| Spotlighting the quality dramas on basic
cable
By Kenny Herzog
Special to MSN TV
Over the past five years, the gap in prestige between premium,
subscriber-based networks like HBO and advertising-subsidized basic cable
operations like FX or AMC has practically flatlined. Standards for the kind of
content TNT et al are allowed to broadcast have softened, while Showtime and its
kin often program so many original shows that it becomes challenging to
differentiate them in quality. And while FX arguably broke the mold with Ryan
Murphy's "Nip/Tuck" and the
uncompromising cop drama "The Shield," they
were soon joined and nearly outpaced by a retooled AMC, who wowed audiences and
critics with "Mad Men" and "Breaking
Bad."
Bing: More about 'White Collar'
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