The founding of Home Box Office in the early 1970s was a harbinger of the innovations that transformed television as an industry and a technology in the decades that followed. HBO quickly became synonymous with subscription television and becametheleading force in cable programming. Having interests in television, motion picture, and home video industries was crucial to its success. HBO diversified into original television and movie production, home video sales, and international distribution as these once-separate entertainment sectors began converging into a global entertainment industry in the mid-1980s. HBO has grown from a domestic movie channel to an international cable-and-satellite network with a presence in over seventy countries. It is now a full-service content provider with a distinctive brand of original programming and landmark shows such asThe SopranosandSex and the City. The network is widely recognized for its award-winning, innovative and provocative programming, including dramatic series such asSix Feet UnderandThe Wire, miniseries such asBand of BrothersandAngels in America, comedies such asCurb Your EnthusiasmandDef Comedy Jam, sports shows such asInside the NFLandReal Sports with Bryant Gumbel, documentary series such asTaxi Cab ConfessionsandAutopsy, and six Oscar-winning documentaries between 1999 and 2004. InThe Essential HBO Reader, editors Gary R. Edgerton and Jeffrey P. Jones bring together an accomplished group of scholars to explain how HBO's programming transformed the world of cable television and how the network continues to shape popular culture and the television industry. Now, after more than three and a half decades, HBO has won acclaim in four distinct programming areasdrama, comedy, sports, and documentariesemerging as TV's gold standard for its breakout series and specials.The Essential HBO Readerprovides a comprehensive and compelling examination of HBO's development into the prototypical entertainment corporation of the twenty-first century.