TV's Golden Age - Great dramatic picks, 1999-2018.
Posted by James, 9 July 2021 (7 minute read)
I’ve always been a big fan of TV. More than a night out at the cinema, I much prefer to go through 2-3 episodes of a fantastic TV series. And there’s arguably never been a better time to see greatness on the box. With more money being pumped in than ever before and increasing numbers of film stars making their way over to the ‘small screen’, TV has certainly become cool again.
This renaissance in television runs parallel to what’s been described as ‘TV’s Golden Age’ – a two decade stretch that takes us from the end of the twentieth century through to 2018. So in this week’s JW’s Thoughts of a Copywriter, I thought I’d take you through my five great dramatic picks of TV’s Golden Age and explain why – for me – they stand as the era’s most important.
But first, we need to define TV’s Golden Age. Or more precisely, TV’s ‘Second’ Golden Age.
TV’s 'Second' Golden Age
The Golden Age of Television I refer to in this post is by no means the first. Widely regarded to have occurred between the late-1940s and the late-1950s, the first Golden Age of Television coincided with live TV being easier to produce and the emergence of ‘high culture’ – including frequent telecasts of Shakespeare plays, Tchaikovsky ballets and operas composed specifically for the medium. For most, it ended in 1960 when taped TV shows became the norm.
That is until 1999, when a Second Golden Age of Television began. In Le nouvel âge d’or des séries américaines (2011), French scholar Alexis Pichard argues that this new Golden Age is the result of improved visual effects, better showrunners and the advent of cable channels and their newfound lack of on-screen restrictions.
For me, TV’s Second Golden Age ends in 2018 with the conclusion of FX’s The Americans. TV since hasn’t necessarily stopped being spectacularly expensive and extremely popular (both in the US and in the UK). But it just doesn’t do what TV did before it – especially with the increasing monopoly of streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime. Maybe a Third Golden Age of Television will begin one day. Perhaps even one day soon. It just hasn’t yet – not for me at least.
And in my opinion, there are five shows that act as the tentpoles of TV’s Second Golden Age: The Sopranos (1999-2007), The Wire (2002-2008), Deadwood (2004-2006, 2019), Breaking Bad (2008-2013) and The Americans (2013-2018).
This doesn’t mean I don’t recognise other extraordinary work – including Oz (1997-2003), The West Wing (1999-2006), Six Feet Under (2001-2005), The Shield (2002-2008), Mad Men (2007-2015), Game of Thrones (2011-2019) and House of Cards (2013-2018). It just means that – to me – these five stand apart from their peers because of their exceptional writing, storytelling, characterisation, visuals and acting performances.
1. The Sopranos – HBO (1999-2007)
Like many others, I consider The Sopranos to be the first ‘great’ TV show of this Golden Age. Premiering in 1999, it focuses on the exploits of Tony Soprano, an Italian-American mob boss and family patriarch.
For six seasons, The Sopranos continued to break new ground. It became the blueprint for complex, uncompromising drama that never pandered to its (or indeed any) audience. It also concludes with one of the most paused, poured over and analysed final scenes of all time. No spoilers, but I think it’s a superb way for the series to sign off…
James Gandolfini is extraordinary in the lead role of Tony Soprano. But I think Edie Falco as Carmela Soprano is every bit his equal. Well worth a watch if you want to see where TV’s Golden Age truly began.
2. The Wire – HBO (2002-2008)
General consensus labels The Wire as the greatest TV series of all time. Told across five seasons, it’s set in the US city of Baltimore (Maryland). Each season focuses on a different aspect of the city: the police, politics, schools, the media, etc. But the overarching plot centres on the perpetual drug war that takes place between the city’s police department and its drug gangs.
The Wire is unbelievably complex. It doesn’t have anything resembling a lead character (except perhaps Baltimore itself). It never compromises with its narrative ambition. You’ll find no cliffhangers – each season builds cumulatively towards its conclusion. And the show offers no easy answers to the tough questions it poses.
Given its subject matter, I’m not sure that saying ‘I love The Wire’ is really appropriate. But if you like great TV, get hold of the boxset and take the plunge. Your patience will be well rewarded – I promise!
3. Deadwood – HBO (2004-2006, 2019)
If Deadwood wasn’t unexpectedly cancelled in 2006 after just three seasons, there’s a good chance it would have developed into the greatest dramatic TV series of all time. Set in the Black Hills of what is now South Dakota, David Milch’s western is probably the closest TV will ever get to a Shakespeare play.
Deadwood’s language is notable for two reasons: its complexity and its profanity. There are plenty of commentators who have spent much time analysing Deadwood’s use of language. But Milch’s decision to make the characters contemporarily foul-mouthed is a clever way of exposing the location as the anarchic, hostile environment it truly was. In the real Wild West, people would use words like ‘tarnation’ and ‘nincompoop’. To a twenty-first century ear, though, these seem incredibly tame. And don’t worry. Once you get used to the language, you do begin to see why it was such a necessary and inspired choice.
The TV movie that acts as a coda to the series was released in 2019 and reminds us (albeit briefly) of Deadwood’s genius once more. It’s such a shame the show wasn’t allowed to develop naturally and end properly. But even despite this, it still stands as a seminal work of TV’s Golden Age.
4. Breaking Bad – AMC (2008-2013)
When written down, the concept for Breaking Bad is absolutely bonkers. Walter White is a good natured 50-year-old chemistry teacher whose world is turned upside down with a terminal cancer diagnosis. As a result, he decides to cook methamphetamine to pay his medical bills and ensure that his family is looked after when he’s gone. This descent into the drug world of New Mexico really does turn ‘Mr Chips into Scarface’, as Walter slowly assumes his alter-ego: Heisenberg.
Over five seasons, Vince Gilligan’s masterpiece kept us all hooked, taking enormous risks while doing it. Especially when it came to just how far the show was prepared to go to test its audience’s resolve. As Walter’s behaviour becomes increasingly despotic, Gilligan appears to ask just how many of us are prepared to keep watching. He needn’t have worried…
For me, Breaking Bad contains the single greatest episode of dramatic television ever made (‘Ozymandias’). And the prequel, Better Call Saul (2015-), is pretty damn good too!
5. The Americans – FX (2013-2018)
I’m not sure how controversial I’m being here – but I think The Americans is the best TV drama ever made. And for me, the final episode (poetically titled ‘Start’) marks the end of TV’s Golden Age.
Like Breaking Bad, the concept for The Americans is crazy. Elizabeth and Philip Jennings are two KGB agents deep undercover, posing as Americans and living a double life. By day, travel operators and parents to their two American children; by night, accepting missions to retrieve classified information and becoming cold-blooded assassins for their Soviet handlers.
To me, The Americans stands tallest in TV’s Golden Age. That’s because it achieves something no other show on this list does. It has two absolutely equal lead characters. The Americans is the truest definition of a ‘two-parter’. A series that shares (and revels) in the extraordinary performances of both Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys. A series that explores the widest range of themes – family, love, loyalty, life, death, patriotism, capitalism, socialism, communism, politics, etc.
If you can get hold of a boxset, grab it with both hands. It’s absolutely brilliant and well worth 75 hours of your time.
Do you have a favourite show of TV’s Golden Age? Or are you simply astounded that I didn’t include something you think should have been in the top five? Comment below, tell me on Twitter (@JWCopywriting), or visit my Facebook page.
And if you need a copywriter for your business, get in touch and let’s start working together! See what I offer here and then use my contact form – I aim to respond within 24 hours.
In two weeks, it’s a move from drama to comedy with a review of the critically-acclaimed Schitt’s Creek.
Speak soon,
JW