Tom Fontana

An amazing and often overlooked accomplishment, this is the crime drama with which HBO redefined television before The Sopranos had even started. And it has aged well, the only thing that really dates it the (frankly very unnecessary) injected moments of 4th wall-breaking artsy narration. But those can easily be ignored, and otherwise, this is as good an ensamble drama with as captivating and intriguing character arcs as they come.