15 shows that define prestige TV

6. Veep

If you’ve been paying attention, the one type of show conspicuously absent from this list so far has been the half-hour comedy. Shows like Frasier, Everybody Loves Raymond, 30 Rock and Modern Family made strong cases for themselves, but leave it to HBO to come up with the first true prestige TV comedy in the form of Veep.

First and foremost, Veep‘s list of Emmy accolades is staggering, with three Best Comedy wins and a staggering six Best Actress wins in a row for star Julia Louis-Dreyfus. It took six seasons of consistently hilarious yet terrifying work from the most gifted comedic actress of her generation to produce a prestige TV comedy, so three cheers for Elaine Benes!

You may now be thinking to yourself, But I thought prestige TV shows had to be super dark? The basic premise of Veep — that the majority of White House staffers are blithering idiots — has profoundly bleak implications for the world at large. Washington insiders have even said Veep is the most accurate portrayal of D.C. machinations on TV. It doesn’t get much darker than that.

Veep certainly isn’t afraid to display its characters’ uglier sides, especially Louis-Dreyfus’ Vice President Selena Meyer. That woman says some of the meanest and filthiest things to her employees this side of a vintage Ari Gold tirade on Entourage. In that way, Selena is the perfect anti-hero for the prestige TV era.

It was recently announced that Veep‘s final season will air in spring 2019, having been delayed due to Louis-Dreyfus’ cancer treatments. No matter how the show ends, it has cemented its place on this list as the most important comedy of the prestige TV era.