well Breaking Bad is arguably the best network TV show ever made.
amongst a cesspool of cop dramas, law dramas, cop sitcoms, law sitcoms, hospital dramas, hospital sitcoms, and the endless string of family sitcoms starring B-list standup comedians... Breaking Bad has truly broken new ground. to be perfectly honest, I don't recall ever being so compelled by the characters or story on a TV series that wasn't exclusively on HBO or Showtime.
aside from live sports and Comedy Central, I could easily live without any network television station. it's 99% trash. but now I couldn't live without seeing Breaking Bad. I wish more producers would believe in trying out such bold formats. just try something new.
you know the moment you get an idea for ANOTHER CSI spinoff?
fuck it. try something new.
Mad Men is a good example. but these kinds of shows are still way too few and far between on basic cable. and people are like "hey that's because Americans are dumb, all they want is trash on TV, so we give it to them." but I dunno, I think the average couch potato could handle and appreciate quality if the networks were more willing to serve it up.