Those are two amazing shows with arguably the two best lead performances ever. It's hard to overstate how important The Sopranos was to the TV landscape. It kicked off the golden age of television. I know that there were some precursors such as Oz and Homicide: Life on the Streets, but The Sopranos was the show most responsible for the era of prestige TV because it was that good.
That being said, they were still working out some kinks with how to do a prestige TV show. It had a few too many episodes in each season, which meant that they had a few filler episodes. Also the cgi mom was really cringey.
Breaking Bad built off of the Sopranos in many ways and is one of the most focused, and well-crafted shows that you will ever see. I would also throw Better Call Saul in there. It's more of a slow burn at the start, but it's hard to separate it from Breaking Bad now.
I remember at the time many people saying that they felt bad for 30 Rock because of the unfortunate timing. Studio 60 got more hype and most people thought it would have the better staying power.
bobtheflob t1_j92mqq4 wrote
Reply to comment by antmars in Variety Emmy Predictions: The Last of Us, Andor and Wednesday predicted by thetrilogy911
Yeah they have several shows that haven't aired yet on there.