15 shows that define prestige TV

15. The West Wing

The late ’90s were such a simple time. No one could have predicted the next two decades of world history, and it was still not only possible to be a prestige TV show on network television but actually more likely to be the case than on cable networks like HBO. That seems antiquated now, but it was the world The West Wing wandered into when it premiered on NBC in 1999.

Aaron Sorkin’s White House dramedy is one of the lighter shows that will appear on this list, but a four-year run of Best Drama Emmy wins automatically qualifies a show for some prestige. His rapid-fire dialogue combined with a stellar cast and a (now adorable but groundbreaking for the time) look into the executive branch’s machinations won viewers’ and critics’ hearts alike.

Everything about that cast screams prestige, from future Oscar-winning Allison Janney to character actor extraordinaire Bradley Whitford to ’80s movie star and Chris Traeger himself Rob Lowe. This group of actors were practically designed in a lab to produce a piece of entertainment that would lead prestige into the new millennium with aplomb.

The West Wing ran until 2006 and left behind a legacy of copycats trying to replicate Sorkin’s intense walk-and-talks to varying degrees of success.

It also has the honor of essentially kicking off the prestige TV era as both the first show since Hill Street Blues in the ’80s to dominate the Emmys that thoroughly and one of the last network shows to maintain the title of prestige TV throughout its whole run.