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Genres

Drama Comedy Animation Action Crime Adventure Romance Reality-TV More genres →

Decades

2020s 2010s 2000s 1990s 1980s 1970s 1960s 1950s 1940s 1930s 1920s 1900s

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Genres

Drama Comedy Animation Action Crime Adventure Romance Reality-TV More genres →

Decades

2020s 2010s 2000s 1990s 1980s 1970s 1960s 1950s 1940s 1930s 1920s 1900s

Tags Search My ratings Sign in

Best TV Series of 2004

Top 500 most popular series that started in 2004

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Genres

Genres as assigned by IMDb. Selecting several means a show must match all of them.

Action 148 Adult 54 Adventure 143 Animation 256 Biography 29 Comedy 620 Crime 113 Documentary 360 Drama 559 Family 173 Fantasy 65 Game-Show 96 History 75 Horror 39 Music 81 Musical 7 Mystery 55 News 34 Reality-TV 241 Romance 197 Sci-Fi 31 Short 11 Sport 58 Talk-Show 116 Thriller 30 War 24 Western 0

Decades

By first-air year. Several selections widen the range; a specific year narrows within its decade.

2020s 40410 2010s 48704 2000s 24492 1990s 11139 1980s 6467 1970s 4272 1960s 2491 1950s 1251 1940s 163 1930s 34 1920s 9 1900s 1

Specific year

2026 2911 2025 6438 2024 6061 2023 6198 2022 6411 2021 6430 2020 5961 2019 5621 2018 5440 2017 5665 2016 5306 2015 5111 2014 4727 2013 4716 2012 4479 2011 4160 2010 3479 2009 3298 2008 3064 2007 2994 2006 2987 2005 2586 2004 2285 2003 2059 2002 1872 2001 1799 2000 1548 1999 1489 1998 1411 1997 1314 1996 1169 1995 1120 1994 1037 1993 987 1992 879 1991 871 1990 862 1989 838 1988 735 1987 718 1986 648 1985 677 1984 641 1983 626 1982 554 1981 495 1980 535 1979 535 1978 496 1977 471 1976 486 1975 421 1974 424 1973 386 1972 423 1971 332 1970 298 1969 339 1968 315 1967 300 1966 290 1965 252 1964 240 1963 213 1962 159 1961 188 1960 195 1959 188 1958 135 1957 154 1956 147 1955 143 1954 110 1953 92 1952 107 1951 74 1950 101 1949 74 1948 42 1947 18 1946 14 1945 1 1944 5 1943 2 1941 4 1940 3 1939 2 1938 5 1937 3 1936 7 1934 1 1931 11 1930 5 1929 4 1928 3 1927 2 1908 1

Tags

Rating patterns, computed from IMDb episode-rating trajectories. Deliberately strict: only shows with an unmistakable pattern carry one, so expect small numbers.

Rating patterns

Fumbled the Finale 2 Stuck the Landing 0 Grew the Beard 0 Rock Solid 1 Past Its Prime 0 Roller Coaster 2

Taste tags, judged by our AI taste model. They cover the 5,000 most-rated shows.

Tone & mood

Bleak 3 Gritty 5 Dark tone 9 Feel-good 4 Cozy 4 Wholesome 5 Melancholic 1 Tense 8 Unsettling 7 Whimsical 7 Campy 3 Cynical 6 Hopeful 1 Sentimental 1 Nostalgic 2 Bittersweet 0 Chaotic energy 7 Deadpan cool 2

Pacing & structure

Slow burn 4 Fast-paced 2 Episodic 32 Serialized 8 Procedural 5 Mystery box 5 Anthology 0 Cliffhanger-driven 1 Sprawling saga 3 Tight limited run 6 Puzzle plot 2 Vignette style 0

Humor style

Dry humor 13 Absurdist 8 Satirical 6 Cringe comedy 4 Slapstick 4 Witty banter 13 Dark comedy 6 Warm humor 9 Raunchy 3 Parody 4 Ironic & meta 3

Themes & subject matter

Criminal underworld 1 Detective mystery 5 True crime 3 Heists & cons 1 Legal 2 Medical 2 Political intrigue 3 Espionage 0 War & military 4 Family saga 3 Coming of age 6 Workplace 6 School & campus 7 Love story 5 Friendship 10 Found family 3 Survival 5 Post-apocalyptic 1 Dystopia 0 Supernatural 5 Space & sci-fi 3 Near-future tech 0 Time travel 0 High fantasy 2 Urban fantasy 1 Monster horror 2 Psychological horror 4 Addiction & vice 3 Mental health 3 Faith & religion 1 Sports 0 Music scene 2 Food & cooking 1 Nature & science 2 Real history 4 Royalty & aristocracy 0 Small town 3 Big city life 2 Rural & frontier 2 Suburban underbelly 3 Class divide 4 Immigrant experience 0 Queer stories 1 Female perspective 6 Social commentary 3 Philosophical 3 Existential dread 4 Revenge 0 Redemption 0 Secrets & lies 6

Characters & perspective

Antihero lead 6 Morally gray 5 Villain's POV 1 Ensemble cast 22 Central duo 2 Strong female lead 4 Child's perspective 0 Outsider lead 1 Genius lead 1 Working class 3 Elites & privilege 3 Unreliable narrator 1 Character study 4 Banter chemistry 1

Emotional payoff

Tearjerker 0 Adrenaline 9 Intellectual challenge 3 Comfort rewatch 6 Romantic yearning 3 Cathartic 0 Wonder & awe 1 Mounting dread 1 Warm glow 0 Gut punch 2

Craft & style

Dialogue-driven 6 Visually striking 1 Stylized direction 4 Naturalistic 2 Big-budget spectacle 1 Lo-fi charm 4 Atmospheric 6 Distinctive score 2 Experimental 3 Deep worldbuilding 4 Tight writing 2

Format & audience

Sitcom 7 Adult animation 4 Anime 8 Kids & family 18 Young adult 7 Soap & telenovela 5 Event miniseries 1 Reality competition 4 Lifestyle reality 3 Docuseries 5 Sketch & variety 2 Game & quiz show 0 Talk & panel 1 Period piece 6 Contemporary life 1 Long-runner 4 Built to binge 0

Viewing-culture clusters

British TV 11 Nordic noir 0 K-drama 1 Turkish drama 1 Indian TV 2

Intensity & content character

Graphic violence 2 Disturbing 6 Sexually explicit 2 Family-safe 16 Emotionally heavy 6 Easy watching 25

Sort

500 series (top 500 shown)

Lost

678K 121 2004–2010

Mystery box · Cliffhanger-driven

House

597K 177 2004–2012

Medical · Genius lead

Battlestar Galactica

188K 74 2004–2009

Morally gray · Serialized · Tense

Entourage

185K 96 2004–2011

Friendship · Elites & privilege

Desperate Housewives

155K 180 2004–2012

Suburban underbelly

Deadwood

129K 36 2004–2006

Dialogue-driven · Rural & frontier

Bleach

94K 369 2004–2012

Anime · Sprawling saga

Veronica Mars

84K 72 2004–2019

Detective mystery

Stargate: Atlantis

76K 99 2004–2009

Space & sci-fi · Ensemble cast

Monster

73K 75 2004–2005

Anime · Dark tone

Samurai Champloo

64K 26 2004–2005

Anime · Distinctive score

Boston Legal

54K 101 2004–2008

Legal · Witty banter

CSI: NY

52K 197 2004–2013

Procedural · Detective mystery

The 4400

49K 45 2004–2007

Mystery box · Ensemble cast

Drake & Josh

47K 57 2004–2007

Sitcom · Kids & family

Joey

46K 46 2004–2006

Sitcom · Easy watching

Elfen Lied

42K 14 2004–2004

Disturbing · Graphic violence

North & South

38K 4 2004–2004

Period piece · Class divide

The L Word

31K 70 2004–2009

Queer stories · Female perspective

Rescue Me

30K 95 2004–2011

Dark comedy · Addiction & vice

The Staircase

30K 13 2004–2018

True crime · Legal · Docuseries

Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends

27K 93 2004–2009

Whimsical · Kids & family

Justice League Unlimited

26K 39 2004–2006

Ensemble cast · Adrenaline

Hustle

25K 48 2004–2012

Heists & cons · British TV

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Browse by genre

Action Adult Adventure Animation Biography Comedy Crime Documentary Drama Family Fantasy Game-Show History Horror Music Musical Mystery News Reality-TV Romance Sci-Fi Short Sport Talk-Show Thriller War Western

This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB. Rating data from IMDb Non-Commercial Datasets.

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