Best TV Shows of 2005
The 40 most popular TV shows that premiered in 2005, most watched first, with a vote floor so obscure titles do not crowd out the ones people remember.
Everything on this page has a home release and plays right here on Rotten Brains — pick one and press play. No sign-up, and a free account only adds resume and history.
40 titles · updated 14th October 2026
1.The Office(2005)
8.6Comedy
The everyday lives of office employees in the Scranton, Pennsylvania branch of the fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company.
Watch from S1 E1
2.Grey's Anatomy(2005)
8.2Drama
Follows the personal and professional lives of a group of doctors at Seattle's Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.
Watch from S1 E1
3.Supernatural(2005)
8.3DramaMysterySci-Fi & Fantasy
When they were boys, Sam and Dean Winchester lost their mother to a mysterious and demonic supernatural force. Subsequently, their father raised them to be soldiers. He taught them about the paranormal evil that lives in the dark corners and on the back roads of America ... and he taught them how to kill it. Now, the…
Watch from S1 E1
4.Criminal Minds(2005)
8.3CrimeDramaMystery
An elite team of FBI profilers analyze the country's most twisted criminal minds, anticipating their next moves before they strike again. The Behavioral Analysis Unit's most experienced agent is David Rossi, a founding member of the BAU who returns to help the team solve new cases.
Watch from S1 E1
5.American Dad!(2005)
7.0AnimationComedy
The series focuses on an eccentric motley crew that is the Smith family and their three housemates: Father, husband, and breadwinner Stan Smith; his better half housewife, Francine Smith; their college-aged daughter, Hayley Smith; and their high-school-aged son, Steve Smith. Outside of the Smith family, there are…
Watch from S1 E1
6.Bones(2005)
8.2CrimeDrama
Dr. Temperance Brennan and her colleagues at the Jeffersonian's Medico-Legal Lab assist Special Agent Seeley Booth with murder investigations when the remains are so badly decomposed, burned or destroyed that the standard identification methods are useless.
Watch from S1 E1
7.Doctor Who(2005)
7.6Action & AdventureDramaSci-Fi & Fantasy
The Doctor is a Time Lord: a 900 year old alien with 2 hearts, part of a gifted civilization who mastered time travel. The Doctor saves planets for a living—more of a hobby actually, and the Doctor's very, very good at it.
Watch from S1 E1
8.Prison Break(2005)
8.1Action & AdventureCrimeDrama
Due to a political conspiracy, an innocent man is sent to death row and his only hope is his brother, who makes it his mission to deliberately get himself sent to the same prison in order to break the both of them out, from the inside out.
Watch from S1 E1
9.How I Met Your Mother(2005)
8.1Comedy
A father recounts to his children - through a series of flashbacks - the journey he and his four best friends took leading up to him meeting their mother.
Watch from S1 E1
10.It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia(2005)
8.3Comedy
Four egocentric friends run a neighborhood Irish pub in Philadelphia and try to find their way through the adult world of work and relationships. Unfortunately, their warped views and precarious judgments often lead them to trouble, creating a myriad of uncomfortable situations that usually only get worse before they…
Watch from S1 E1
11.The Closer(2005)
7.8CrimeDramaMystery
Deputy Police Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson transfers from Atlanta to LA to head up a special unit of the LAPD that handles sensitive, high-profile murder cases. Johnson's quirky personality and hard-nosed approach often rubs her colleagues the wrong way, but her reputation as one of the world's best interrogator…
Watch from S1 E1
12.Medium(2005)
7.5CrimeDramaMystery
Allison Dubois works in the District Attorney’s office using her natural intuition about people and her ability to communicate with the dead to help to solve crimes. Her dreams often give her clues to the whereabouts of missing people.
Watch from S1 E1
13.Ghost Whisperer(2005)
8.1Sci-Fi & FantasyMysteryDrama
Newlywed Melinda Gordon tries to help the dead communicate with loved ones, but sometimes the messages she receives are intense and confusing. Most of Melinda's efforts involve resolving conflicts that are preventing the spirits from passing over.
Watch from S1 E1
14.Numb3rs(2005)
7.0CrimeDramaMystery
Inspired by actual cases and experiences, Numb3rs depicts the confluence of police work and mathematics in solving crime as an FBI agent recruits his mathematical genius brother to help solve a wide range of challenging crimes in Los Angeles from a very different perspective.
Watch from S1 E1
15.Robot Chicken(2005)
7.6ComedyAnimation
A series of pop-culture parodies using stop-motion animation of toys, action figures and dolls. The title character was an ordinary chicken until he was run down by a car and subsequently brought back to life in cyborg form by mad scientist Fritz Huhnmorder, who tortures Robot Chicken by forcing him to watch a random…
Watch from S1 E1
16.Weeds(2005)
7.5ComedyCrimeDrama
After the unexpected death of her husband, a suburban mom resorts to selling weed to support her family.
Watch from S1 E1
17.My Name Is Earl(2005)
7.6Comedy
When petty criminal Earl Hickey wins the lottery, he sets off on a quest to repair his questionable karma.
Watch from S1 E1
18.Johnny Test(2005)
6.3AnimationComedyAction & Adventure
Young Johnny is gung-ho and full of courage. Johnny's brainiac twin sisters, Susan and Mary, use Johnny as their guinea pig for their outrageous scientific experiments. If they can dream it up, Johnny will do it; as long as his genetically engineered super dog, Dukey, can come along.
Watch from S1 E1
19.Rome(2005)
8.2Action & AdventureDrama
A down-to-earth account of the lives of both illustrious and ordinary Romans set in the last days of the Roman Republic.
Watch from S1 E1
20.The Boondocks(2005)
8.3Action & AdventureComedyAnimation
When Robert “Granddad” Freeman becomes legal guardian to his two grandsons, he moves from the tough south side of Chicago to the upscale neighborhood of Woodcrest (a.k.a. "The Boondocks") so he can enjoy his golden years in safety and comfort. But with Huey, a 10-year-old leftist revolutionary, and his eight-year-old…
Watch from S1 E1
21.Avatar: The Last Airbender(2005)
8.8AnimationAction & AdventureSci-Fi & Fantasy
In a war-torn world of elemental magic, a young boy reawakens to undertake a dangerous mystic quest to fulfill his destiny as the Avatar, and bring peace to the world.
Watch from S1 E1
22.The Suite Life of Zack & Cody(2005)
7.6ComedyFamilyKids
Meet Zack and Cody, 11 year-old identical twins and the newest residents of Boston's swanky Tipton Hotel. Living in a suite with their mom Carey, the boys treat the Tipton like their own personal playground.
Watch from S1 E1
23.Everybody Hates Chris(2005)
8.1Comedy
Chris is a teenager growing up as the eldest of three children in Brooklyn, New York during the early 1980s. Uprooted to a new neighborhood and bused to a predominantly white middle school two-hours away by his strict, hard-working parents, Chris struggles to find his place while keeping his siblings in line at home…
Watch from S1 E1
24.Ben 10(2005)
8.1AnimationSci-Fi & FantasyAction & Adventure
When 10-year-old Ben Tennyson discovers a mysterious device, he gains the power to change into ten different alien heroes, each with uniquely awesome powers. With such abilities at his disposal, Ben realizes a greater responsibility to help others and stop evildoers, but that doesn't mean he's above a little…
Watch from S1 E1
25.Nick Cannon Presents: Wild 'N Out(2005)
8.0Comedy
Nick Cannon and an A-list celebrity lead a team of improv comedians as they compete against each other.
Watch from S1 E1
26.Zoey 101(2005)
8.1Comedy
Zoey 101 is an American television series which originally aired on Nickelodeon from January 9, 2005 until May 2, 2008. It focuses on the lives of teenager Zoey Brooks and her friends as they attend Pacific Coast Academy, a fictional boarding school in Southern California. It was created by Dan Schneider. It was…
Watch from S1 E1
27.Camp Lazlo(2005)
6.9AnimationComedyKids
The series is set in a universe inhabited solely by anthropomorphic animals of many species and focuses on a trio of campers attending a poorly run summer camp known as Camp Kidney. The trio consists of Lazlo, the eccentric, optimistic spider monkey; Raj, the timid Indian elephant; and Clam, the quiet albino pygmy…
Watch from S1 E1
28.Squidbillies(2005)
6.9ComedyAnimation
Squidbillies is an animated television series about the Cuylers, an impoverished family of anthropomorphic hillbilly mud squids living in the Appalachian region of Georgia's mountains. The show is produced by Williams Street Studios for the Adult Swim programming block of Cartoon Network and premiered on October 16,…
Watch from S1 E1
29.My Gym Partner's a Monkey(2005)
6.4AnimationComedyKids
My Gym Partner's a Monkey is an American animated television series created by Tim Cahill and Julie McNally-Cahill and produced by Cartoon Network Studios. The story revolves around Adam Lyon, a human who, after a clerical error listed his surname as "Lion," is forced to transfer to Charles Darwin Middle School, a…
Watch from S1 E1
30.Mock the Week(2005)
7.1Comedy
Mock the Week is a British topical celebrity panel game hosted by Dara Ó Briain. The game is influenced by improvised topical stand-up comedy, with several rounds requiring players to deliver answers on unexpected subjects on the spur of the moment.
Watch from S1 E1
31.American Dragon: Jake Long(2005)
7.8AnimationComedyAction & Adventure
American Dragon is a coming of age comedy-action series about Jake Long, a 13-year-old Asian-American boy who strives to find balance in his life as a skateboard-grinding, New York 'tween while learning to master his mystical powers (in his secret identity) as the American Dragon, the protector and guardian of all…
Watch from S1 E1
32.Masters of Horror(2005)
7.1DramaMysteryCrime
An anthology series written and directed by the most famous names in horror.
Watch from S1 E1
33.Ideal(2005)
7.8Comedy
Sitcom about a small-time dope dealer and his strange collection of acquaintances.
Watch from S1 E1
34.Little Einsteins(2005)
7.2AnimationFamilyKids
A group of musically gifted and ethnically diverse children travel around the world in an artificially intelligent rocket named Rocket.
Watch from S1 E1
35.Wildfire(2005)
8.4DramaFamily
After serving time at a juvenile detention center, eighteen-year-old Kris Furillo is given the opportunity to start a new life. Her talent with horses is recognized by a volunteer and local trainer, who arranges a job for her at the Ritter's family run ranch.
Watch from S1 E1
36.The Comeback(2005)
7.4ComedyDrama
For Valerie Cherish, no price is too high to pay for clinging to the spotlight. Desperate to revive her career, she agrees to star in a reality TV series, allowing cameras to follow her every move as she lands a part on a new network sitcom.
Watch from S1 E1
37.Commander in Chief(2005)
7.5Drama
Mackenzie Allen has a lot on her plate -- she has twin teenagers, a 6-year-old at home and an ambitious husband at the office, and she is about to become the first female president of the United States. Before that happens, however; Mackenzie, who serves as vice president, has to decide whether or not to go against…
Watch from S1 E1
38.Doctor Who Confidential(2005)
8.0Documentary
Doctor Who Confidential is a documentary to complement the revival of the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Each episode was broadcast on BBC Three on Saturdays, immediately after the broadcast of the weekly television episode on BBC One. The running time of the first two series was…
Watch from S1 E1
39.Krypto the Superdog(2005)
6.9AnimationKidsFamily
Krypto, the Superdog, chronicles the comedic canine adventures of Metropolis' day-saving superdog from Planet Krypton. Krypto jettisons to Earth after traveling across the galaxies as a test-pilot puppy aboard a malfunctioning rocket ship built by Superman's father. Landing astray on unfamiliar terrain, the…
Watch from S1 E1
40.The Life and Times of Juniper Lee(2005)
5.6AnimationAction & AdventureSci-Fi & Fantasy
Destined from birth to be this world's Protector, Juniper has to fight monsters to maintain the balance between the world of magic and humanity.
Watch from S1 E1