How prestige TV prepared us for the days-long drama of impeachment

The last two weeks of impeachment hearings had their share of high drama and comparisons to Watergate. Phrases like “domestic political errand” are this generation’s “third-rate burglary.” “No quid pro quo” is “I am not a crook” for 2019.

But there were also mundane moments as well, like muted descriptions of classified file storage, and monologues about foreign policy in Eastern Europe.

It may have all felt like a slog for those watching on television. But writer Joanna Weiss argues that we were prepared for this by “peak TV,” meaning prestige dramas like “The Wire” and “Game of Thrones.”