was the golden age for cable tv. Many actors got their start or recognition from these shows at the time. Besides James Gandolfini becoming a star due to The Sopranos there were many others. Micheal C. Hall's role in Six Feet Under got him the starring lead in Dexter. Timothy Olyphant broke thru from starring in Deadwood which later got him Justified. It also resurrected Ian McShane's career. Rome had a great cast that many found themselves later cast in Game of Thrones. Ray Stevenson was the standout as Titus Pullo imo and Kerry Condon was just nominated for Best Supporting Actress in Banshees of Inshiren. I have often stated here I'm a big fan of Carnivale which imo is Clancy Brown's greatest role easily. Deadwood, Rome and Carnivale were all cut short, not for reasons of viewership ratings but due to the cost of making them. They are all period pieces with Deadwood taking place soon after the Civil War, Rome during ancient times and Carnivale during the Great Depression. CGI was still new and extremely expensive at the time so they actually went the way of building the sets and using props which shows and you just no longer see today. Anyways, I highly recommend to everyone here to invest the time in watching Deadwood, Rome and Carnivale...you won't be disappointed and it's a hell of a lot better than anything HBO has put out in years imo.