10 Hit TV Shows From The 2000s That Nobody Talks About Today

Ah, the ye-old 2000s, how could we ever forsake thee? The rise of prestige TV in this decade changed the television landscape forever, ushering in undeniable classics like "Breaking Bad" and "Mad Men." At the same time, the 2000s saw the continued popularity of deliciously dramatic teen shows like "One Tree Hill" and "The O.C.," which cemented the mid-aughts aesthetic into our cultural consciousness. And we can't forget the release of beloved sitcoms like "The Office" and "Arrested Development," which folks still reference all the time.

However, for every 2000s show that has gone down in the TV hall of fame, there are plenty more that have largely fallen off our radar. These shows were popular when they were on air, but lost traction as a result of cancellations, lack of availability on streaming platforms, or any number of other factors we can't quite put our fingers on. While they're not all masterpieces, we're keen on reviving the discourses that have ceased to exist. Keep reading to discover (or be reminded of) 10 hit shows from the 2000s that nobody talks about today.

"Mutant X" is a superhero show that flamed out before the superhero boom of the 2010s. Confusingly, though it's a Marvel series, it's not part of the "X-Men" canon, nor is it related to the comic also called "Mutant X." The show follows a group of mutants (but not the X-Men kind!) who have superpowers thanks to a shady corporation called Genomex.

Adam Kane (John Shea) is the geneticist whose experiments created these mutants, and he founded Mutant X to rescue other mutants from the clutches of Genomex and teach them how to use their powers. Other members include Jesse (Forbes March), who can transform his molecules to become dense or transparent, Shalimar (Victoria Pratt), who has cat-like abilities, Emma (Lauren Lee Smith), who can transmit and receive emotions from other people, and Brennan (Victor Webster), who can create electricity.

Despite cheap special effects and cheesy writing, "Mutant X" was a hit, and ran for three seasons. As such, its cancellation was the result of business deals and legal issues, not low ratings. Fox, which owned the rights to The X-Men, sued Marvel for copyright infringement and unfair competition. In response, Marvel countersued, claiming the two projects were different. Marvel and Fox eventually settled their suit, though Tribune Entertainment, which syndicated the series, and Fireworks Entertainment, the Canadian producers of the show, remained in a legal dispute. "Mutant X" was cancelled in 2004 when Fireworks Entertainment disbanded, though it's now available to stream on Prime Video (along with many other sci-fi gems).

If you weren't locked into Fox's TV schedule in the early 2000s, it's possible you've never even heard of "Dark Angel," a brief but massive hit that never reached its full potential. The show was created by James Cameron, alongside Charles H. Eglee, a TV producer best known for "Dexter" and "The Walking Dead." (Cameron and Eglee previously worked together on the camp classic "Piranha II: The Spawning.")

Jessica Alba plays the lead character, Max Guevara, a young woman living in dystopian Seattle in the near future that is (or was) 2019. Max grew up in a shady military facility where she was genetically engineered and trained to be a supersoldier, and now she's trying to stay under the radar while seeking out her fellow experiments. Michael Weatherly plays Logan Cale, a journalist who wants Max to help him uncover conspiracies.

Banking on the show's broad appeal to the politically apathetic, Fox broadcast the "Dark Angel" premiere instead of the first presidential debate. This gamble paid off, and the series debuted on Fox to the sweet tune of 17.4 million viewers. In the end, "Dark Angel" Fox decided to bail on their expensive promise. The pilot reportedly cost around $10-12 million to produce, while subsequent episodes had a budget of $1.3 million. In the second season, the show was moved to a less desirable Friday night time slot, and Fox decided to forgo a planned Season 3.

It's hard to imagine "Joan of Arcadia" airing today, as its good-natured, extremely earnest premise feels very much like a product of its time. Amber Tamblyn plays the titular character, a teenage girl who stands apart from her peers for one pretty bizarre reason: she can talk to God. As in the famous Joan Osborne song, God appears to Amber in the form of ordinary people she sees on the street. He asks her to complete seemingly inconsequential missions that reveal themselves to be more impactful than initially thought.

Sometimes Joan listens to God, and other times she questions him, as happens with most teens and their authority figures. She lives in Arcadia with her police chief father, Will (Joe Mantegna of "Criminal Minds"), her mother Helen (Mary Steenburgen), an art teacher, her older brother Kevin (Jason Ritter), who was paralyzed in a car accident, and her nerdy younger brother, Luke (Michael Welch). Tamblyn is excellent in the role of this suddenly saintly teen, and clever writing balances light-hearted humor and whimsy with more philosophical concerns.

Despite airing on Friday evenings, the first season of "Joan of Arcadia" received an average of 10 million viewers. That average went down to 8 million during Season 2, and those numbers, in addition to the fact that the median age for viewers was 53.9, led CBS to give "Joan of Arcadia" the axe. The subsequent fan campaign failed to make an impact.

"The 4400" is sort of like one really long "The X-Files" episode, though it had much less of a cultural impact. The USA series, which premiered in 2004, follows a group of 4400 people who were abducted over the last century, beginning in 1946. Though they disappeared at different times and from different places, they all magically appear — via a gleaming ball of light — at the shores of a remote lake.

The National Threat Assessment Command assigns two Mulder and Scully-type agents to solve the mystery. Tom Baldwin (Joel Gretsch) has a lot of family drama and is willing to fight his bosses if he disagrees with them. Diana Skouris (Jacqueline McKenzie) is the more skeptical, logical of the pair, and uses her brain rather than brute force. Tom and Diana's investigation grows more complex when some of the 4400 begin developing supernatural abilities.

The show was created by Scott Peters, who worked as a writer for "Outer Limits," and René Echevarria, who worked on "Deep Space Nine," and its best episodes harken back to those classic science fiction shows. "The 4400" debuted with 7.4 million viewers, which at the time was a record for a basic cable premiere. However, the show was one of the many victims of the 2007-2008 writers' strike, and it was cancelled that year alongside USA's Stephen King series, "The Dead Zone." CW created a reboot of the series in 2021, but it was cancelled after the first season.

Though "Southland" is a very respected TV show, it never reached the level of popularity of some of its police drama peers, and it rarely gets mentioned today. It's not a flashy, formulaic cop show, and is more in the vein of prestige series like "The Wire" and "The Shield" than "CSI" or "Law and Order." Although it began on NBC, the network cancelled the show after its first season, after which it was picked up by TNT, allowing "Southland" to become the prestige drama it was always meant to be.

"Southland" is a character-driven drama that centers on the lives of LAPD officers both on and off the clock. Ben McKenzie plays Ben Sherman, a rookie from Beverly Hills. His training officer, John Cooper (Michael Cudlitz), is a closeted gay man, Detective Lydia Adams (Regina King) is occupied with caring for her mother, while Detective Sammy Bryant (Shawn Hatosy) faces a crumbling home life.

The series was critically acclaimed, winning two Emmys for Stunt Coordination and receiving a Peabody Award. The John Wells-produced series attracted 1.8 million viewers for its Season 5 finale, but that wasn't enough to warrant a sixth season. "We are enormously proud of Southland, which stands as one of the best police dramas ever made," TNT wrote at the time of its cancellation.

One of many prestige television shows nobody talks about anymore, "Californication" sees David Duchovny at his worst. Not as an actor, mind you, but as the self-destructive character he plays in the show. Duchovny is Hank Moody, a novelist who moves to Los Angeles along with his rolodex of bad habits. A long-suffering alcoholic and sex addict, Hank's vices prevent him from maintaining close personal relationships. His erratic behavior creates strife between him and his sort-of-serious situationship, Karen (Natascha McElhone), and their daughter, Becca (Madeleine Martin). 

"Californication" is filled with references to rock music (though the Red Hot Chili Peppers sued the show for the titular references), and the series explores the darker side of the rockstar lifestyle. Like many of his male contemporaries in this era of prestige TV, Hank is an anti-hero, not someone you'd look up to, or even root for. 

The Showtime series marked a turning point for Duchovny's post- "X-Files" career (it garnered him a Golden Globe), though that beloved show is still far better remembered than "Californication." Indeed, though the latter ran for an impressive seven seasons, it hasn't retained cultural relevancy like some of Showtime's more iconic series. Hank Moody never received a place in the anti-hero hall of fame alongside legendary TV protagonists like Walter White (Bryan Cranston) or Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini).

As legend has it, the incredibly popular sitcom "Seinfeld" put a curse on its cast. The so-called "Seinfeld curse" refers to the fact that Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jason Alexander, and Michael Richards all starred in sitcoms that failed despite their "Seinfeld" celebrity. Finally, in 2006, "The New Adventures of Old Christine" premiered and ran for five seasons, breaking the curse. "I'm not really somebody who believes in curses, but curse this, baby!" Louis-Dreyfus said upon receiving her Emmy.

Louis-Dreyfus plays the titular Christine, a divorced mom living in Los Angeles. She's still close with her ex, Richard (Clark Gregg), and they co-parent their son, also named Richard (Trevor Gagnon). Christine is insecure, self-obsessed, and neurotic, and constantly compares herself to other people. This becomes particularly troublesome when Richard starts dating a younger woman, also named Christine and henceforth dubbed "New Christine." Christine lives with her immature younger brother, Matthew (Hamish Linklater), and has a one-sided beef with the moms at her son's private school. Wanda Sykes plays her long-suffering best friend, Barb.

"The New Adventures of Old Christine" was relatively successful, surviving the 2007-2008 writers' strike and winning Louis-Dreyfus her second Emmy. However, it hasn't maintained much popularity since it went off-air in 2010. TV watchers are more likely to think of her multi-award-winning turn as Selina Meyer in the cringe comedy "Veep" before they remember "The New Adventures of Old Christine."

Raise your hand if you've ever thought about the sitcom "Yes, Dear" in the last decade. We're waiting. "Yes, Dear," which premiered in 2000, was created by Alan Kirschenbaum and Gregory Garcia, the latter of whom went on to create "My Name is Earl" and "Raising Hope." The series follows Greg (Anthony Clark) and Kim Warner (Jean Louisa Kelly), parents to son Sammy (Anthony and Michael Bain).

Greg works in the film industry, while Kim stays home to look after Sammy. Her job proves to be the more stressful of the two, as she's obsessed with being the perfect mother and doing everything right. Complications arise with the arrival of Christine (Liza Snyder) and Jimmy (Mike O'Malley), Kim's sister and brother-in–law. Christine and Jimmy are the parents of two energetic sons, and their approach to parenting is much more relaxed.

"Yes, Dear" was eviscerated by critics, who found it uninspiring. Variety wrote that "it comes off as merely stale and immature," while the Orlando Sentinel called it "frightfully dull." However, audiences found less to complain about, and the show racked up 13.9 million viewers in its second season. The show was almost cancelled at the end of Season 5, thanks to low ratings, but returned for a truncated sixth season. Though the series has been largely forgotten, a few dedicated fans are trying to bring about a revival. They've created a Change.Org petition to make the show available to stream.

"Heroes" had plenty of avid fans when it was on air, but have you heard anyone discussing it recently? Let's take a trip down memory lane. When it premiered in 2006, "Heroes" was the talk of the town. With a huge ensemble cast and sprawling, ambitious storytelling, the NBC series offers a unique take on the superhero genre. "Heroes" follows a seemingly random group of people who develop superpowers following a solar eclipse. As they learn to manage their new abilities, they come to understand that they're not alone, and that their powers may be the only thing standing between the world and a total cataclysm.

"Heroes" functions as its own comic book universe, with every season encompassing a volume or two with intertwined storylines. When we first meet our heroes, they're having isolated experiences, but as we zoom out, we begin to see how they're all connected. In addition to the heroes, we also follow a shadowy organization trying to stop the superpowered individuals and a scientist looking into their origins.

"Heroes" was a massive hit for NBC, attracting as many as 14 million viewers per episode, as twisty storylines and shocking reveals kept viewers coming back for more. As is the case with most shows that began in the mid-2000s, "Heroes" suffered as a result of the 2007-2008 writers' strike. More than half of Season 2's episodes were slashed, and carefully planned storylines became convoluted. After a ratings drop in Seasons 3 and 4, the show was cancelled.

The NBC series "Crossing Jordan" was created by Tim Kring, who would go on to create "Heroes" a few years later. Though it's one of the first crime procedurals to have a woman as its main protagonist, "Crossing Jordan" is rarely referenced today. The show follows Dr. Jordan Cavanaugh (Jill Hennessy), a forensic pathologist who solves crimes in Boston. The series also features Miguel Ferrer as Jordan's wise-cracking boss, Mahershala Ali as a medical examiner, and Kathryn Hahn as a grief counsellor in one of her first TV roles.

The show doesn't strive to create a realistic image of crime-solving, but that's part of the fun. Jordan's mother was killed, leaving her determined to stick her nose in as many murder cases as possible. She's unpredictable and willing to bend the rules to get to the truth. She often works with Detective Woody Hoyt (Jerry O'Connell), who doesn't share her propensity for coloring outside the lines. (They also have an appealing slow-burn romance, of course.)

The show was a modest hit for NBC, averaging 12.8 million viewers in its first season. (For comparison, that year's top show was "Friends," which topped out at 24.5 million viewers.) "Crossing Jordan" ran for a very respectable six seasons, going off-air in 2007 –- just in time for the writers' strike. The series is currently streaming on Prime Video, waiting to be discovered by a new generation of viewers.