1 choice last year; this year, the honor could also have gone to Larry Sanders or Seinfeld.

1-rated show that takes its massive outreach seriously.

Garry Shandling makes Larry’s sad-eyed smirk a mask of panic.

‘ThirtySomething’ (1990)

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Here’s to you, kids."

In any other medium, Duchovny and Anderson would come off as stylized and stiff.

Well,ERmight have tried the colon-soul one, but it would have been really grrr-ooosss."

Roseanne (1991)

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Not only the year’s best, but the most underrated."

); and he spent the past season bringing it back down to earth.

(How cute he’s henpecked!

Roseanne (1992)

How conflicted he kills people, but he so loves his wife and kids!)

And this year, Chase explodedThe Sopranos.

In doing so, he advanced his medium’s art once again."

The Larry Sanders Show (1993)

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But pining for a date at a Color Tile store?)

That dour expression ain’t heartburn: Tony still has the old fire in his ample belly.

And as Paulie said, “Nobody knows what the future holds, my friend.”

The X-Files (1994)

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In this second season (a mere yet abundant six episodes!

),The Officebecame a classic TV creation.

It was perfectly cast.

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The cast from Sonja Sohn as undomesticated Det.

Messy, maddening, pragmatic, and darkly joyousthat’s city living, according toThe Wire."

As oddball asArrestedis, it’s also humane.

NYPD Blue (1996)

ABC

Bateman and Cera give the best reacts around the former all weary exasperation, the latter adorably bunny-stunned.

It’s a perversion not even the Bluths deserve."

The actors are flawless; the writing is lined with empathy, insight, and quick, shocking slaps.

King of the Hill (1997)

20th Century Fox Licensing/Everett Collection

Never has a good gutting been more appreciated."

It’s incisive but squirrelly, satiric but joyfully goofy.

Haldeman jokes and slug down a thermos of wine.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1998)

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But it really comes down to the show’s triumvirate, doesn’t it?

Gillian Flynn

The Colbert Report (2008)

“It was a great year for political television.

Rachel Maddow, making braininess seem like the coolest trait possible, got her own show.

The Sopranos (1999)

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Even Katie Couric lucked into credibility just by asking Sarah Palin what she read.

But no one jumped into the fray more enthusiastically and emerged more triumphantly than Stephen Colbert.

His April road shows from Philadelphia were little masterpieces of satire and slapstick.

The West Wing (2000)

Instead, the second season was a voluptuous, satirical, Southern-gothic delight.

Ken Tucker

Breaking Bad (2010)

“This was the season when the secrets were revealed.

That’sBad: So good, it could make a skull smile.”

The Sopranos (2001)

HBO

The through-line: scary-good performances.

And Jessica Lange, whose character gallery represents a dialogue about our demeaning fixation on youth and legacy.

Grand Guignol with grand dames and grand themes,American Horror Storyis the most dynamic enterprise on television.”

The Sopranos (2002)

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But that’s not the only reason this show from Jill Soloway feels so groundbreaking.

The Office (2003)

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The Wire (2004)

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Arrested Development (2005)

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The Wire (2006)

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30 Rock (2007)

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The Colbert Report (2008)

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True Blood (2009)

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Breaking Bad (2010)

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Breaking Bad (2011)

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Homeland (2012)

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American Horror Story: Coven (2013)

Michele K. Short/FX

Transparent (2014)

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