I think Berlin Alexanderplatz* beat it to the punch, in the early eighties, but it wasn't even super popular in Germany when it came out. There are serials dating back to the silent era, and despite a lot of lowest common denominator outings, people were doing interesting things for TV from even its early days. But Twin Peaks was indeed a massive influence on getting the ball rolling with what would become known as "prestige TV."Teacher's Pet wrote: Thu Jan 16, 2025 2:46 pm Without Twin Peaks, I think there would be no "peak tv" or whatever you want to call our current era where people take TV shows seriously as art/culture product.
Before that it was all MacGyver and game shows and stuff.
Filmmakers did not make TV shows.
Am not the biggest Lynch fan, but I'm surprised more noise hasn't been made since his passing. Of living filmmakers in America, maybe only Spielberg, Scorsese, Lucas, the Coens, DePalma, and the like have been more influential. (I'm probably forgetting someone.) Like, of all the film buffs and cinephiles I've known, probably 80% of them have been into Lynch's filmography. He was a singular artist, and an interesting person, even if the results of his efforts haven't always been my cup of tea. R.I.P.
* = Berlin Alexanderplatz is probably the single best drama made for television, up until the epilogue, which is overkill and unnecessary in my book.