HBO Turns 50: Our Favorite Things, From A to Z
The post HBO Turns 50: Our Favorite Things, From A to Z appeared first on Consequence.
Today marks the official 50th anniversary of HBO, a network that may go down as one of the most impactful brands in modern media.
The premium cable channel originally known as Home Box Office proved to be an early player in the concept of “home entertainment,” bringing big-name movies to subscribers without ads. But as it began to develop its own original films and series, it became one of the signature destinations for fans of what became known as “the golden age of television,” with signature series like The Sopranos, The Wire, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Six Feet Under, Sex and the City, and more paving the way for its current level of domination.
To celebrate, we present an A-to-Z guide to our favorite things from the past 50 years of HBO — perhaps leaning a bit more on the last 25 years than the first, but that’s only an indication of how the channel has become so much more than one cable network. It’s become a definition for quality entertainment, iconized by that immortal tagline: “It’s not TV — It’s HBO.”
— Liz Shannon Miller
With contributions by Joe Eckstein, Eddie Fu, Ben Kaye, Paolo Ragusa, and Caitlyn Taylor
The tragedy of Adriana La Cerva (Drea de Matteo) on The Sopranos.
Bertha Russell (Carrie Coon)’s dresses on The Gilded Age.
The Gilded Age (HBO)
Chernobyl’s brief but impactful five episodes.
David Duchovny’s unrequited love for Larry Sanders.
The time Sir Ian McKellan explained how acting works on Extras.
F.F. Woodycooks takes back the streets.
Girls creator Lena Dunham was right: Grover actually is a pretty cute name for a baby.
Girls (HBO)
The Holocaust episode from Band of Brothers.
“Is you taking notes on a criminal fucking conspiracy?”
Jean Smart’s recent HBO renaissance (Watchmen, Mare of Easttown, Hacks).
Meg Stalter’s iconic performance as Kayla in Hacks.
Lisa Kudrow as a cupcake.
The Comeback (HBO)
Vice-President Selina Meyer.
Nero & Sporus: The betrayal sequence in Succession Season 3.
The original 1980s HBO opening sequence.
The opening credits of Peacemaker.
Bill Hader and Henry Winkler in Barry: “Barry, do you ever ask for what you need? Or do you just quietly feel shame at your own desires while sadly doing the bidding of others?”
Barry (HBO)
The Red Wedding in Game of Thrones.
True Detective Season 1: One of the best seasons of television ever.
Nicole Kidman’s incredible coats in The Undoing.
The Undoing (HBO)
Vince Wilfork wearing a pair of overalls to practice in 2015’s Hard Knocks with the Houston Texans.
Hard Knocks (HBO)
The best adaptation of Watchmen to date.
The insight into the XXX world we got from Pornucopia.
Pornucopia (HBO)
“You’ve Got the Love” by The Source (feat. Candi Staton) over the closing credits of the Sex and the City series finale.
Season 1 of Euphoria, especially Zendaya.
HBO Turns 50: Our Favorite Things, From A to Z
Consequence Staff
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