-fi anthology soon set itself apart. Black Mirror focuses on the dark potential of technology, so it naturally delves frequently into horror, but it has an extremely varied approach. There often isn't much to connect different episodes of Black Mirror, since the show likes to experiment with its visual style as much as its subject. The only constants are the high standards of writing and acting, but Black Mirror revels in defying expectations. Black Mirror season 7 has been confirmed, but there's no telling how the season will pan out.
Yorkie and Kelly: San Junipero: Black Mirror
When Black Mirror first started, the obvious comparison was The Twilight Zone, but Charlie Brooker's sci-fi anthology soon set itself apart.
Seinfeld
As its self-referential story line boldly proclaims, Seinfeld is a show about nothing. This strange concept can be boiled down to the show's famous 'No hugging, no learning' rule. The characters on Seinfeld are bad people, and they end the show in prison as a result. Most sitcoms before Seinfeld focused on character growth and heartwarming values, but Seinfeld paved the way for shows like It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Arrested Development by following characters who were not just flawed, but deeply self-centered and misanthropic. There are no moral lessons shoehorned in to impede the flow of Seinfeld. This would feel disingenuous coming from Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer.
Kramer, Seinfeld and George looking out a window in Seinfeld
This strange concept can be boiled down to the show's famous 'No hugging, no learning' rule. The characters on Seinfeld are bad people, and they end the show in prison as a result.
Big Brother
Looking back on it today, Big Brother has the simplest possible reality show premise. A group of strangers are put into a house together, and the cameras start rolling. They don't have to survive on a desert island or try to find love, they are just there, being themselves. This concept revealed what audiences found most compelling about reality TV, and other shows have been trying to emulate its approach to real-life human conflict ever since. Big Brother started as a Dutch show, but its immense popularity caused it to be adapted into over 50 countries, changing the entire world of reality TV.
Big Brother season 1 cast
Looking back on it today, Big Brother has the simplest possible reality show premise. A group of strangers are put into a house together, and the cameras start rolling.
Grey's Anatomy
While other medical procedurals speed things up to mirror the frantic pace of the operating room, Grey's Anatomy slows things down and focuses on its characters first. Shonda Rhimes first conceived of the show after watching surgeries on the Discovery Channel and noticing how the surgeons would talk about their partners and their daily lives while they were operating. Grey's Anatomy takes a similar approach to its characters, and their personal lives are just as important as any surgery they perform. Grey's Anatomy is also revolutionary for its portrayal of women in medicine. Multi-faceted female characters like Meredith and Christina would never have existed in previous medical dramas.
Ellen Pompeo as Meredith Grey and Sandra Oh as Cristina Yang in Grey's Anatomy season 6 episode 24
Shonda Rhimes first conceived of the show after watching surgeries on the Discovery Channel and noticing how the surgeons would talk about their partners and their daily lives while they were operating.
SpongeBob SquarePants
Very few shows have managed to tap into a child's sense of humor quite like SpongeBob SquarePants. It's proudly absurd jokes can delight viewers both young and old, but the show is not entirely nonsensical. Despite its silly humor, SpongeBob SquarePants treats its young audience with respect. There are no corners cut on the animation or the visual design, and the storytelling is similarly robust. Children's TV shows can often talk down to their audiences with simplistic, tired morals, but SpongeBob SquarePants delivers its nuggets of wisdom in entertaining, well-developed narratives. SpongeBob SquarePants struck upon a winning formula, and adults can enjoy it for more than pure nostalgia.
Krabs yelling at SpongeBob and Patrick
Very few shows have managed to tap into a child's sense of humor quite like SpongeBob SquarePants. It's proudly absurd jokes can delight viewers both young and old, but the show is not entirely nonsensical.
The Office (U.K.)
The Office didn't invent the mockumentary format, but it found the best way to make it work on TV so far. Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's dreary, cringe-inducing sitcom let its characters play up to the camera, and its talking-head interviews revealed the hidden sides of themselves which they kept secret from their coworkers. After The Office's successful American adaptation, the mockumentary format spread even further, with shows like Parks and Recreation, Modern Family and Abbott Elementary all learning a few tips and tricks from Gervais and Merchant. The Office is also partly responsible for popularizing workplace sitcoms.
David Brent at his desk
The Office didn't invent the mockumentary format, but it found the best way to make it work on TV so far. Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant's dreary, cringe-inducing sitcom let its characters play up to the camera, and its talking-head interviews revealed the hidden sides of themselves which they kept secret from their coworkers.
Mad Men
Mad Men made period dramas cool, after the genre had long suffered a reputation for being exclusively concerned with Austen, Dickens, Brontë, and their ilk. The 1960s Madison Avenue scene is the place to be in Mad Men, with stylish business executives enjoying long, booze-soaked business lunches. However, Mad Men doesn't luxuriate in its retro surroundings as much as other period dramas. Its frequent allusions to the social inequalities of the time reveal a cast of characters who are all living privileged lives but missing something hard to define. Mad Men looks gorgeous, but it explores the moral rot at the center of American consumer culture.
Jon Hamm as Don Draper in Mad Men
Mad Men made period dramas cool, after the genre had long suffered a reputation for being exclusively concerned with Austen, Dickens, Brontë, and their ilk.
Law & Order
Law and Order combines the conventions of crime procedurals and courtroom drams to create a unique blend. Most other shows would choose to focus either on police officers or lawyers, but Law and Order presents a case each week in its entirety, from investigation, to arrest, to trial, to sentencing. This holistic approach creates a more immersive show, and Law and Order's massive success soon generated multiple spinoffs. The show isn't afraid to deviate from its winning formula occasionally, and it has crossover episodes, two-parters, and other special tweaks to keep things fresh, and Law and Order is preparing for season 23.
Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston) sitting in court and looking troubled in Law and Order
Law and Order combines the conventions of crime procedurals and courtroom drams to create a unique blend. Most other shows would choose to focus either on police officers or lawyers, but Law and Order presents a case each week in its entirety, from investigation, to arrest, to trial, to sentencing.
