Ratings from the 2000s

[kalbir]

Since previous threads on this topic are archived, let's restart a discussion on the decade where reality shows became a thing, CBS made a comeback, and Fox had their first Top 10 and #1 shows.

Top 10 shows for each season of the 2000s.

2000/01: 1. Survivor (first season), 2. ER (1999/2000 4^th), 3. Who Wants to be a Millionaire – Wednesday (first season), 4. Who Wants to be a Millionaire – Tuesday (1999/2000 1^st), 5. Friends (1999/2000 5^th), 5. Monday Night Football (1999/2000 7^th), 5. Everybody Loves Raymond (1999/2000 12^th), 8. Who Wants to be a Millionaire – Sunday (1999/2000 3^rd), 9. Law & Order (1999/2000 11^th), 10. The Practice (1999/2000 9^th). Who Wants to be a Millionaire – Thursday falls from 2^nd in 1999/2000 to 11^th, tied w/ CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (first season) and The West Wing. Frasier falls from 6^th in 1999/2000 to 17^th (time slot changed from Thursday 9 pm to Tuesday 9 pm), tied w/ Temptation Island. 60 Minutes falls from 8^th in 1999/2000 to 15^th. Touched by an Angel falls from 10^th in 1999/2000 to 22^nd, tied w/ Cursed (later renamed The Weber Show) and NYPD Blue.

2001/02: 1. Friends, 2. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, 3. ER, 4. Everybody Loves Raymond, 5. Law & Order, 6. Survivor, 7. Monday Night Football, 8. The West Wing, 9. Will & Grace (2000/01 14^th), 9. Leap of Faith (first and only season). The Practice falls to 23^rd. Who Wants to be a Millionaire falls below the Top 30.

2002/03: 1. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, 2. Friends, 3. Joe Millionaire (first season), 4. ER, 5. American Idol – Tuesday (first season), 6. American Idol – Wednesday (first season), 7. Survivor, 7. Everybody Loves Raymond, 9. Law & Order, 10. Monday Night Football. The West Wing falls to 21^st. Will & Grace falls to 11^th, tied w/ CSI: Miami (first season).

2003/04: 1. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, 2.  American Idol – Tuesday, 3. American Idol – Wednesday, 4. Friends (final season), 5. The Apprentice (first season), 6. ER, 7. Survivor, 8. CSI: Miami, 9. Monday Night Football, 9. Everybody Loves Raymond. Joe Millionaire falls below the Top 30 (time slot changed from Monday 9 pm to Monday 8 pm). Law & Order falls to 12^th.

2004/05: 1. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, 2.  American Idol – Tuesday, 3. American Idol – Wednesday, 4. Desperate Housewives (first season), 5. CSI: Miami, 6. Without a Trace (2003/04 11^th), 7. Survivor, 8. Grey’s Anatomy (first season), 9. Everybody Loves Raymond (final season), 10. Monday Night Football. The Apprentice falls to 14^th, tied w/ Cold Case. ER falls to 12^th.

2005/06: 1.  American Idol – Tuesday, 2. American Idol – Wednesday, 3. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, 4. Desperate Housewives, 5. Grey’s Anatomy, 6. Without a Trace, 7. Dancing with the Stars (first season), 8. CSI: Miami, 9. Monday Night Football (final season on ABC), 9. House (2004/05 23^rd). Survivor falls to 11^th.

2006/07: 1. American Idol – Wednesday, 2. American Idol – Tuesday, 3. Dancing with the Stars – Monday, 3. Dancing with the Stars – Tuesday, 3. Dancing with the Stars – Wednesday, 6. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, 7. Grey’s Anatomy (time slot changed from Sunday 10 pm to Thursday 9 pm), 8. House, 9. Desperate Housewives, 10. CSI: Miami. Without a Trace falls to 12^th (time slot changed from Thursday 10 pm to Sunday 10 pm).

2007/08: 1. American Idol – Tuesday, 2. American Idol – Wednesday, 3. Dancing with the Stars, 4. Dancing with the Stars – Results, 5. Desperate Housewives, 6. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, 7. House, 8. Grey’s Anatomy, 9. Sunday Night Football (2006/07 11^th). 10. CSI: Miami, 10. NCIS (2006/07 15^th).

2008/09: 1. American Idol – Wednesday, 2. American Idol – Tuesday, 3. Dancing with the Stars, 4. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, 5. NCIS, 6. The Mentalist (first season), 7. Dancing with the Stars – Results, 8. Sunday Night Football, 9. Desperate Housewives, 10. Grey’s Anatomy. CSI: Miami falls to 12^th, tied w/ Two and a Half Men. House falls to 17^th (time slot changed from Tuesday 9 pm to Monday 8 pm).

2009/10: 1. American Idol – Tuesday, 2. American Idol – Wednesday, 3. Dancing with the Stars, 4. NCIS, 5. Sunday Night Football, 6. The Mentalist (time slot changed from Tuesday 9 pm to Thursday 10 pm), 7. Dancing with the Stars – Results, 8. NCIS: Los Angeles (first season), 8. Undercover Boss (first season), 10. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. Desperate Housewives falls to 13^th. Grey’s Anatomy falls to 11^th.

By network

CBS: Survivor, Everybody Loves Raymond, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami, Without a Trace, NCIS, The Mentalist, NCIS: Los Angeles, Undercover Boss

ABC: Who Wants to be a Millionaire, Monday Night Football, The Practice, Desperate Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy, Dancing with the Stars

NBC: ER, Friends, Law & Order, The West Wing, Will & Grace, Leap of Faith, The Apprentice, Sunday Night Football

Fox: Joe Millionaire, American Idol, House

[Khan]

"Everybody (Allegedly) Loves Raymond."

[I Am A Swede]

Or: (Not) Everybody Loves Raymond

[Antoyne]

I don’t think I ever got through a full episode.

[Khan]

I've always appreciated ELR's simplicity: a small, tightly-knit cast; a limited number of standing sets; two acts, with roughly 2-3 long scenes per act.  ELR was almost MTM-like in its' design, but it wasn't as cleverly written.

[kalbir]

Friends stayed in the Top 10 its entire run. Friends and ER still resulted in time slot hits: Will & Grace one season in the Top 10, Leap of Faith one season in the Top 10 and then done, The Apprentice one season in the Top 10. Oddly enough, ER falls out of the Top 10 once Friends is over.

Edited February 4, 2022 by kalbir