90% of everything is not worthwhile. This is normal as most people don't have the time or ability to produce or appreciate the best in the arts. This goes for television in the UK as well as the US.
So some ex-pats post some complaints about trashy American tv. So what?
I seem to recall Big Brother taking up quite a bit of media space in the UK over the last few years, and garnering a loyal following. And let's not forget the glories of Britain's Got Talent, the X-Factor, and all the soap operas and trashy dramas. All fundamentally worthless, suitable only for diversion. The stuff that most TV is made of, both in the UK and the US.
But in the last 10 years or so, the quality of that upper tenth of American television has surpassed everything else produced in the world. This is truly a golden age of American television. Anyone who thinks it is restricted to The Wire and Mad Men has not been paying attention.
Here is a partial list of great shows produced during this new golden age:
Mad Men
The Wire
The Sopranos
Oz
Breaking Bad
Deadwood
Battlestar Galactica
Six Feet Under
Carnivale
Rome
24
Arrested Development
Sons of Anarchy
Damages
Flight of the ConchorRAB
The Comeback
The Office US
30 Rock