The Sopranos entered a world where HBO was still mostly known for movies edgy reality content, and basically rewrote the rules for an entire medium.
For sure, there was good television before The Sopranos.
The greatest show in TV history debuted 20 years ago today, on January 10, 1999.
But the wave of sharp, bleak, tough serialized dramas that followed in its wake can be directly attributed to the huge critical and commercial success The Sopranos enjoyed.