Where were you during the 2000s? Were you digging into The Sopranos and The Wire? Or getting your mind blown by Lost?
Well, some of us were in the trenches watching some short-lived dramas that not enough people remember. They didn’t get respect for their name at their time, and Watch With Us is demanding more respect now.
We’ve put together a list of our favorite, most underrated TV dramas from the 2000s — our list includes the Kristen Chenoweth fantasy-drama Pushing Daisies and the neo-western Deadwood.
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‘Pushing Daisies’ (2007-2009) — HBO Max
Ned (Lee Pace) is a pie maker who possesses a remarkable gift — he can bring dead people back to life with just the touch of his finger. However, his power comes with one important caveat: if he touches the same body again, they go back to being dead. While managing his pie shop by day, Ned moonlights by using his magic touch to solve murders with private investigator Emerson Cod (Chi McBride), and struggling to preserve the life of his resurrected love, Chuck (Anna Friel).
Warm, quirky, unique and, most importantly, unfairly cancelled, Pushing Daisies did cultivate a small but passionate fanbase that sadly wasn’t enough to keep the show going past two seasons. Thankfully, Pushing Daisies can live on, preserved in amber on streaming as a bounty of strange and satisfying delights.
‘Carnivale’ (2003-2005) — HBO Max
In the 1930s Dust Bowl era, teenager Ben Hawkins (Nick Stahl) joins a mysterious traveling circus in the wake of his mother’s death. Run by an unknown entity known as the “Management,” the carnival boasts an eclectic group of people with strange abilities, including Ben, who possesses healing powers. However, after he comes aboard, Ben begins to experience surreal visions that send him searching for a man named Henry Scudder (John Savage).
Impressive visuals, rich atmosphere and compelling themes surrounding good and evil and fate versus free will, Carnivàle wasn’t appreciated enough for its ambitions at the time of release, and it isn’t appreciated enough now. While an occasionally difficult show, it makes for a hugely rewarding experience once you get on its wavelength. Fans of Twin Peaks may find a lot to love in the show (and not just because it features Peaks actor Michael J. Anderson).
‘Deadwood’ (2004-2006) — HBO Max
Set in 1870s Dakota, Deadwood takes place in a lawless town post-Civil War that was not part of any United States territory. Thus, Deadwood, as it’s called, attracts all sorts of lowlifes, criminals and people looking to get rich quickly following a massive gold strike, in addition to those who want to exploit a part of the country where organized law doesn’t exist. The show stars Timothy Olyphant, Ian McShane and Molly Parker.
Deadwood received critical acclaim at the time, but only ran for two seasons — which feels like a crime far more heinous than anything committed by the fictional criminals in the show. The show features a gripping depiction of a frontier town, a diverse cast of colorful characters and terrific screenwriting, making for a meticulous and textured period drama that is as entertaining as it is intelligent.
‘Rome’ (2005-2007) — HBO Max
This sprawling British historical drama takes place in the 1st century BC Rome and is full of characters based on real figures from history, though the narrative centers on the fictional soldiers Lucius Vorenus (Kevin McKidd) and Titus Pullo (Ray Stevenson), who find their lives intertwined with a series of defining historical events. The two endure war, assassinations and family tragedies amidst the likes of Julius Caesar (Ciarán Hinds) and Cleopatra (Lyndsey Marshal).
If you felt like the epic scale Colosseum battles of Gladiator weren’t enough for you, then you’re sure to get your fill with Rome — even though it only ran for two seasons. Though the series starts slow, audiences who stick with it will be richly rewarded; the engaging drama, sumptuous production design and surprising intimacy will leave you wishing we got a season 3.
‘Life on Mars’ (2006-2007) — BritBox
While there are two versions of Life on Mars that aired during the mid-2000s, it’s the original British version that is the most worth your time. Inspired by the “A Stop at Willoughby” episode of Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone, Life on Mars follows Manchester police officer Sam Tyler (John Simm), who finds himself in quite a predicament after a near-fatal car crash: he has traveled back in time to 1973.
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There, he finds himself working his same job but under his predecessor, Detective Chief Inspector Gene Hunt (Philip Glenister), and as Sam struggles to understand what happened to him, neither he nor the audience is quite sure whether he’s in a coma, dead or has really time-traveled. This supernatural crime show may have gone under your radar, but it’s well worth your time now. Life on Mars is innovative, subversive and surprisingly funny, thanks to consistently strong writing.
