Best TV Shows of the 2000s (Ranked)

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Breaking Bad

★9.5Ended(2008–2013)

#1Score 9.502.7M IMDb votes

A high school chemistry teacher diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer turns to manufacturing and selling methamphetamine in order to secure his family's future.

Band of Brothers

★9.4Ended

#2Score 9.39609.5k IMDb votes

The story of Easy Company of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division and their mission in World War II Europe, from Operation Overlord to V-J Day.

Planet Earth

★9.4Ended

#3Score 9.38237.5k IMDb votes

A documentary series on the wildlife found on Earth. Each episode covers a different habitat: deserts, mountains, deep oceans, shallow seas, forests, caves, polar regions, fresh water, plains and jungles. Narrated by David Attenbo...

The Wire

★9.3Ended(2002–2008)

#4Score 9.29442.1k IMDb votes

The Baltimore drug scene, as seen through the eyes of drug dealers and law enforcement.

Avatar - The Last Airbender

★9.3Ended

#5Score 9.29458.4k IMDb votes

In a war-torn world of elemental magic, a young boy reawakens to undertake a dangerous mystic quest to fulfill his destiny as the Avatar, and bring peace to the world.

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood

★9.1Ended

#6Score 9.09260k IMDb votes

Two brothers search for a Philosopher's Stone after an attempt to revive their deceased mother goes awry and leaves them in damaged physical forms.

BBC Life

★9.1Ended

#7Score 9.0350.8k IMDb votes

David Attenborough's legendary BBC crew explains and shows wildlife all over planet earth. From giving an overview of the challenges facing life to hunting the deep sea and various major evolutionary groups of creatures.

The Office

★9.0Ended(2005–2013)

#8Score 9.00855.4k IMDb votes

A mockumentary on a group of typical office workers, where the workday consists of ego clashes, inappropriate behavior, and tedium.

The Blue Planet

★9.0Ended

#9Score 8.9351.6k IMDb votes

Mammoth series, five years in the making, taking a look at the rich tapestry of life in the world's oceans.

Firefly

★8.9Ended(2002–2003)

#10Score 8.89305k IMDb votes

Five hundred years in the future, a renegade crew aboard a small spacecraft tries to survive as they travel the unknown parts of the galaxy and evade warring factions as well as authority agents out to get them.

Death Note

★8.9Ended

#11Score 8.89503.2k IMDb votes

An intelligent high school student goes on a secret crusade to eliminate criminals from the world after discovering a notebook capable of killing anyone whose name is written into it.

Cowboy Bebop 1998

★8.9Ended

#12Score 8.88174.4k IMDb votes

The futuristic misadventures and tragedies of an easygoing bounty hunter and his partners.

Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia

New

Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia

★8.8Ongoing

#13Score 8.79286.6k IMDb votes

Five friends with big egos and small brains are the proprietors of an Irish pub in Philadelphia.

Curb Your Enthusiasm

★8.8Ended(2000– )

#14Score 8.78169.5k IMDb votes

The life and times of Larry David and the predicaments he gets himself into with his friends and complete strangers.

Chappelles Show

★8.8Ended

#15Score 8.7679.7k IMDb votes

Comedian Dave Chappelle hosts this sketch-comedy show that parodies many of the nuances of race and culture.

Berserk

★8.8Ended

#16Score 8.7684.1k IMDb votes

Guts is a skilled swordsman who joins forces with a mercenary group named 'The Band of the Hawk', lead by the charismatic Griffith, and fights with them as they battle their way into the royal court.

House MD

★8.7Ended(2004–2012)

#17Score 8.70602.5k IMDb votes

An antisocial maverick doctor who specializes in diagnostic medicine does whatever it takes to solve puzzling cases that come his way using his crack team of doctors and his wits.

Mad Men

★8.7Ended(2007–2015)

#18Score 8.69295.5k IMDb votes

A drama about one of New York's most prestigious ad agencies at the beginning of the 1960s, focusing on one of the firm's most mysterious but extremely talented ad executives, Donald Draper.

Naruto Shippuden

★8.7Ended

#19Score 8.69233k IMDb votes

Naruto Uzumaki, is a loud, hyperactive, adolescent ninja who constantly searches for approval and recognition, as well as to become Hokage, who is acknowledged as the leader and strongest of all ninja in the village.

Rome

★8.7Ended(2005–2007)

#20Score 8.69207.9k IMDb votes

A down-to-earth account of the lives of both illustrious and ordinary Romans set in the last days of the Roman Republic.

Battlestar Galactica

★8.7Ended(2004–2009)

#21Score 8.68188.9k IMDb votes

When an old enemy, the Cylons, resurface and obliterate the 12 colonies, the crew of the aged Galactica protect a small civilian fleet - the last of humanity - as they journey toward the fabled 13th colony, Earth.

Top Gear

★8.7Ended(2002– )

#22Score 8.68138.5k IMDb votes

The hosts talk about everything car-related. From new cars to how they're fueled, this show has it all.

Six Feet Under

★8.7Ended

#23Score 8.68171.3k IMDb votes

A chronicle of the lives of a dysfunctional family who run an independent funeral home in Los Angeles.

Shield

★8.7Ended(2002–2008)

#24Score 8.6798.9k IMDb votes

Drama series following the lives and cases of dirty cop Vic Mackey and the LAPD unit under his command.

Friday Night Lights

★8.7Ended(2006–2011)

#25Score 8.6680.8k IMDb votes

A drama that follows the lives of the Dillon Panthers, one of the nation's best high school football teams, and their head coach Eric Taylor.

The Thick of It

★8.7Ended

#26Score 8.6129.8k IMDb votes

Set in the corridors of power and spin, the Minister for Social Affairs is continually harassed by Number 10's policy enforcer and dependent on his not-so-reliable team of civil servants.

Dexter

★8.6Ended(2006–2013)

#27Score 8.60959.7k IMDb votes

He's smart. He's lovable. He's Dexter Morgan, America's favorite serial killer, who spends his days solving crimes and nights committing them. Golden Globe winner Michael C. Hall stars in the hit SHOWTIME Original Series.

Arrested Development

★8.6Ended(2003– )

#28Score 8.59347.5k IMDb votes

Level-headed son Michael Bluth takes over family affairs after his father is imprisoned. But the rest of his spoiled, dysfunctional family are making his job unbearable.

Parks and Recreation

★8.6Ended(2009–2015)

#29Score 8.59320.3k IMDb votes

The absurd antics of an Indiana town's public officials as they pursue sundry projects to make their city a better place.

Deadwood

★8.6Ended

#30Score 8.58130.7k IMDb votes

A show set in the late 1800s, revolving around the characters of Deadwood, South Dakota; a town of deep corruption and crime.

Archer

★8.6Ended

#31Score 8.58177.2k IMDb votes

Covert black ops and espionage take a back seat to zany personalities and relationships between secret agents and drones.

Regular Show

★8.6Ended

#32Score 8.5777.2k IMDb votes

The daily surreal adventures of a blue jay and raccoon duo that attempt to deal with their mundane jobs as groundskeepers at the local park.

The Venture Bros

★8.6Ended

#33Score 8.5230.5k IMDb votes

The bizarre escapades of pseudo-heroic scientist Dr. Rusty Venture, his competent, high-strung bodyguard, and his two overenthusiastic sons.

Modern Family

★8.5Ended(2009– )

#34Score 8.50549.5k IMDb votes

Three different but related families face trials and tribulations in their own uniquely comedic ways.

Doctor Who 2005

★8.5Ended

#35Score 8.49264.5k IMDb votes

The further adventures in time and space of the alien adventurer known as the Doctor and their companions from planet Earth.

Community

★8.5Ended(2009–2015)

#36Score 8.49315.4k IMDb votes

A suspended lawyer is forced to enroll in a community college with an eccentric staff and student body.

Sons of Anarchy

★8.5Ended(2008–2014)

#37Score 8.49361.4k IMDb votes

A biker struggles to balance being a father and being involved in an outlaw motorcycle club.

IT Crowd

★8.5Ended

#38Score 8.49178.2k IMDb votes

The comedic misadventures of Roy, Moss and their grifting supervisor Jen, a rag-tag team of IT support workers at a large corporation headed by a hotheaded yuppie.

The Office UK

★8.5Ended

#39Score 8.48134.3k IMDb votes

The story of an office that faces closure when the company decides to downsize its branches. A documentary film crew follow staff and the manager David Brent as they continue their daily lives.

Star Wars The Clone Wars

★8.5(2008–2020)

#40Score 8.48149.1k IMDb votes

Jedi Knights lead the Grand Army of the Republic against the droid army of the Separatists.

Fullmetal Alchemist

★8.5Ended

#41Score 8.4787.5k IMDb votes

When a failed alchemical ritual leaves brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric with severely damaged bodies, they begin searching for the one thing that can save them: the fabled philosopher's stone.

Trailer Park Boys

★8.5Ended

#42Score 8.4658.7k IMDb votes

Three petty felons have a documentary made about their life in a trailer park.

Justice League

★8.5Ended

#43Score 8.4658.3k IMDb votes

Seven of the most formidable heroes form arguably the most powerful team ever.

Samurai Champloo

★8.5(2004–2005)

#44Score 8.4665.3k IMDb votes

Fuu, a waitress who works in a teahouse, rescues two master swordsmen, Mugen and Jin, from their execution to help her find the "samurai who smells of sunflowers."

Long Way Round

★8.6Ended

#45Score 8.4617.4k IMDb votes

Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman embark on a grueling quest to motorbike from London to New York. Going east through Europe, Asia and then to Alaska, they experience different cultures and have to overcome the elements and advers...

Flight Of The Conchords

★8.5Ended

#46Score 8.4670.4k IMDb votes

Bret and Jemaine are Flight of the Conchords, a folk-rock band from New Zealand living in New York City in search of stardom.

Samurai Jack

🔥 HOT★8.5Ended

#47Score 8.4667.9k IMDb votes

A samurai, sent through time, fights to return home and save the world.

Coupling

★8.5Ended

#48Score 8.4550.6k IMDb votes

Six best friends talk about all aspects of sex and relationships on their never-ending quest to find true love.

Air Crash Investigation 2003

★8.8Ongoing

#49Score 8.456.9k IMDb votes

Dramatized reconstruction of real-life air disasters, along with interviews with aviation experts and eyewitnesses.

Boston Legal

★8.5Ended(2004–2008)

#50Score 8.4554.4k IMDb votes

Boston Legal is a spin-off of the long-running David E. Kelley series The Practice (1997), following the exploits of former Practice character Alan Shore (James Spader) at the legal firm of Crane, Poole, and Schmidt.

Score = IMDb rating weighted by vote count (Bayesian average). Shows need at least 1,000 votes to be ranked.

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