HBO has hit several home runs that are both daring and have developed huge fan bases.
Carnivale was by all accounts brilliant but was far too expensive to continue. Its fans were devastated. 8.6 IMDb rating.
Six Feet Under had a five year run and has 8.9 rating.
Game of Thrones is the most Machiavellian thriller ever made, and made a dwarf one of the top leading men in Hollywood. 9.4 rating.
The Sopranos. 9.2
The Wire. 9.4
Deadwood. 8.9
OZ. 9.0
Entourage. 8.6
The Newsroom. 8.7
True Blood. 8.0
In Treatment. 8.0
Band of Brothers. 9.6
Generation Kill. 8.7
Thanks for the recommendations. I’ve seen The Sopranos (got bored with it — never seemed to evolve and was pretty flat), Deadwood (GREAT!) and BoB (OUTSTANDING — watched it twice). I’ll check out the others.