The 2000s were agolden decade for TV, a time of sincere and unfiltered stories. Some of the best shows aired during that era still stay with fans and audiences as sweet core memories. And that’s mainly because networks and cable channels had suddenly started to take risks withlayered characters and long-form seasons.
Today, TV does offer impressive variety and high production value, but itlacks that rawnessin acting and the distinct charm of the 2000s. Everything is moving so fast, and the content is especially tailored for our short attention spans. We forget the last thing we watched. But, to break the current slump, here’s a list of10must-watch showsfrom the 2000syou should binge for the perfect dose of nostalgia.
10’Battlestar Galactica' (2004–2009)
It’s rare for a remake to completely outshine the original, butBattlestar Galacticadid just that, and then more. The show starts with a devastating Cylon attack that wipes out most of humanityin a single strike, and leaves only a few survivors who are trying to stay alive, led by one aging warship, Galactica. The characters in the show weren’t thetraditional superheroes, but they were shown very realistically — broken, tired, and constantly on edge.
Commander Adama, played byEdward James Olmos, carried the weight of the entire fleet on his shoulders, and President Roslin (Mary McDonnell), a former schoolteacher who suddenly became the leader of humanity, made impossible choices every day. The show was way ahead of its time and was aperfect depiction of post-9/11paranoia. It was a gut punch, week after week, and by the time it ended, it had picked upPeabody Awards, critical acclaim, and a cult followingthat still talks about the finale years later.
9’Gilmore Girls' (2000–2007)
Most people do not watchGilmore Girlsat first glance, thinking it will be just another rom-com feel-good show set in a small town. But this show is one of thecosiest comfort showsin the history of TV shows. The show is based on the fast-talking, coffee-obsessedmother-daughter duoLorelai (Lauren Graham) and Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel), who are living in the quirky little town of Stars Hollow, where everyone knows everyone, and no one ever runs out of things to say.
The best thing about the show was therelationship between a mother and daughter, which was a fresh take in the early 2000s. They lean on each other through school admissions, heartbreaks, career shifts, and complicated family dinners with Lorelai’s wealthy, disapproving parents.Gilmore Girlswillmake you laugh, cry, and feel aspectrum of emotionsa little too much.
8’Six Feet Under' (2001–2005)
Six Feet Underis a slow burn that stared death in the face, episode after episode, and somehow made it feel oddly comforting. The show follows the story of the Fischer family, whospecialize in funeral services. After the father dies, Nate (Peter Krause), the reluctant son, returns home to take over the family business, while David (Michael C. Hall), his closeted brother, struggles to hold it all together. However, Claire (Lauren Ambrose), the younger sister, rebelled and failed in all the ways that made her one of themost relatable charactersof early-2000s television.
The family depicted in the show tried to cope with theirmisunderstood lifestyles throughgrief and death. Every character of the show was important and shown to be haunted in their own ways by life’s messiness. It didn’t try to wrap everything up in neat endings, and maybe that’s why its finale is still consideredone of the most powerful in TV history.
7’Deadwood’ (2004–2006)
Deadwoodwas a show that was not comfortable at all. It dragged you through mud and dared you to look away. The story was set in the town of Deadwood, South Dakota, just after theCivil War. The series blurred the line between civilization and chaos, whereeveryone was either out for gold, blood, or both.
The story revolved around Seth Bullock (Timothy Olyphant), a former lawman trying to start a hardware business, and Al Swearengen (Ian McShane), a violent saloon owner who ran the town manipulatively. It touched upon themes ofpower, corruption, and the way communities are formed in the middle of lawlessness. McShane’s performance, in particular, stole the show with his layered character. Though it only ran for three seasons, HBO later releasedDeadwood: The Movie(2019) that answered all fan questions andwrapped up the story nicely.
Mad Menis a time capsule that opens up a very painful but honest look at America in the 1960s. The show’s protagonist, Don Draper (John Hamm), is a high-powered advertising executive who seems to have it all — looks, success, charm, but underneath it, he is hiding adeeply fractured persona. He has built his life on reinvention, and as the society around him revolves, through civil rights, feminism, war, and counterculture, you slowly watch thecracks in his carefully built identity seep through.
Every character in the show goes through a personal evolution. Peggy Olson (Elisabeth Moss) is a secretary-turned-copywriter who slowlybreaks every expectation ofwomen in the workplace. Joan Holloway (Christina Hendricks) uses her beauty and wit to gain agency in a world that constantly tries to reduce her. At first, the pacing of the show may seem slow, but it is not dull. As you go through every episode, the show willbuild up piece by pieceuntil you are asking yourself the same question every character is. Who am I really, and what am I running from?
5’The Office' (2005–2013)
If you have ever worked in an office or been in painfully boring and awkward situations, you will find somethingstrangely comforting and hilariously unhingedaboutThe Office. The show is shot in a mockumentary style that drops you into the mundane world of Dunder Mifflin, a paper company in Pennsylvania, where nothing really happens and yet everything somehow does. At the center of the show is Michael Scott (Steve Carell), the world’s mostclueless, cringy, and unexpectedly lovable bosswho thinks he’s the funniest person in the room.
The best part of the show is that you will fall in love with all the characters. There is Jim (John Krasinski), the deadpan prankster, whoseslow-burning loveto be with Pam (Jenna Fischer) carries quite a magic throughout the series. Dwight Shultz (Rainn Wilson) is the intense beet-farming assistant to the regional manager, who turns everything into chaos.The Officewalks a fine line between heart and absurdity. It is one of the rare comedies that can go from outrageous to tender in minutes. If you’re free on weekends,The Officeis amust-binge-watch.
I won’t lie, but when I saw the first episode ofBreaking Bad, it kind of seemed a bit too slow, and I stopped midway. But I started watching the show again after a few months, and to my surprise, I streamed the whole season in one go. You just have to give it a chance after the slow first few episodes. From the very first scene, you are thrown into theworld of Walter White(Bryan Cranston), a high school chemistry teacher turned meth kingpin. He starts off as someone you sympathize with, but as time passes by,his personality becomes terrifyingly unrecognizable.
Alongside Walt is Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), a former student and small-time dealer whose arc is as heartbreaking as it is infuriating. The dynamic between the two main leads ismessy, violent, tender, and extremely raw. As Walt spirals further, Jesse becomes the moral compass he always tries to ignore. Every single character in the show is layered, and the storytelling is razor sharp.
3’Lost' (2004–2010)
Lostis astory about a plane crashthat continues to escalate without stopping anywhere.Oceanic Flight 815 goes down on a mysterious island, which is full of unexplained phenomena, buried secrets, polar bears, anda smoke monsterthat creeps out of the jungle when you least expect it to. Every episode goes deeper into adifferent character’s backstorythrough flashbacks and unravels who they were before the crash and how their past has shaped them to become who they are now.
Jack (Matthew Fox) is the reluctant leader with deep emotional wounds. Kate (Evangeline Lilly) is on the run from something huge. Sawyer (Josh Holloway) masks pain with sarcasm, and John Locke (Terry O’Quinn) is a true believer who thinks the island has a plan for him. People loved the show, argued over it, andobsessed over the clues and theoriesthat were popping up. Though it wasn’t always neat or easy to follow, it was deeply human and full of moments that made you want to keep watching just one more episode. Even years later,Loststill feels likea series no one could quite replicate.
2’The Wire' (2002–2008)
The Wireis a five-season HBO series that is set in Baltimore and follows detective Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West), a brilliant butself-destructive copwho is obsessed with catching the bad guys, even if it meansburning bridges with his own department. The series starts off with a drug trade and then slowly moves through the police department, the dogs, the political system, the public schools, and even the media.
Then there is Stringer Bell (Idris Elba), the drug kingpin who reads economic textbooks and tries toruna criminal empirelike a Fortune 500company, and Omer Little (Michael K. Williams), a shotgun-wielding stickup man who robs drug dealers. The series was created byDavid Simon, who is a former Baltimore crime reporter and did notshy away from writing about the ugliness of our broken systems.
1’The Sopranos' (1999–2007)
The Sopranoshas topped our list because it changed television forever. On the surface, it was about Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a New Jersey mob boss who is trying tobalance a criminal empire with family. But as you go by each episode, you see the real look of the main lead; Tony is in therapy, sitting across Dr. Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco) and talking about his panic attacks, his childhood, and theweight of being both feared and loved.
The show beautifully showed two sides of Tony’s life, his home with his wife, Carmilla (Edie Falco), and the violent,paranoid world of his crew, where loyalties shift and bodies disappear. Characters like Paulie Walnuts (Tony Sirico), Silvio Dante (Steven Van Zandt), and Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli) all added to the show because of their complex, flawed, andunforgettable roles. The ending of the show, however, sparked debates that still haven’t died down, but it does not take away from the fact that this wasone of thebest TV shows in the early 2000s.
The Sopranos
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