1. “American Idol” (2002 - present)
When “American Idol” premiered on FOX on June 11, 2002, no one knew it would become the phenomenon it did. A snarky British judge, a music industry insider (no one in the mainstream had heard of before) and a once super famous 80’s pop star all came together to critique wanna-be singers and America got to vote for their favorites and ultimately choose the winner. It was a simple format, but the combination of Simon Cowell’s snide and often times rude remarks (“that was absolutely dreadful!”), Paula Abdul’s loopy antics, seeing bad singers make fools of themselves during the audition rounds and watching the contestant’s journeys from regular kids to stars seemed to capture America’s hearts. Based on the British program “Pop Idol,” “American Idol” was the first show to come along that families could watch together. It stands as one of the highest rated television shows in history. While not every winner or past contestant has burned up the charts with their post-show musical offerings it did launch immensely successful careers for winners Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Chris Daughtry, Clay Aiken, Adam Lambert and Jennifer Hudson. – Laura Saltman

2. “Survivor” (2000 – present)
Producer Mark Burnett took a Swedish show called “Expedition Robinson,” turned it into an American sensation and changed television. When “Survivor” debuted May 31, 2000 on CBS, viewers were hooked by the series’ mix of documentary and game show. It set the standards that all the reality shows follow today — audience voting, reading results in front of the all the contestants, immunity challenges, team rewards and the list goes on. The show also gave us the best bad guy on TV that year, Richard Hatch. He was the man Americans loved to hate and no one played the game better than he did. Richard wasn’t there to make friends, he was there to win and win he did. 51 million people tuned in to the show’s finale which features one of the most memorable moments in TV history — Sue Hawk’s snake speech! — Dan Gomez

3. “The Sopranos” (1999 – 2007)
Americans have always been fascinated with the mafia so it was no surprise that audiences took to New Jersey mobster Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) when the drama premiered on HBO January 10, 1999. Rather than glorifying the mob, the show managed to make Tony someone to both root for and hate, as he tried to balance his role as the head of a criminal organization and keep his family life intact. The show was a critical and commercial success and remains the most financially successful cable series in the history of television. Its dark material, mixed with intense storytelling and incredible acting performances, helped pave the way for numerous other cable dramas that came after it. — Laura Saltman

Note:
Premiere: 首映.
Snarky:惡聲惡氣的
Critique: 評(píng)論
Snide: 諷刺的
Immensely: 極大的
Fascinate: 使著迷
Root for：支持
Intact：完整無(wú)缺的