Television shows have come a long way in the last two decades. For a long time, there was a stigma to television that indicated that it was inferior to theatrical movies, and it was seen as a step down for many actors to move to TV. That began to change in the 1990s and by the 2000s, it was becoming more accepted. That allowed 2002 to end up as part of the rise of prestige television.
This was mostly due to HBO, who had situated itself as the home to quality television with shows like Oz and The Sopranos getting a lot of critical praise and a new show called The Wire starting up. However, it wasn't just premium networks, as the broadcast networks upped their game, and some great TV shows ended up airing in 2002.
24 (2001-2010) - 8.3
- Now streaming on Hulu.
Kiefer Sutherland was a big name actor in the 1980s, a second-generation star and a member of the Brat Pack. However, by 2000, Sutherland was not a marketable movie actor anymore and he moved on to television. It was there that he took on what would become his greatest role.
In 2002, Sutherland finished up his first season of the critically acclaimed series 24, where he starred as government agent Jack Bauer in a series that had 24 hours of a story play out for an entire season. 24 has an impressive 8.3 score on IMDb to go along with critical praise and several awards.
Stargate SG-1 (1997-2007) - 8.4
- Now streaming on Netflix.
Airing on Showtime, Stargate SG-1 was the spin-off series to the hit science fiction action movie Stargate. This series was a military adventure show with Richard Dean Anderson in the starring role and ended up airing for an impressive 10 seasons.
In 2002, this series in the Stargate franchise was finishing its fifth season and starting its sixth. Fans on IMDb gave the series an 8.4 rating, calling it one of the best science fiction television shows to come out of the 1990s.
Top Gear (2002-) - 8.6
- Now streaming on HBO Max.
One show that made its debut in 2002 and ended up as a colossal fan favorite was the reality TV series Top Gear. The show got its start in BBC Two and has now been on the air for 31 seasons, one of the most successful shows for the network.
In 2002, the first season featured a three-man hosting team with Jason Dawe, Jeremy Clarkson, and Richard Hammond, the latter two remaining the best hosts in Top Gear history. IMDb fans loved it, giving it an 8.6 and calling it great fun.
Oz (1997-2003) - 8.7
- Now streaming on HBO Max.
One of four HBO shows airing in 2002 that helped make the premium network the destination for smart and gritty television was the prison series Oz. The cast was incredible, with JK Simmons, Harold Perrineau, Dean Winters, and more.
The series itself ran for six seasons and was at times so harsh that it was hard to look away from the horrors inside the prison. The final sixth season began in 2002, and while critics warned fans of the violent nature of the series, the audience was huge and IMDb fans gave the series an 8.7 rating.
Six Feet Under (2001-2005) - 8.7
- Now streaming on HBO Max.
Another HBO series that was on fire in 2002 was the family drama Six Feet Under. The show was about a family who ran a funeral home and their lives, both family drama and how it tied into running the home. The series lasted for five seasons and 2002 saw the start of its second.
All but the fourth season received high critical acclaim, with a lot of praise going to the acting and the writing. Fans loved it as much as the critics and ranked it with an 8.7 on IMDb, with reviewers calling it rewarding, weird, and a great show for adults.
The Shield (2002-2008) - 8.7
- Now streaming on Hulu.
In 2002, a brand-new cop show hit FX and it was not like anything else on television at the time. The pilot was full of shocking moments, as it introduced the world to Vic Mackey and his elite strike force team in the LAPD, before turning the tables and having Vic kill one of his own men before covering it up. The heroes in this show were the real villains.
That was just the start, as Vic and his team protected the people of Los Angeles from the worst criminals, while committing just as many crimes themselves. The Shield ran for six seasons, but the first was one that changed everything audiences knew about police procedurals.
The West Wing (1999-2006) - 8.8
- Now streaming on HBO Max.
Network television often veered toward television that mainstream audiences could eat up like comfort food. However, those shows are not always what TV viewers or critics would often laud as the best things to watch. NBC had one show in 2002 that bucked that trend, with the adult-oriented The West Wing.
This series gave viewers something they needed in a U.S. President that cared less about politics and more about being a good man making good decisions for the nation. In 2002, the show began its fourth season and fans ate it up, voting it up to an 8.8 average rating on IMDb.
Firefly (2002-2003) - 9.0
- Now streaming on Hulu.
When fans are talking about the TV shows that got cancelled before their time, the one that usually is at the top of many lists is Firefly. This was Joss Whedon's show following Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, but one that the network destroyed by airing the first season episodes out of order and then dropping it when ratings fell.
The show aired originally on Fox and took the form of a western in outer space. Nathan Fillion led the cast and when fans finally saw it in the order Whedon wrote it, they loved it and eventually were rewarded with a movie finishing the story.
The Sopranos (1999-2007) - 9.2
- Now streaming on HBO Max.
The Sopranos was the biggest hit HBO had ever seen and in 2002, it was starting its fourth season on the network. The story was different from the start, featuring a mafia boss as the main protagonist and then showing him trying to balance his family life with that of his mafia family.
The fourth season in 2002 was where things really started to fall apart, both at home with Tony Soprano and his wife and kids, and in the family business, where Tony was growing more distrustful and violent. The series had an extremely high 9.2 IMDb rating.
The Wire (2002-2008) - 9.3
- Now streaming on HBO Max.
The highest-ranked television show on the air in 2002 was a show that premiered that very year. A fourth HBO series that took the world by storm, The Wire remains one of the best critically acclaimed shows in HBO history. Created by David Simon, each season of this series looked at a different aspect of Baltimore, Maryland.
The first season was about the illegal drug trade and introduced the police and the criminals that were at odds in the city. Every season was critically acclaimed, and fans devoured all five seasons, giving the show a high 9.3 rating on IMDb.