Top 10 TV Shows That Are Turning 20 This Year

Anyone who says that you need a friendly and kindhearted protagonist for a successful TV show has clearly never watched “House.” Dr. Gregory House was brilliantly performed by Hugh Laurie, but if he existed in real life he’d probably be one of your least favorite people. He was annoyed by most humans, and didn’t trust anyone but himself. He also had a serious addiction to painkillers. And yet, from the moment the show premiered in 2004, we all loved House - the character and the show. So did critics! The show received 25 Emmy nominations over the course of its eight seasons, winning 5.

This MTV hit, hosted by rapper Xzibit, took people with rundown cars and gave them unbelievable auto makeovers. It’s an admittedly simple premise, but one that quickly entered the zeitgeist, inspiring the names of real life businesses throughout the country. Two years into the show’s run, Viacom was already sending cease and desist letters to multiple businesses using the “Pimp my…” phrasing. Although the series has since received criticism from its participants over how real the “pimping” of their ride was, it was an incredibly popular show in the mid-aughts.

Fans of “The Practice” might’ve been sad when the show ended in 2004, but while they were losing a very good legal drama, they were about to get a great legal dramedy. “Boston Legal” carried over a few characters from the final season of “The Practice” and set them in a different kind of show. It still had all of the intense legal drama and emotional speeches that its predecessor was known for, but it also added some welcome (and witty) levity to the mix. It also expanded on the relationship between James Spader’s Alan Shore and William Shatner’s Denny Crane, making them one of TV’s greatest duos.

Mark Wahlberg was already a big star by 2004, and “Entourage” gave a peek into his world. The show was conceived as a lighthearted, fictionalized take on the actor’s rise in Hollywood. If you know anything about Wahlberg’s past, the “lighthearted” bit here is particularly important. For 8 seasons, the Marky Mark-inspired Vincent Chase and his gang did Hollywood like only they could, and took on their own lives as characters, separate from their real world inspiration. Jeremy Piven became the show’s stand out star, earning praise from critics and fans alike for his role as Vince’s agent, Ari Gold.

Who can forget that long blond hair and those iconic sunglasses? No, we’re not talking about Pamela Anderson, we’re talking about Duane “Dog” Chapman - better known to the world as Dog the Bounty Hunter. For eight years “Dog”, his wife Beth, their son, and the rest of Dog’s crew chased down those who had jumped bail. But we didn’t just watch to see him hunt folks down. As with any good reality series, “Dog the Bounty Hunter” took us into the lives of this loving and volatile family, and we loved every second of it. Yes, there was plenty of controversy, but it only helped to cement the show’s place in reality television history.

It might seem crazy now, but in its day, “The L Word” was groundbreaking. The first recurring lesbian character made her debut in 1987 on “Hill Street Blues,” but Ellen’s now-iconic coming out episode still met major backlash ten years later. By 2004, lesbian and bisexual women still were not represented on TV in any real, meaningful way - until “The L Word.” The series set out to change the status quo with an ensemble cast of bisexual and lesbian characters. It was uncompromising in its portrayal of lesbian sex, and regularly tackled controversial topics relevant to the LGBTQ+ community. Though it wasn’t always perfect in its handling of sensitive subjects, fans appreciated its refreshing depiction of a reality never before seen on the small screen.

Yes, it’s really been 20 years since we were all introduced to the women of Wisteria Lane. This show started off with a bang, and for 8 seasons we followed along as one mystery after another unfolded in the fictional town of Fairview. Births, deaths, affairs, murders, kidnapping - there was always some kind of juicy drama to keep us glued to our televisions week after week. “Desperate Housewives” remained incredibly popular throughout its run - no mean feat for such a long-running show. In fact, along with “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Lost”, it helped turn around the fortunes of the ABC network.

Shows that get canceled after just three seasons don’t usually go down in history as among the best television shows ever made. But that’s exactly the case with “Deadwood.” All three seasons of this Western were met with universal acclaim; the Writers Guild of America even called it the 32nd Best Written TV Series ever. Besides its brilliant writing and acting, the series is also well-remembered for its use of profanity. Some might even say excessive use of profanity. We’re talking a total of 2,980 “F” bombs alone throughout the show’s run - an average of 1.56 per minute!

While “Lost” fans may disagree about the quality of the finale, we think everyone can agree that many of the 120 episodes leading up to it were some of the best on TV. “Lost” was smart, engaging, original and enjoyably confusing. With flashbacks (and flashforwards!) the series built up its characters and the mysteries surrounding them beautifully - making it a must watch from the moment it premiered in 2004 til its controversial finale in 2010. Mystery hatches, smoke monsters, the others, and the numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42, were all a part of the public conversation for years. This show had us all ‘pushing the button’ on our remote controls to watch ABC every night it aired.

While every show on this list premiered in 2004, only one is lucky enough to be celebrating its 20th birthday while still on the air. That’s right, 20 seasons in and still going strong, “Project Runway” has been our go-to fashion forward reality design competition for two full decades. It’s made industry stars out of its winners, and kept us coming back for more fashion and more drama every single year. The series is so popular that it even spawned its own Wii game, and a number of spinoffs around the world. It’s no question this international sensation knows how to “make it work”!