The Brilliance of The Shield: 15 Years Later
And with that, we’re off. Ironically, the above line — spoken in the pilot by our main character — is, in my opinion, one of the worst of the series. That said, one of the most on-the-nose and, frankly, irritating lines in the pilot of The Shield sets the tone for what’s to come, but only barely. A chaotic, sometimes even sloppy, low-budget police procedural on an unknown network was — unknowingly — about to become one of the best stories ever told through the episodic format. Along the way, it would become one of the few shows that grew better with each passing episode, all while solidifying FX as a possible contender in the cable space for years to come. While the show owed a lot to the king of the anti-hero (The Sopranos), The Shield would go on to own its own little slice of unique TV history, particularly in its waning moments on the air. I’ve been rewatching a lot of critically acclaimed shows from decades past lately, along with some of the new favorites. None have succeeded in capturing the same raw, intense energy of The Shield. In the hallowed halls of television greatness, a few names get tossed around in nearly equal measure. You have, of course, The Sopranos. The Wire and Breaking Bad are usually referenced in the same breath. Someone adds Mad Men. The older among us still won’t let go of M.A.S.H. Critics with heavy recency bias throw Succession in there as well, now. I take issue with none of these, really. But rarely, if ever, do you hear about The Shield. And that’s a mistake.
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