Game of Thrones (2011-19)

Game of Thrones was unlike anything we had ever seen on TV. The scale and grandeur of the production matched what we only ever saw on the big screen. When it really started to hit its stride a few seasons in, it achieved cinematic scope. The battle scenes rivaled the very greatest of Lord of the Rings. Game of Thrones changed the landscape of TV forever. It proved early on that it was not afraid to kill off its main characters. It would simply introduce new ones, sometimes too many to keep track of, sometimes too many to even feature in an episode or a whole season. 

I admit I could give or take the story. It plays out some intense political relations. But it's not easy to follow. It is highly convoluted. But then why did so many people watch it addictively? In the era of streaming and peak TV, this was truly the one must-see television show. Because everyone would be talking about it the next day at work. Even sooner than that, everyone would be spoiling it on Facebook. You can't really overestimate the phenomenon that was Game of Thrones. It made stars of composer Ramin Djawadi, Kit Harrington, Emilia Clarke, Sophie Turner, and Lena Heady.

The last season sort of spoiled it, but you can bet it will still come away with an armful of Emmys. The ending was incredibly lame in my opinion. But again, it wasn't about the story. It was the spectacle and we get 2 episodes of spectacle amid some otherwise calm episodes.