The Sopranos started airing in 1999, and with it, a new type of lead character for television was born: the antihero. Tony loved his family and had some redeeming qualities, but he was also a mob boss who didn’t mind some killing if it helped him obtain his objectives. We loved to root for him anyway. With the success of Tony, more antiheroes started appearing on our screens. Here are some popular TV protagonists that wouldn’t exist without Tony Soprano:

Vic Mackey – The Shield (2002-2008)

Vic Mackey (Michael Chiklis in an All-Star performance) was a cop. He was also a cop killer, a thief, and an extortionist. The character was an antihero most of the time, but there were also times when he was an absolute villain. He was the only one who did anything necessary to end the worst guys imaginable, but he wasn’t that good either. In The Shield’s first episode, he kills a cop in cold blood, and from there on, the show kept pressing the accelerator for seven adrenaline-fueled seasons. Nevertheless, we were usually on team Vic, hoping he and the strike team could get out of the last problem they created for themselves.

BoJack – BoJack Horseman (2014-2020)

Welcome to the 2020s, where even an animated horse can be an antihero. BoJack Horseman was a depressed, long-passed-his-prime actor who would do anything for some recognition and ego-boosting. The problem with BoJack (Will Arnett) was that he was one of those who do first (normally, drink first) and think of the consequences later (or never). That hurt a lot of people in his orbit. We always rooted for BoJack, even if most of his problems were of his own volition. The comedy was unique and original, and didn’t mind making BoJack the worst person on the show, something some other TV comedies could learn. He might not be a mob boss like Tony, but sometimes BoJack’s actions were less considered and kind than Tony’s ever were.

Related: BoJack Horseman: One of the Most Depressing TV Shows of All Time

Eve – Killing Eve (2018-2022)

The lead of Killing Eve, Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh), starts the show as a real hero, a cop trying to catch a killer; but as the show goes on and her obsession/attraction for Villanelle gets bigger, she discovers her real self. One who doesn’t mind some killing, cheating, or lying if it suits her needs. Discovering her true nature and dark personality under a typical heroic exterior was one of the greatest pleasures of watching the show (and Oh’s performance). We saw her evolution step-by-step, rationalizing most of her actions through her eyes, while being surprised at how the show subverts the TV police procedural.

Omar Little – The Wire (2002-2008)

Omar Little was the breakout character of The Wire. He was a Robin Hood-esque figure, who stole from drug dealers, only to sell them back his product for a lot more money. He was also kind of a boogeyman on the streets for all those low-level drug dealers. The Wire is one of the best TV shows ever made because of brilliant ideas like the creation of Omar Little. He was smart, kind, homosexual (in a time when LGBTQ+ characters weren’t as in the spotlight), and had a real moral code, and Michael K. Williams’s (RIP) performance meshed perfectly with the character on screen. In a world that only allowed him to grow inside the projects and the drug world, where death is in every corner, he made something of himself. Rooting for someone who kills wasn’t that usual before Tony Soprano, now is TV watching 101.

Fleabag – Fleabag (2016-2019)

Fleabag was a different kind of antihero. Her antihero characteristic was all interior (who she is) more than exterior (what she does). The character was brazen, egocentric, and irritating; but she also was all charisma, with great one-liners, and a unique point of view. We were as attracted to her and her world as every character on the show. Fleabag also made us accomplices of her story by breaking the fourth wall, making us part of her world as we became her biggest confidants. About the character that she wrote and starred as, Phoebe Waller-Bridge told Harper’s Bazaar: “I decided to write the character that I’d always wanted to play as an actress. It had to be very acerbic and dry-witted and just not sorry. The actual character came out very rawly and very quickly for that first 10 minutes, and then it was sculpting her, so she didn’t become an acerbic, dismissive ar*ehole — that she actually had depth — and that came later.”

Related: Here’s 5 Reasons Why Fleabag is One of the Greatest TV Shows of All Time

Don Draper – Mad Men (2007-2015)

From the exterior, Don Draper was the perfect lead: handsome, charismatic, and good at his job. But when we looked closer, we found all the qualities that made him an antihero (and a bad husband and father): he was an alcoholic, philanderer, identity thief, and unhappy person who had a bad childhood. In Mad Men, our antihero didn’t kill, or was a mob boss, but he was still a bad person we rooted for. He has some redeeming qualities (anything to do with his relationship with Peggy’s character), but he was still someone who would do us dirty if we knew him in real life. That’s why he was so interesting, and that’s why it’s Jon Hamm’s best performance ever.

Walter White – Breaking Bad (2008-2013)

Walter White was just a chemistry teacher with cancer who wanted to leave some money for his family when Breaking Bad started. From there, he became a drug lord, an antihero, and the villain of his own show. How many people died because they met Walt or his blue product? Too many to count. During the show, we discover that he has the biggest ego, loves money and power, and doesn’t mind the consequences of his actions if he’s on top as “the one who knocks”. He could have left the drug world many times, but he loves that life too much. The beta-male of the pilot ends the show having poisoned a little boy, lets his best friend’s girlfriend choke on her vomit, and was partly responsible for the death of his brother-in-law. Who would have thought? Bryan Cranston’s performance allows for all those layers and different colors in Walt. The actor was mostly known as the quirky dad in Malcolm in the Middle, so his casting as Walt surprised everyone. Well, not everyone, show-runner Vince Gilligan told TvGuide: “I wanted Bryan Cranston pretty much from the time I started actually typing the script… I just knew, this guy is the guy.” And just like that, many of the best antiheroes were created in shows that we’ll still be talking about, decades from now. Tony would be proud of his legacy, wherever he is.