Includes bibliographical references and index.

Previously on. In this maligned medium ; Which films? ; A great notion ; Should we do this? Can we do this? -- The beast in He. Difficult men ; The arguer ; The magic Hubig's ; Being the boss ; A big piece of equipment ; Have a take. Try not to suck -- The inheritors. Shooting the dog ; See you at the Emmys ; The happiest room in Hollywood.

"In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the landscape of television began an unprecedented transformation. While the networks continued to chase the lowest common denominator, a wave of new shows, first on premium cable channels like HBO and then basic cable networks like FX and AMC, dramatically stretched television's narrative inventiveness, emotional resonance, and artistic ambition. No longer necessarily concerned with creating always-likable characters, plots that wrapped up neatly every episode, or subjects that were deemed safe and appropriate, shows such as The Wire, The Sopranos, Mad Men, Deadwood, The Shield, and more tackled issues of life and death, love and sexuality, addiction, race, violence, and existential boredom. This revolution happened at the hands of a new breed of auteur: the all-powerful writer-show runner. These were men nearly as complicated, idiosyncratic, and "difficult" as the conflicted protagonists that defined the genre."-- Provided by publisher.