8 Reasons HBO Has Dominated Television

[DrStrangelove]

8 Reasons HBO Has Dominated Television

They've revolutionized television as we know it, ushering out movies as the dominant high art on the screen. Sit back and take a look at the series that made HBO dominate the world of TV.

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[WarpedLord]

It kinda seems like you guys MAY have forgotten one there...

(C'mon... it's got to be fairly obvious. It's just GoT to be.)

 

[Barciad]

It kinda seems like you guys MAY have forgotten one there...

(C'mon... it's got to be fairly obvious. It's just GoT to be.)

Honestly speaking, they have forgotten two. Well, from a UK perspective anyway. One, the show that launched HBO in the first place back '99. The other, well is slightly more recent, and has sent HBO stratospheric. It has dragons in it.

 

[Kenjitsuka]

I am pretty sure The Sopranos was an HBO thing, the BEST thing evar on it, if so!!!!

 

[UNHchabo]

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But guys, is there any show you would take off this list in order to put those two on?

I think the only reason those two shows aren't listed is because Schuyler uses the "8" format.

 

[WarpedLord]

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But guys, is there any show you would take off this list in order to put those two on?

I think the only reason those two shows aren't listed is because Schuyler uses the "8" format.

Absolutely. Sopranos and GoT were easily the biggest shows HBO's ever had, and were (and are) much more key to HBO's current domination than pretty much any of the show on this list. That's not to say they weren't fantastic... The Wire is probably the one I'd say "keep for sure" as it really was one of the best shows I've ever seen... but how often did you see stories about it in the media? How many workplace conversations went on about it? I'd probably take off Rome (great, but very short-lived) or Mr Show (funny... but how significant is it, other than the actor's future careers?). Not an Eastbound fan, either... but it can stay over those two.

 

[Radeonx]

I am pretty sure The Sopranos was an HBO thing, the BEST thing evar on it, if so!!!!

Sopranos, was, I believe, Showtime.

But seriously, No Game of Thrones? By far one of the most popular Book to TV adaptations in TV in a long while, and done incredibly well. If anything, I'd put Game of Thrones at the top of the list with The Wire and True Detective - by far the 3 best shows in the history of the network.

 

[daibakuha]

I am pretty sure The Sopranos was an HBO thing, the BEST thing evar on it, if so!!!!

Sopranos, was, I believe, Showtime.

Sopranos was HBO. I can watch it right now on HBOGO.

 

[Radeonx]

I am pretty sure The Sopranos was an HBO thing, the BEST thing evar on it, if so!!!!

Sopranos, was, I believe, Showtime.

Sopranos was HBO. I can watch it right now on HBOGO.

Oh, okay. Then that should be on the list too.

 

[RonHiler]

I can only assume since GoT and Sopranos are not on this list that it is intended to be pure troll bait. Because obviously those two shows are the reason HBO is dominant. It's not even a debate, just fact. I declare your list...unworthy! [You can make an argument for True Blood being more a reason for HBO's success than a lot of these shows on your list as well. It's not my kind of show, but I know a lot of people watch/watched it]

 

[WarpedLord]

I can only assume since GoT and Sopranos are not on this list that it is intended to be pure troll bait. Because obviously those two shows are the reason HBO is dominant. It's not even a debate, just fact. I declare your list...unworthy! [You can make an argument for True Blood being more a reason for HBO's success than a lot of these shows on your list as well. It's not my kind of show, but I know a lot of people watch/watched it]

Absolute troll bait.

I just tried an experiment, that I would strongly encourage the author of the article to try... I texted ten random friends from my contacts and asked them to, off the top of their heads, name 3 HBO series that they could remember. Guess what? Of the 9 that got back to me, 8 mentioned True Detective, 6 listed the Sopranos, and ALL 9 had Game of Thrones on their lists (most had it as their 1st pick). Hell, more people remembered Hung than Mr. Show!

Besides, any list without 1st and Ten or Dream On is invalid!

Okay... that last part was a joke.

Kind of.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Can you really call a premium channel dominant? Top 8 most pirated and/or sold on DVD shows, maybe, but I know very few people in real life who actually have an HBO subscription, let alone watch any of their shows, even Game of Thrones, live.

Note to mods: this is in no way an admission or endorsement of piracy. Just a statement of fact that a lot of the recent popularity of certain HBO shows is down to piracy.

 

[Sight Unseen]

Can you really call a premium channel dominant? Top 8 most pirated and/or sold on DVD shows, maybe, but I know very few people in real life who actually have an HBO subscription, let alone watch any of their shows, even Game of Thrones, live.

Note to mods: this is in no way an admission or endorsement of piracy. Just a statement of fact that a lot of the recent popularity of certain HBO shows is down to piracy.

I think that it's indicative of how successful Game of Thrones is. Even though probably 50-75% of people (pure guess based on anecdotal evidence) pirated that show, last season the ratings were higher than any other HBO show EXCEPT The Sopranos, which aired during a time when Netflix and online streaming didn't exist yet.

 

[Ne1butme]

I think we can agree that the Da Ali G show can be removed from this list to make room for something more substantial. I like Ali G, but i think i prefer the British version.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

Can you really call a premium channel dominant? Top 8 most pirated and/or sold on DVD shows, maybe, but I know very few people in real life who actually have an HBO subscription, let alone watch any of their shows, even Game of Thrones, live.

Note to mods: this is in no way an admission or endorsement of piracy. Just a statement of fact that a lot of the recent popularity of certain HBO shows is down to piracy.

I think that it's indicative of how successful Game of Thrones is. Even though probably 50-75% of people (pure guess based on anecdotal evidence) pirated that show, last season the ratings were higher than any other HBO show EXCEPT The Sopranos, which aired during a time when Netflix and online streaming didn't exist yet.

I can agree with that, I just find it funny to think of a premium channel that maybe a third of the people with cable (random ass pull of a number, same kind of anecdotal evidence) have a subscription to as "dominating" the TV landscape.

Basically, some of their shows are hugely popular. The network itself, not so much.