We are currently entering an era in which, in a few years' time, given the shifting priorities prescribed by the current management and its single-minded focus on brand expansion and franchise development, the concept of an HBO show may well become something very different in the eyes of the public. So it's as good a time as ever to take inventory of the trailblazing premium cable network's rich history of first-rate television, and remember that artistic ambition and dutiful quality control are what made the HBO brand in the first place, and brought it the cachet and resources required to power megahits like "Game of Thrones" and "The Last of Us."

For one thing, it's not just the hits that matter in this history. Sure, it's easy to think of the "It's not TV, it's HBO" slogan and associat

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