Entourage

Entourage premiered July 18, 2004 on HBO, created by Doug Ellin and loosely based on Mark Wahlberg's experiences as an up-and-coming star — Wahlberg served as executive producer. Adrian Grenier played Vincent Chase, the rising movie star at the center of the orbit; Kevin Connolly was Eric "E" Murphy, best friend turned manager; Jerry Ferrara was Turtle; and Kevin Dillon was Johnny "Drama" Chase, the half-brother with the smaller career and the bigger insecurities. Then there was Jeremy Piven as Ari Gold, the ferocious super-agent who became the show's secret weapon — a character based on real agent Ari Emanuel, who reportedly insisted Piven was the only actor for the part.

The early seasons were the peak: critics praised the ensemble rhythm, and Piven won three consecutive Emmys for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (2006, 2007, 2008). Ari's "let's hug it out" — first uttered in season one — escaped the show entirely and became a workplace idiom. Entourage was the mid-2000s id on premium cable: unapologetically male, materialistic, star-cameo-studded, and endlessly quotable. Half the audience watched it as a comedy; the other half watched it as a lifestyle brochure.

The run ended September 11, 2011 after eight seasons, with the final stretch drawing a much more mixed reception, and a 2015 feature film underperformed — the cultural moment had moved on. But as an artifact of 2004–2009 aspirational America, nothing else on TV bottles that era quite like it: the premieres, the toys, the swagger, and the conviction that the good times were permanent.