Published Feb 25, 2026, 12:45 PM EST
Liz Hersey is an Editor and Critic for ScreenRant's TV team, editing, reviewing, writing, and creating content about the iconic shows you love to watch. She began her editing career at ScreenRant in 2019, shortly after joining the site as a Writer that same year.
With a passion for all things books, Liz frequently attends Toronto literary events and conferences, and loves interacting with her book lover community. In addition to being an avid reader of the romance and thriller genres, Liz is a writer of several short stories, and is currently at work on a young adult witch novel.
When she's not working, reading, or writing, Liz can be found seeing movies at her local cinema, attending live jazz events, or curling up on the couch to binge her favorite TV shows.
You can reach her at [email protected].
Sign in to your ScreenRant account
It's rare for a long-running crime thriller series to remain consistently excellent, which makes The Shield a particular standout. Premiering in 2002, The Shield immediately stood out from other crime dramas of its time for its gritty tone and morally grey law enforcement characters. Michael Chiklis won an Emmy for his portrayal of Vic Mackey, who leads the LAPD's corrupt "Strike Team."
While any crime drama can start with a bang, many go out with a whimper, as it takes a lot more than a promising premise to sustain a series. However, The Stand ran for seven incredible seasons, anchored by a bold departure from the traditional police procedural and incredible performances from Chiklis, Walton Goggins, and the rest of the cast. The Shield was instrumental in crime dramas becoming prestige television, and it doesn't get nearly enough credit for that.
The Shield Paved The Way For Breaking Bad
Vic Mackey walked so Walter White could run. While Tony Soprano is deservedly credited as the prototypical TV drama antihero, much of his appeal lay in showing the softer, more human side of a criminal.
For Vic and Walter, it was the opposite, as they were on the right side of the law — in Vic's case, enforcing the law — but weren't afraid to break it, brutally and repeatedly, to achieve their own selfish means. What's more, not only were audiences willing to follow these morally bankrupt protagonists, but they loved them for it.
In an interview with the Daily Beast, Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan acknowledged the predecessors who laid the foundation for the story of Walter White: "Our show owes a great debt to The Sopranos, like all the other shows that center on a flawed or somewhat antagonistic protagonist," Gilligan said. Though he doesn't specifically name The Shield, the early-2000s series definitely fits the bill.
How The Shield Perfected The Crime Drama
Up until The Shield, crime dramas were mostly episodic procedurals, with a case of the week introduced and solved before the credits rolled. The Shield popularized serialized storytelling in the TV crime genre, and it did so with one of the most unforgettable TV pilots of all time.
In the final scene of The Shield's first episode, Vic Mackey commits a shocking act of violence when he murders a fellow cop who was investigating his team. This not only established Vic as an anti-hero law enforcement protagonist, unlike anything television had ever seen before, but also the concept of the "original sin" that would launch the entire show.
As we see with The Shield, Breaking Bad, and countless other crime thrillers, once a protagonist goes past the point of no return and enters a world of lawlessness, crime begets crime, and there's no easy way out. This allows for season after riveting season of Vic, Walter, et al. digging themselves deeper and deeper as they make their ultimate descent into villainy.
FX Has Been At The Vanguard Of Prestige Television For Decades
MovieStillsDB / HBOWhile HBO has long been considered the gold standard of prestige television, dating all the way back to the '90s with revolutionary series like Oz, Sex and the City, and The Sopranos, FX has been delivering some of TV's best shows for over 20 years. The Shield was considered the turning point, and from there, the cable channel has consistently led the pack of top-tier crime dramas, with hits like Sons of Anarchy, Justified, The Americans, and Fargo.
|
Title |
Release Years |
Rotten Tomatoes Score |
|
The Shield |
2002-2008 |
90% |
|
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia |
2005-Present |
94% |
|
Sons of Anarchy |
2008-2014 |
87% |
|
Justified |
2010-2015 |
97% |
|
The Americans |
2013-2018 |
96% |
|
Fargo |
2014-2024 |
94% |
|
Baskets |
2016-2019 |
92% |
|
Atlanta |
2016-2022 |
98% |
|
Better Things |
2016-2022 |
98% |
In terms of comedy, FX has arguably taken bolder swings than HBO. Though the long-running It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is now considered a reliable sitcom staple, it was absolutely pioneering at the time, with nobody thinking that a show centered on despicable people committing acts of terrible behavior would run for over 20 years. Other phenomenal and boundary-pushing FX comedies include Atlanta, Baskets, and Better Things.
Most of these aforementioned series are revered by the people who watched them, but they don't quite carry the gravitas of the best HBO shows of all time. This is unfortunate because they're every bit as important to the television medium, and none of them would have happened without The Shield.
Release Date 2002 - 2008
Directors Guy Ferland, Scott Brazil, Clark Johnson, Dean White, Stephen Kay, Gwyneth Horder-Payton, D. J. Caruso, Nick Gomez, Paris Barclay, Peter Horton, Félix Enríquez Alcalá, Philip G. Atwell, Terrence O'Hara, Billy Gierhart, Brad Anderson, Craig Brewer, David Mamet, Davis Guggenheim, Frank Darabont, Gary Fleder, John Badham, Leslie Libman, Michael Fields, Scott Winant
Writers Shawn Ryan, Glen Mazzara, Charles H. Eglee, Kim Clements, Kevin Arkadie, Gary Lennon, John Hlavin, Lisa Randolph, Reed Steiner, Angela Russo-Otstot, Diego Gutierrez, Ted Griffin, Elizabeth Craft, Emily Lewis, Jameal Turner, Renee Palyo
-
-
Catherine Dent
Danielle 'Danny' Sofer
English (US) ·