From cheeky baby tees and hair clips galore to Lance Bass showing up on every reality show, Y2K is a total mood right now. But it’s not just the fashion trends that are back—the TV shows of the 2000s are majorly worth revisiting, too.
Take one look around at the world, and it seems like a collective nostalgia for the new millennium has taken over. Whether Tim Riggins from Friday Night Lights is the reason all of your crushes are a little rough around the edges or Lizzie McGuire helped you through the hellscape that is middle school, everyone has that one show that feels like a time capsule. Not to be dramatic, but some episodes are straight-up core memories. And that’s just one of the reasons TV shows of the 2000s are so fun to rewatch today—they remind us of the good ol’ days.
Between fashion trends and a growing list of reboots, it’s the perfect time to watch some of the best shows from the early aughts for the first—or tenth—time. Like, maybe instead of watching The Office cringey dinner party episode again, you opt for a tonal shift and start the first season of The Wire.
Thankfully, it’s pretty easy to find these shows on one streaming platform or another. Whether you want to revisit the golden age of MTV reality shows or watch a cult classic you missed when it aired on network TV, here’s a list of 25 of the best TV shows from the 2000s to add to your queue—and where to find every episode.
“Clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose” is the mantra to end all mantras. Inspired by Texas’ high school football fandom, the drama follows the Dillon Panthers on the quest to get to the state championship. But nothing is as straightforward as winning or losing—love, life, and loss gets in the way.
Watch now on netflix
Watch now on Peacock
Before she was Jenna Rink (shout out to Y2K romcom 13 Going on 30), Jennifer Garner was Sydney Bristow, a grad student turned double agent for the CIA. Part action thriller, part sci-fi story, the show is fueled by strong female energy.
Watch now on Amazon Prime
You can thank this reality show for Von Dutch hats getting popular again. Socialites Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie live like small town normies, cooking bacon with an iron, herding cows, and working at Sonic. It’s obviously a total disaster (a.k.a. reality TV gold).
Watch now on Amazon Prime
Ashton Kutcher had everyone looking over their shoulders and asking, “Am I being Punk’d right now?” ’til 2007. The hidden camera show played pranks on unsuspecting celebs like Justin Timberlake, who freaked out thinking he was in trouble with the IRS (shudders).
Watch no on Amazon Prime
While it only lasted two seasons, this grim comedy garnered its own fan base for its colorful quirkiness, witty lines, and an unsettling visual style that’s like stepping into Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. A pie maker named Ned solves murder cases after discovering he can bring dead things back to life. Thing is, there’s a catch…
Watch Now on HBO Max
Four women live in a city…sound like a familiar plotline? Girlfriends is the variation to watch, as the sitcom is genuinely funny, relatable, and stars Tracee Ellis Ross.
Watch Now On Netflix
What happens when a boring high school chemistry teacher teams up with a former student to cook and sell meth from an RV in the desert? Well, the good-natured attempt at building a nest egg for his family leads to a long fight for money and power. And like, a million reasons not to get involved in the cartel.
Watch now on netflix
One of the more serious shows on this list, The Wire has started endless conversations about American cities and the institutions that are supposed to support them. The show focuses on Baltimore’s narcotic scene—dealers, users, and the police on the other side. The prestige drama was among the first of its kind.
Watch now on HBO max
If you were one of the few who didn’t watch Lost when it originally aired, you definitely missed out on a lot of juicy conspiracy theories the morning after each new episode. The story revolves around the survivors of a plane crash stuck on an island—but that’s the only obvious thing. (Or is it?)
Watch now on hulu
“California” by Phantom Planet is a banger, forever and ever. It also instantly transports you to those golden hour, drama-fueled days in Newport Beach with teens Ryan, Seth, Marissa and Summer.
Watch now on HBO Max
While at times tough and heavy to watch, Degrassi confronted a variety of teen issues that felt taboo at the time—think sexuality,bullying, mental health, sex, abuse, just to name a few. The show confronted it all with honesty and a genuinely diverse cast, putting it ahead of its time.
Watch now on Amazon Prime
The mid-aughts were the best years to be vampire-obsessed. Based on the Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris, True Blood shows what happens when vampires live—and love—amongst humans. And yep, a reboot is in the works.
Watch on HBO Max
From bra shopping for the first time and having a crush who doesn’t love you back (hello, Ethan Craft) to styling butterfly clips a million ways, Lizzie McGuire was every preteen’s best friend. The series explored friendship, popularity, and stepping into your own.
Watch now on Disney+
Between the seasons-long mystery of Gossip Girl, crush-worthy characters like Dan and Serena, Upper East Side vibes, and preppy fashion, this was the teen drama of your private school fantasies. And if Gossip Girl was your whole personality, you’ve probably already watched the HBO Max reboot that premiered in July.
Watch now on HBO Max
The ever-glamorous and seductive 1960s period drama follows Don Draper, a smooth ad agency exec grinding it out in New York City. Each episode feels as sleek as a glossy magazine ad.
Watch now on amazon prime
Watch now on Youtube
Skins walked so Euphoria could run. Under a haze of cigarette smoke and a bit grittier than Degrassi, each episode focused on a teen—every other season introduced new characters, or “generations”—and their messy, individual battles like eating disorders and religion.
Stream on Hulu
Back in the early aughts, Lorelai and Rory Gilmore felt like mother-daughter goals. The series follows the single mom and her teenage daughter as they navigate familial relationships and ambitions, building their lives alongside one another.
Watch now On netflix
The adventures of Penny Proud and her best friends were peak 2000s Disney Channel cartoons. After all, Solange and Destiny’s Child recorded the theme song! The peanut butter jelly time is back on, as a revival is set to air in 2022.
Watch now on Disney+
Imagine hailing a cab on the way to dinner only for the van to erupt in rainbow-colored lights. The game show quizzed unsuspecting passengers with trivia questions on the way to their destination. Answer wrong, and you could get booted out of the cab. Savage!
Watch now on Discovery+
Watch Now on Bravo
Where would reality TV be without Lauren Conrad leading the way? A spin-off of Laguna Beach, audiences lived vicariously through LC and her frenemies as they built careers and love lives in Los Angeles.
WATCH NOW ON HULU
WATCH NOW ON MTV
Jason Bateman plays Michael Bluth, a son attempting to keep his now-broke family together (not totally unlike his character in Ozark…). Known for its snappy dialogue, the sitcom is best binged so you can pick up on all the inside jokes.
Watch now on Hulu
Watch now on Netflix
A medical drama, but make it hilarious. Besties J.D. and Turk, played by Zack Braff and Donald Faison, are interns at Sacred Heart Hospital trying to become, like, real doctors. One look inside J.D.’s mind tells us things aren’t going so hot.
In 2020, Braff and Faison started a rewatch podcast, Fake Doctors, Real Friends.
Watch now on Hulu
Watch now on Amazon prime
Lucas and Nathan Scott are half-brothers, but they’re not happy about it. Set in a coastal town called Tree Hill, the series follows their rivalry and how life keeps bringing them together. Plus, Chad Michael Murray is such a cutie.
Watch now on Hulu
Set in the 1980s, this show follows teenager Lindsay Weir as she navigates high school friend groups and attempts to find the elusive balance between fitting in and standing out. Produced by Judd Apatow, the show’s cast included Linda Cardellini, James Franco, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, and Busy Phillips—all who would go on to have stellar careers.
Watch now on Hulu
Watch now on Paramount+
The Office is one of the most quotable shows to have graced TV screens, even if it was totally problematic. The mockumentary sitcom follows the eccentric employees of Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. The job is a drag, but the characters are anything but.
Watch now on Peacock
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