In 2022, a number of fan-favorite TV series will celebrate the 20th anniversary of their premiere. From brilliant mysteries to groundbreaking family sitcoms, the year 2002 was an impressive one in television history.
Iconic characters, breakout stars, and enduring franchises were all born out of these memorable series. Thanks to re-run accessibility through modern-day streaming, it’s easy to forget that two decades have passed since audiences were first introduced to these popular shows. Here’s a rundown of the best fan-favorite series about to celebrate their 20th.
Everwood
Veteran actor Treat Williams starred in Everwood as Andy Brown, a prestigious surgeon who moves his two teenage children from New York to the remote town of Everwood, Colorado following the death of his wife. As Dr. Brown’s kids navigate the sometimes harsh realities of adolescence, he navigates raising them as a single parent.
Everwood attracted a young audience as it featured teenage and young adult characters (including one young Chris Pratt) facing real-life, often controversial themes. (Think of it as a rural 90210.) From characters who lost their virginity to dealing with secret, unplanned pregnancies, Everwood pushed the envelope and helped the CW (then WB) Network establish an intriguing show for its young audience.
Without A Trace
Highlighting the work of the FBI’s Missing Persons Squad in New York City, Without a Trace was one of several police dramas to come out of 2002. The popular series, which starred Anthony LaPaglia and Poppy Montgomery, earned awards early on in its seven seasons and retained a steady audience throughout its run.
Each episode of Without a Trace focused on one missing individual who had to be found in a short amount of time. But the series also covered the personal lives of the characters who drew from their own experiences to help solve crimes. A unique aspect of this police drama was its inclusion of real-life missing person announcements at the end of almost all its episodes, and several people were found as a result.
CSI Miami
Soon after the premiere of the original CSI, creators began expanding the franchise and released the first spinoff in 2002 — CSI: Miami. The show starred NYPD Blue veteran David Caruso as Horatio Caine, a character based on Los Angeles bomb squad technician Detective John Haynes. Caine is a former homicide detective who leads a group of investigators as they solve gruesome crimes in Miami.
CSI: Miami ran for an impressive ten seasons and earned several awards during its run. Many viewers jumped on board because they were fans of Caruso from his NYPD Blue days or had become familiar with the franchise through the original CSI. The show kept fans intrigued with serious cases solved by clever police work and a diverse cast of veteran actors and likable newcomers.
The Shield
After the success of The Commish, Michael Chiklis returned to a starring television role in 2002 on The Shield. Depicting the crooked dealings of a group of corrupt Los Angeles cops, the show maintained a loyal audience by keeping viewers in suspense about the fate of its unscrupulous characters. While the series often falls a bit under the radar in terms of standout hits, it scored Emmy and Golden Globe awards early in its seven season run.
Although The Shield‘s characters were far from heroes, viewers found them intriguing and tuned in to follow their professional and personal sagas. A unique aspect of the show was that its bad guys were the very characters fans had come to know and love. Whether or not these fictional crooked cops deserved fans cheering them on, their captivating stories were undoubtedly a significant factor in the show’s enduring popularity.
8 Simple Rules
Classic sitcom veteran John Ritter made his mark in Hollywood as the slapstick-prone bachelor Jack Tripper in Three’s Company. Decades later in 2002, Ritter took on another starring role but as a vastly different character: Paul Hennessey, a husband and father who was so protective he declared 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter. The series, whose title was later shortened to 8 Simple Rules, drew in audiences who were excited to see Ritter playing opposite his TV wife Katey Sagal, a fan-favorite since her days as Peg Bundy on Married…With Children. The series is also remembered as the breakout role for Kaley Cuoco, who after playing Ritter’s daughter went on to star in Big Bang Theory.
8 Simple Rules enjoyed success with its fans, but is unfortunately most remembered as John Ritter’s last project. While rehearsing an episode of the show on September 11, 2003, Ritter began having chest pains and was rushed to the hospital where he died of an aortic dissection of his heart. His death shocked cast mates and fans, and changed the course of the series. 8 Simple Rules wrote Paul’s sudden death into the script, and the episode “Goodbye” was dedicated to the loss of both John Ritter and the character he portrayed.
The Wire
One of the most realistic dramas to come out of 2002 was HBO’s The Wire, which examined the complex drug problem in Baltimore. Although the series did not win any major awards, it was wildly popular among fans in North America and in the U.K., where the show ran on BBC. In fact, a group of international critics who voted in a BBC Culture poll named The Wire the greatest television show of the 21st Century.
One of the reasons for the show’s success was its realistic depiction of Baltimore’s narcotics and poverty problems, perhaps portrayed so accurately because it was created by David Simon, a former crime reporter for the Baltimore Sun. The decades-old show is also still noteworthy today because of the many familiar faces in the cast. Stars like Idris Elba, Michael B. Jordan, and the late Michael K. Williams got their start on The Wire.
Kim Possible
It’s a pretty safe bet that most millennials’ favorite animated childhood memories include Kim Possible. The hit series, which focused on a smart, strong teenage action heroine, aired on Disney Channel from 2002 to 2007. Kim, voiced by Even Stevens alum Christy Carlson Romano, fights crime in between battling everyday teen issues, and is helped by her often bumbling but severely loyal best friend Ron Stoppable, voiced by Will Friedle of Boy Meets World. The pair are also aided by computer genius Wade (voiced by Smart Guy‘s Tahj Mowry) and of course Ron’s pet Rufus, a naked mole rat.
The secret of Kim Possible‘s success had a lot to do with its broad appeal among both young kids and older teens. It was family-friendly but still edgy, funny while not being corny, and action-packed without being violent. It was nearly impossible not to root for Team Possible, which explains the lasting impact of this series. Its TV movie Kim Possible: So the Drama bolstered the show’s ratings overseas, contributing to the ongoing popularity of the franchise. And with the launch of Disney+, Kim Possible fans were once again able to call her, beep her, anytime they want to reach her. In 2019, a live-action Kim Possible Disney Channel Original Movie premiered, furthering the reach of the cult classic cartoon. Original stars Romano and Friedle continue to join Kim Possible comic-com panels to this day, due to the show’s lasting popularity.
The Bachelor
Among the shows turning 20 in 2022, The Bachelor has the distinction of being the only show on the list which is still running today. The upcoming season will be the 26th for the hit series, which is a sort of dating/reality/drama hybrid. Dozens of women vie for the attention of a handpicked, good-looking bachelor who has everything but a lady, and eliminates contestants week by week as he works his way toward his supposed bride-to-be. Although this superficial premise should have aged the show’s appeal by now, The Bachelor still creates enough drama to draw in audiences season after season. The successful franchise has also resulted in multiple spinoffs, including The Bachelorette.
Two decades of airtime require a series to evolve to a certain degree. In recent years, The Bachelor has drawn criticism for not being diverse, and it was not until Season 25 that the show featured its first black male lead, Matt James. In the same season, longtime host Chris Harrison received criticism for his comments about a contestant, and soon after ended his role with the show as a result. The upcoming Season 26 will be hosted by season 5 contestant Jesse Palmer and premiere in 2022.
George Lopez
When standup comedian George Lopez took a stab at acting, few expected his new sitcom would turn him into a household name. But that’s exactly what happened. Named after its star, George Lopez approached the realities of a hard-working Mexican-American family man through often irreverent but always honest humor. From daily family life to serious topics such as racism, audiences were quickly drawn in by the refreshing candor of this series.
Just like his standup, Lopez’s sitcom was largely based on his own family and upbringing. Sandra Bullock, who initially scoped Lopez out to star in the show, served as producer, while Lopez went on to serve as a writer and producer as well. Audiences loved the relatable nature of the show, which ran for six successful seasons. As the first sitcom focused on a Mexican family, George Lopez was a groundbreaking series that filled a void of Latino representation on television and made it one of the biggest hits to come out of 2002.
MONK
In 2002, MONK premiered on USA as the network’s first breakout hit series. The new show starred Tony Shalhoub as Adrian Monk, a brilliant detective who develops OCD after the unsolved murder of his wife — which is, incidentally, the only case he cannot solve. MONK was a mystery show at its heart, but with both hilarious characters and heavy subjects, it was also known for carefully walking the line between comedy and drama, often shifting gears with merely a look or a simple line.
MONK’s small but strong ensemble of Shalhoub, Ted Levine, Jason Gray-Stanford, Bitty Schram and later Traylor Howard had effortless chemistry, and supported each other through poignant experiences such as grief and growth. The winning combination of brilliant writing and superb acting made MONK retain impressive ratings for eight solid seasons, and earned the critically acclaimed series multiple Emmy, Golden Globe, and SAG awards. MONK was so respected that it hosted a wealth of prominent guest stars throughout its run.
The timeless nature of MONK and its fiercely loyal fan base across the globe have contributed to the longevity of the series. It has a unique multi-generational appeal because it is one of the few murder mysteries that is actually family-friendly. Perhaps most remarkably, MONK had the honor of going out on its own terms. In its popular two-part finale, loyal viewers received a truly satisfying resolution to the series-long mystery when Adrian solved his wife’s murder. As a show that can be watched over and over again, MONK continues to attract new fans and remains a cult classic two decades after its premiere.
