Drama TV · 2000s Ranked
Best Drama TV Shows of the 2000s, Ranked by IQ Score
The decade that established prestige TV as a register. Ranked by IQ Score.
The 2000s in TV drama is the decade prestige TV emerged as a distinct register. The Sopranos, The Wire, Mad Men, Six Feet Under, Deadwood, HBO's first-decade catalog rewrote what long-form television could be.
Anchor picks: The Wire (2002-08) is the canonical entry. The Sopranos (1999-2007) is the founding text of the prestige-TV era. Mad Men (2007-15) opened in the late 2000s and defined the period drama register. Deadwood (2004-06) is the catalog's most-formally-disciplined Western entry. Breaking Bad began in 2008 and would define the 2010s.
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202 ranked-by-IQ lists, filmographies, decade hubs, year hubs, character rankings, streaming-platform lists, and editorial curations. All scored on the same published rubric.
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