re: What do you consider the "golden age" for television

I think Alan Sepinwall makes a good argument that we're living in it in his recent book.

I've only really watched shows from the '90s on forward other than a couple of exceptions so I can't really comment from personal experience. TV watching has fragmented, which personally, I love. So many great options out there both in comedy and drama. Not sure that it's far to poo poo on this era just because of reality TV. For me the options out there is what makes this the golden age. 10 years ago if you had said AMC would have the two best shows on television or that FX would be the strongest channel, you'd have been laughed out of the room. There are still procedurals out there to be seen, sitcoms of all types, or more novel-esque offerings.

The 90s definitely played a huge foundational role (shows like Larry Sanders, Twin Peaks, X-Files, NYPD Blue, et al come to mind) but there's no doubt that the creative freedom allowed to showrunners this past decade plus has created an absolutely magnificent smorgasbord of television.