A new analysis suggests it’s time to rethink the suggestion that we’re living in a new “Golden Age of Television.” Writing in the New York Post, Maureen Callahan points out that many of the medium’s most acclaimed shows appear to be preoccupied with shock value.

“Today, the Golden Age is in the throes of an arms race, with showrunners attempting to out-shock their audiences week to week, churning out melodrama without consequence,” Callahan writes.

Among the examples she cites are such well-received shows as “Mr. Robot,” “Scandal,” “House of Cards,” “Homeland” and “The Americans.”

“In a post-‘Sopranos’ landscape, moral transgression automatically signifies high art,” Callahan writes. “Infanticide, incest, pedophilia, matricide, torture, rape, castration, cannibalism, mass murder — all are now commonly employed tropes meant to signify quality.”

We encourage readers to click on the link near the top of this story to read Callahan’s full analysis.