This generation knows Grey’s Anatomy as the consummate medical primetime drama. But anyone over the age of 30 understands that before McDreamy, there was Dr. Donald Westphall from St. Elsewhere, a show that blazed the trail for television programming following a team of doctors. Cop dramas are common nowadays. But before top series like NYPD Blue came innovators like Hill Street Blues. And American Idol, The Voice, and other reality television competition shows have that little show called Star Search to thank for their concepts.
Inspiration is drawn in everything from music to movies, technology and yes, even television programming. So it’s no surprise that most of today’s top shows have innovative, game-changing programs of yesteryear to thank for paving the way for their success.
Here are 9 shows that arguably set the pace for some of the most popular series on television today.
What are your favorite trailblazing shows?
Some of the best shots in Grok Imagine’s AI-made Odyssey don’t contain actors. Ancient landscapes stretch into the distance. Close-ups of grimy hands suggest people who have touched something rougher than a keyboard. For a few seconds, the illusion holds.
https://twitter.com/imagine/status/2113712964419063911
YouTube videos could soon look better without eating quite so much data, right? Thankfully, the platform plans to introduce a new video format called AV2 on its web player in early 2027, promising more efficient streaming and potentially fewer playback hiccups on slower internet connections. The big headline is a roughly 30% improvement in compression efficiency over AV1, YouTube's existing video format. That doesn't guarantee every video will use 30% less data, but it could make streaming a little easier on both internet connections and data allowances.
What is AV2, and why should viewers care?
YouTube is changing how its Home page works, giving viewers more control over what shows up there and making some of the app’s most-used sections easier to reach. Custom Feeds are now replacing the existing topic chips for eligible users, while YouTube is also testing a redesigned top bar on mobile that moves Subscriptions closer to the Home feed.
YouTube first started experimenting with Custom Feeds earlier this year, letting you type out what you wanted to watch and turning that request into its own stream of recommendations. Now, the feature is starting to look less like a side experiment and more like something YouTube actually wants people to use as part of their everyday Home page.