- 10 months ago
Can you believe these shows are turning 20? Join us as we count down the most iconic TV series that premiered in 2006! From serial killers to small-town football, workplace comedies to supernatural adventures, this year introduced us to some unforgettable characters and stories that still influence television today. Which of these nostalgic favorites defined your viewing experience back then?
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00:00My name is Dexter, Dexter Morgan.
00:03Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the shows that premiered 20 years ago this year.
00:10We're turning 20 this year, and as part of an ode to 2006, we're counting down the year's greatest series, because that's where it all started.
00:18We're at Four Hearts, Big Loops!
00:23Number 20. The New Adventures of Old Christine.
00:26By the time Seinfeld star Julia Louis-Dreyfus landed her next major hit sitcom, networks were already scaling back their multicam sitcom lineups.
00:34Christine, this is Christine.
00:37Hi, Christine. I know, same name. You can call me Chrissy, so it doesn't get confusing.
00:43Yeah, thanks. I probably won't get confused about my own name.
00:48Outside of a few standouts like The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother, the mid-2000s were all about single-cam comedy.
00:54The New Adventures of Old Christine blends what we loved about the comedy of the previous century with a modern adult sensibility.
01:01I think I'm looking for that.
01:03You had that.
01:05No, not that.
01:07That.
01:08This.
01:09This hilarious series about a middle-aged divorcee navigating single life in the 21st century straddled the line beautifully.
01:17It also ran for five seasons and won Louis-Dreyfus her second Emmy, proving the supposed Seinfeld curse could be broken with the right project.
01:25There's something about lying on the floor, hiding from our lovers. It's telling me we're not in control of our lives as we should be.
01:31Number 19. Jericho.
01:34Although it only lasted two seasons, CBS's post-apocalyptic drama showed us the power of a microcosm.
01:40Are we under attack?
01:41Son, I don't want to hear that word again.
01:44Amid the post-9-11 landscape, the war on terror, and the rise of widespread threats to public safety,
01:50a show about life after nuclear war wouldn't seem like a sure hit.
01:54And it wasn't.
01:56Jericho tapped into current anxieties, winning over a small but devoted audience.
02:01The show was actually saved from cancellation after its first season by, of all things, online petitions.
02:17YouTube was new, social media was nascent, but Jericho premiered at a time when we first became aware of the power of the internet.
02:25It almost looks normal in here. Like the bombs never even happened.
02:31Number 18. Metalocalypse.
02:34Nothing encompasses mid-2000s humor like Adult Swim.
02:38From its countercultural programming to its commitment to weirdness,
02:41the late-night Cartoon Network offering was a foundational millennial text.
02:44Okay, hold on now. So you're telling me that you put these little guys in boiling water and they shriek and they turn red and they die?
02:51Yes, sir.
02:52That is the most metal thing I ever heard in my whole life.
02:56High fives.
02:57With Metalocalypse, absurdist humor, distinctive animation, graphic content, and a genuinely awesome metal soundtrack come together.
03:04Happy birthday.
03:08Death Clock, the fictional band at its center, experienced a fame so huge that it practically threatens to destroy the world.
03:15In the age of reality TV and fame for its own sake, the show actually had a lot to say about the contemporary pop culture climate.
03:22Dude, it was a fan attack. That's what Afton said warned us about.
03:26Why do fans feel that they have to do that? I mean, what? To get noticed?
03:30I know. There's so many nice kids out there. Just a couple of them gonna attack you. It spoils it for everybody.
03:36I know. It's sad. It's sad for them.
03:38It is sad.
03:39Number 17. Torchwood.
03:42Spun off from the longtime British stalwart Doctor Who, this science fiction, Torchwood, takes the interdimensional terrors of that franchise and drags them into the 21st century.
03:51As you Pete said, I think I better go.
03:53I think we've gone past that stage.
03:55Captain Jack Harkness is a cheeky, time-traveling action hero who has a touch of the anti-hero in him.
04:00Fairies are shy, you see.
04:03But I know in my heart that they're friendly, loving creatures.
04:17Wrong. She always gets it wrong.
04:20He is a new, more modern hero for viewers who have lived through Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the onslaught of late 90s and early 2000s sci-fi pulp series.
04:29The charmingly dated special effects and the angsty fanfic-friendly back and forth between the characters just make it all the more lovable in hindsight.
04:36When do you get to go home?
04:38You seem to live here.
04:41You don't, do you?
04:42Gotta be ready.
04:4421st century's when it all changes.
04:46And I hate to commute.
04:49Where do you sleep?
04:51I don't.
04:52Doesn't I get lonely at night?
04:54Number 16. Life on Mars.
04:56Cashing in on the 30-year nostalgia cycle, this BBC mystery series tosses its hero, Detective Inspector Sam Tyler, back to the 1970s.
05:05This is, this, this is not my car.
05:08I was, I was driving a jeep.
05:12You were driving a military vehicle?
05:14He must adjust to the change while he tries to resume his police work and figure out what happened to him.
05:19In a time when TV was starting to embrace ambiguity and morally gray characters, Life on Mars strikes a balance.
05:25Hang on, where are you going?
05:28I'm gonna pull Trent in.
05:30His lawyer will throw the bucket, you go.
05:33I'll plant a blood-stained dagger on him.
05:35I'm gonna nick him for every outstanding murder in the Division, including the Maple Lane poisonings of 1883.
05:41Yes, it's a case of the week series.
05:43It also teases out deeply philosophical arcs about time and existence over its two seasons.
05:48Like many shows that are slightly ahead of their time, Life on Mars was a cult hit.
05:53I want to go home.
05:58Don't be such a Jesse.
06:01Go home later.
06:03Number 15.
06:04The Hills.
06:06Depending on your perspective, the mid-2000s were either the height of reality TV,
06:11or the beginning of the end of television as an art form.
06:14Woo!
06:15What time is your Vogue thing today?
06:16Five o'clock.
06:17Are you nervous?
06:19Yeah.
06:19But The Hills made it hard to lump it in with similar series.
06:24MTV's glossy docu-soap followed young Californians chasing careers in the entertainment industry.
06:29What are you doing here?
06:30Brent got me tickets.
06:32Shut up.
06:33He was like, do you want to go to a fashion show tonight?
06:35And I was like, yeah.
06:36And he's like, in the after party?
06:37I was like, yeah.
06:38The semi-scripted show was never shy about making us wonder what was real and what was fake.
06:44But few other shows capture the zeitgeist the way this one does.
06:47The fashions, the tech, and the music are 2006 to their core.
06:52If The Hills is anything, it is a time capsule.
06:56Goodbye, I love you.
06:58Goodbye, I love you.
06:59Number 14.
07:00Top Chef.
07:02Reality competition exploded in the 2000s.
07:04When I'm cooking, I'm focused.
07:06It's not playtime for me.
07:08While critics and audiences wondered if the cheaply made, sensationalistic network programs
07:12were making us crueler and dumber, cable network Bravo had a different vision.
07:17In 2004, Project Runway introduced a level of prestige to the unscripted genre.
07:23Top Chef continued that trend.
07:25The drama was only a side dish.
07:27When did I ever say that tonight?
07:28Every time.
07:29The main course was the craft, skills, and passion of the show's ensemble of hopeful chefs.
07:36These people weren't just fame seekers.
07:38They were experts in their field.
07:40Raw, with little in the way of stylization, Top Chef's early days represented a sea change
07:45in what the genre could be.
07:47As of 2026, the show will have aired 23 seasons.
07:51Please pack your nines and go.
07:55Number 13.
07:56Eureka.
07:56The sci-fi channel built its reputation for quirky, eccentric genre programming with shows
08:01like Battlestar Galactica and the Stargate franchise.
08:04Eureka, which premiered in the summer of 2006, followed the residents of a town full of researchers
08:10making potentially life-altering leaps forward in science.
08:13If Walter Perkins created some sort of tachyon collision, then time, as we know it, ceases
08:19to exist and the laws of physics break down at the most fundamental level.
08:23And if we don't stop this, no one will be safe.
08:25You know, this is why I hate this town.
08:28What sets it apart, and perhaps dates it, is its relatively optimistic and generous view
08:33of new technology.
08:34Good God, I might never leave.
08:38Nowadays, some of it plays like a kind of anti-Black Mirror.
08:42Going for warm vibes over cheap twists and cynicism, Eureka feels like a type of science
08:47fiction show that doesn't really exist anymore.
08:49I almost lost.
08:51Eureka is still facing imminent disaster.
08:54Number 12, Brothers and Sisters.
08:57When ABC's deeply earnest family drama premiered, TV was on the cusp of its second golden age.
09:03Suddenly, it was a viable, if not desirable medium for movie stars.
09:07So, isn't this nice?
09:09Yeah, we all are.
09:10It's been so long.
09:11With an ensemble led by Oscar winner Sally Field, Brothers and Sisters already felt like
09:16a throwback when it aired.
09:18But it took the trappings of the genre and retrofitted them to reflect the politics of
09:22the moment.
09:23The characters' connections and political beliefs informed a lot of the conflict, placing
09:35the story firmly in the mid-2000s post-9-11 context.
09:39Brothers and Sisters wasn't the kind of show made for binging.
09:42It was thoughtful and sincere, a showcase for its acting and writing.
09:46Oh, I just realized your show.
09:49Are they okay with you?
09:50Yeah.
09:51You know, I didn't miss anything.
09:52I was right where I was supposed to be.
09:55Number 11, The IT Crowd.
09:58Before Marvel and Stranger Things helped make nerd culture mainstream, it was just Maurice
10:02and Roy alone in the shabby basement of Renham Industries.
10:05Oh, four!
10:06I mean five!
10:08I mean fire!
10:10With its focus on technology, specifically the IT department of a vaguely conceived corporation,
10:15the IT crowd feels like a nostalgic bath in a time when the internet wasn't quite so
10:20unhinged.
10:21I'll put on a classified ad online.
10:25A classified?
10:26Yeah, like a Lonely Hearts thing.
10:28But I'll make it sound psychotic and I still bet I'll get a bazillion replies.
10:31Oh, dear God.
10:32It's a workplace comedy where the thrust of the jokes comes from awkward social interactions
10:37and tech issues.
10:38Despite the multicam format already being on its way out, the live studio audience gave this
10:43BAFTA-winning series even more life.
10:45It also launched Richard Aiuwadi and Chris O'Dowd's careers.
10:49Well, they do have some strong arguments.
10:52Carrie Moss, first scene in Carrie.
10:56Oh, okay.
10:58Number 10, America's Got Talent.
11:01American Idol might have come first, but did that show give you tap dancers, ventriloquists,
11:06and dancing cows?
11:07Everybody, dance now!
11:11There you go!
11:15We think not.
11:17America's Got Talent opened our eyes to just how many amazing abilities people have, or in
11:22some cases, think they have.
11:23Suddenly, gimmicks and skills that we generally see in the failed auditions montage on Idol
11:34were the main event.
11:35In its early days, AGT wasn't quite so polished.
11:38There's a ramshackle quality to it that's charming.
11:41Before fame could be found in internet virality, the performers on this show were doing this
11:46for a little airtime and the possibility of starting a career.
11:49The show was a ratings success, and how could it not be?
11:52Where else were we going to see some of this?
12:02Number 9, Ugly Betty.
12:05The devil may have worn Prada, but he had nothing on Wilhelmina Slater.
12:09I don't like it when she smiles.
12:11It's so metallic.
12:13America Ferrara plays Betty Suarez, whose style challenges make her stand out in the high-powered,
12:18trend-chasing world of fashion.
12:20That's so stupid.
12:21You know, I come into Manhattan every single day for work, and it's times like these where
12:25I feel like the E-Train dropped me off on Mars or something.
12:28Where I come from, people like their fish cooked, and they dress up for Halloween.
12:33Not always for the right reasons, though.
12:35But this camp-fueled, melodramatic comedy soap had a lot to teach us about how ambition
12:40and success are directly tied to a strong sense of self.
12:43This positive message did not keep the show from tossing out insult humor with a quickness.
12:49When it came to humor and viciousness, Ugly Betty had its cake and ate it, too.
12:54Looks like I'm not the only one doing a little last-minute Thanksgiving shopping.
12:58A carton of cigarettes and a bottle of vodka?
13:01You have your traditions, I have mine.
13:03Number 8, Hannah Montana.
13:05Miley Cyrus' breakthrough role introduced her as a multi-talented performer.
13:09I need two incredible seats for tomorrow night.
13:11Sorry, I'm sold out.
13:13Dad?
13:14Hey, think about it this way, Miley.
13:15He goes out with the girl, they fall in love, they get married, he moves out.
13:20You've got the tickets.
13:21As an actress, she could hold down a sitcom on her own.
13:25As a singer, she had the makings to be as famous as her character's pop star alter ego.
13:29She made good on both of those promises.
13:32Miley Cyrus' charmed life gave Disney Channel viewers an aspirational figure who made them
13:37laugh and went through the same typical teenage problems.
13:40This is so unfair.
13:43Sad face.
13:45Not buying it face.
13:47There's also a bit of wistful nostalgia to be found in the fact that Hannah Montana's
13:52double life would not be possible in today's pop culture climate, if it ever was.
13:56I say, I say, you ain't seen nothing yet.
14:00Whoa!
14:02Number 7, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.
14:05Fresh off the West Wing, writer-creator Aaron Sorkin turned his indelible optimism
14:10away from Washington and toward television.
14:14We're doing it.
14:17Matt, you can get another director.
14:19You can get someone good.
14:20I don't want someone else.
14:21I want you.
14:22Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip follows the creative team behind an SNL-like sketch comedy series.
14:28I got a laugh at the table read when I asked for the butter in the dinner sketch.
14:31I didn't get it at the dress.
14:32What did I do wrong?
14:33It's one laugh out of 30 you're going to get tonight.
14:35What did I do wrong?
14:37You asked for a laugh.
14:39Unlike, say, another show with a similar premise that premiered this year, Studio 60 is more
14:44interested in espousing the good TV can do than mirroring the exaggerated humor of sketch.
14:49Like Sorkin's other work, it is a rosy, erudite, and spirited testament to the power of empathy
14:54and people rising above their political differences to listen to one another.
14:59Unfortunately, it feels quaint now.
15:01I have no reason to trust you and every reason not to.
15:03Why?
15:04You work in television.
15:05Call down for my car, please.
15:07Number 6.
15:08Big Love
15:09Bill Paxton stars in this HBO series about a polygamous marriage set among the suburban
15:14Mormonism of Utah.
15:15Our dear Father in heaven, we present ourselves unto thee and offer thanks for blessings bestowed.
15:22Its masterstroke is how it presents an easily misunderstood alternative lifestyle and enriches
15:27the characters with humanity and complexity.
15:29What are you doing here?
15:31It was our night.
15:32It was.
15:33Didn't you get my message?
15:34See the post-it?
15:35Post-it?
15:36I traded with Barb.
15:38Unlike many dramas of the era, it was studied and careful.
15:42Forgoing bombastic twists for the sake of shock, awe, and water cooler bait, Big Love
15:47often gets forgotten because it's sandwiched between HBO hits like The Sopranos and Game
15:51of Thrones.
15:52But it only bolstered the network's cornering of the market on prestige primetime excellence.
15:57Sometimes I wake up at 4 a.m. just thinking about all the responsibilities.
16:02Number 5.
16:03Psych
16:04This USA offering mixes the fun of the buddy comedy with cozy murder mystery trappings.
16:09This is hard to explain, but I'm going to give it a shot.
16:12You and I are opening our own private detective agency.
16:20Oh.
16:21See?
16:23No explanation necessary.
16:24Let me get my coat.
16:26Before grim anti-heroes became the norm, John Spencer and his photographic memory were utterly
16:31endearing despite his macabre work.
16:33Psych was the first show to reflect USA Network's rebrand.
16:37The channel didn't have much of an identity before the mid-2000s.
16:40Here, let me read your palm.
16:42How about just one finger?
16:44But once it turned its focus toward brisk dramedies popularized by endearing characters,
16:49its programming set a new tone and carved out its own identity.
16:52Even though grittier shows would soon come to the fore, Sykes' audience was devoted enough
16:57to make it last eight seasons.
16:58Let me get this straight.
17:00I left in the middle of work to come check out a case, which is not a case, in which we
17:04likely won't get paid.
17:05Who are you kidding right now?
17:06I pulled you out of a Starbucks, where you were pretending to finish your route that you
17:09actually finished yesterday, so we could do a tiny favor for Juliet that will grant us
17:14much larger favors in the future.
17:16Number 4.
17:17Heroes.
17:182006 was just before the Marvel Cinematic Universe blew the superhero genre wide open
17:24and took it into the mainstream.
17:26This is Claire Bennett.
17:27That was attempt number six.
17:30Heroes did not have the surefire template of the MCU to follow.
17:34When you compare it to everything that came after, it's so original, steeped in a rich
17:38original mythos.
17:39It blended high-flying adventure with grounded human storytelling.
17:43It happened two more times.
17:45Sometimes I'm falling, sometimes I'm flying, but sometimes you're in them.
17:48I don't have time for this now.
17:50They're not just dreams, Nathan.
17:52Employing a classic TV structure, he was spring-loaded with enough cliffhangers and story engines
17:57to generate years of episodes.
17:59Regardless of how the show ended or how its misguided revival further tarnished its reputation,
18:05Season 1 of Heroes was an instant classic.
18:08Save the cheerleader, save the world.
18:09I'm sorry.
18:10I'm sorry.
18:11I'm sorry.
18:11I'm sorry.
18:13Number 3.
18:14Friday Night Lights
18:15Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose wasn't just Coach Taylor's motto.
18:20It was the entire ethos behind Friday Night Lights.
18:23People are expecting.
18:25People are expecting quite a bit.
18:30I see us winning out there tonight.
18:33I have no trouble seeing that.
18:35There was a realism to the show that could take you by surprise, considering how lovely
18:39and earnest it was.
18:40Centering the high school football team of a small Texas town, the show captured this community
18:44in an endearing and heartwarming way that never felt too naive.
18:48Start Saracen.
18:49Start Saracen.
18:50I cannot start Matt Saracen.
18:51Start voodoo.
18:52I don't want to start voodoo.
18:55Start me.
18:56I would love to start you.
18:59It wasn't afraid to put its cast of characters through really tough times, but they always
19:04had a home and a strong moral center to cling to when life got hard.
19:08And it's a touchdown!
19:10Touchdown, Dillon Panthers!
19:13Number 2.
19:1430 Rock
19:15Tina Fey took her experiences writing for Saturday Night Live and gave it an exaggerated sitcom
19:20makeover.
19:21Alfredo, 2pm?
19:23I'm not dressed for that.
19:24You're dressed for Burger King.
19:25Should we make it Burger King?
19:27The result is a breathless, politically incorrect marathon of outrageous humor.
19:31Hi, I work with Tracy Jordan and I think he's having a reaction to some of the medication
19:35you put him on.
19:36Ugh, I was afraid this might happen.
19:38You know, he's on so many different neuroleptics and tricyclics that there's no telling how
19:43they'll mix.
19:44But what can you do?
19:45Medicine's not a science.
19:47If Sex and the City's Carrie Bradshaw was the ideal single gal in New York, Liz Lemon
19:52was her frazzled workaholic counterpart.
19:54You didn't exactly want to be her, but she was shockingly relatable.
19:58That guy wanted to buy you a drink.
20:00Really?
20:01I already have a drink.
20:02Did you think you'd buy me mozzarella sticks?
20:0430 Rock feels like a sitcom pitched to faltering attention spans.
20:08The jokes come at a relentless pace.
20:11By the time you've finished processing one, three more have flown by.
20:14Honestly, the pacing would be just as at home on TV now.
20:18Why are you wearing a tux?
20:22It's after six.
20:23What am I, a farmer?
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20:38Number one.
20:41Dexter.
20:42In the age of the TV antihero, forensic expert turned serial killer Dexter Morgan is in a
20:47class all his own.
20:48Look.
20:50No.
20:51Uh, yes.
20:55No, no.
20:56It's horrible, isn't it?
20:57Isn't it?
20:59Please.
20:59Post-Tony Soprano, but before Don Draper and Walter White, Dexter is all about playing
21:05both sides, good and bad, against the morally gray middle.
21:08I have a dark side, too.
21:13What?
21:13I do.
21:15Somehow I doubt that.
21:16Atmospheric and genuinely suspenseful, the show was a shock to the TV audience's system.
21:22This is what premium cable could do better than any network.
21:26From this point on, we would only see more flawed protagonists.
21:30Antiheroes unbound by the law and morality, who tested boundaries and made us reconsider
21:35what we really know about people.
21:37I've lived in darkness a long time.
21:40Over the years, my eyes adjusted until the dark became my world and I could see.
21:45Which of these shows hit you right in the nostalgia?
21:48Tell us in the comments.