10 shows from the 2000s that should be reborn on Netflix
Ben Epstein, played by Bryan Greenberg, was on the main characters in HBO's How to Make it in America.
A TV show doesn’t necessarily have to appeal to a huge audience to be considered successful anymore -- just a large enough base to stay relevant. In effect, critical acclaim is more congenital to long-term viability than big ratings numbers.
With its first original series House of Cards, Netflix has established a progressive model: release a full season of shows so consumers can watch episodes on demand. This model’s continued cultivation could render live ratings obsolete as Internet televisions become the industry standard.
Arrested Development, a show with a conspicuous legacy of lavish acclaim and poor ratings, will test-drive the model beginning May 26th, when a long-awaited fourth season is released on Netflix.
Here are 10 other defunct shows from the 2000s that should do the same:
• How to Make It in America (2010-2011), HBO -- Set in New York, produced by Mark Wahlberg and based on male friendship, How to Make it in America was doomed as an Entourage knock-off from the beginning. But, scrounging protagonists Ben Epstein and Cam Calderon faced daily sustainability challenges that were foreign in the darkest hours of Vincent Chase’s story.
• Joey (2004-2006), NBC -- This show wasn’t exactly the robust, Frasier-like spinoff NBC envisioned in 2004. But, Friends fanatics would still be interested in what the show’s most gregarious character is up to these days.
• Undeclared (2001-2002), Fox -- It’s a testament to Judd Apatow’s acerbic wit that Charlie Hunnam, the only non-comedian among the four leads on Undeclared, plays the show’s funniest character: Lloyd, a blonde, British ladies-man who juxtaposes hilariously with his superficially-inferior roommates (played by Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel and Timm Sharp). Unfortunately, Apatow never got the chance to develop his realistic characters beyond their freshman year.
• Playmakers (2003), ESPN -- ESPN’s first and only dramatic series brought the network to a journalistic crossroads. With a manipulative owner, a crack-addict running back and a remorseful linebacker who paralyzed an opposing player, the series harshly depicted a barbaric profession where employment and livelihood are on the line everyday. It was cancelled after one season following then-NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue comments that is was a “gross mischaracterization of the sport.”
• Da Ali G Show (2003-2004), HBO -- It’s easy to forget Sacha Baron Cohen’s outrageous alter egos were around for just 18 episodes. It would be wildly entertaining to see what other personalities are rattling around in his deranged cerebrum.
This story originally appeared on the Paste BN College blog, a news source produced for college students by student journalists. The blog closed in September of 2017.