Television today is better than ever. From “The Sopranos” to “Breaking Bad,” “Sex and the City” to “Girls,” and “Modern Family” to “Louie,” never has so much quality programming dominated our screens. Exploring how we got here, acclaimed TV critic David Bianculli traces the evolution of the classic TV genres, among them the sitcom, the crime show, the miniseries, the soap opera, the Western, the animated series, the medical drama and the variety show. In each genre, he selects five key examples of the form to illustrate its continuities and its dramatic departures.

Drawing on exclusive and in-depth interviews with many of the most famed auteurs in television history, Bianculli shows how the medium has evolved into the premier form of visual narrative art.

Audiobook available, read by David Bianculli