The 2000s were the best of times and worst of times for television opening credits. On the one hand, you had Lost, which simplified the opening credits to a creepy title introduction that lasted only a few seconds. This quickly became popular, threatening to destroy the art of the opening credit sequence forever. Of course, while many were declaring that the opening credit sequence was a thing of the past, there were some shows that elevated it to a true art form that was occasionally better than the show itself.
This was in the day before Netflix offered the option to skip the opening credits. In those days, for many of your favorite shows, you wouldn't dare fast-forward through the theme song. Some of them are so good that they became musical hits of their own, without needing the show to latch onto. So here are the top ten opening credit sequences of the 2000s ranked!
15 The Big Bang Theory
The Big Bang Theory was the most surprising sitcom hit of the 2000s. By the time it premiered in 2007, critics had pretty much written off the classic four camera, studio audience, sitcom. By then, The Office had pretty much changed the game when it came to sitcoms, so no one really expected this strange show about nerds to be a big deal. Of course, 279 episodes later, it was clear that everyone had been very very wrong.
A great deal of the show's success came from its incredibly catchy theme song from the "Barenaked Ladies" that took audiences through all of human history leading up to Leonard and Sheldon living together in an apartment. No wonder this show is on syndication pretty much twenty-four hours a day.
14 True Blood
In the 2000s, HBO was pretty much the king of the opening credit sequence. This was before Game of Thrones too. So whenever the network premiered a new prestige drama, it was expected that the show would have an opening credits sequence that could double for a short film. Well, in 2008, True Blood did not disappoint. It's country western theme song from Jace Everett was a very different choice from most theme songs of the era. That alongside a montage of life in rural Louisiana ranging from religious ceremonies to truckers picking up women in seedy bars really fleshed out the setting of the series.
Then there's the song's hook, "I wanna do bad things with you", which just told you this show was gonna be filthy in all the best ways.
13 Chuck
Today Zachary Levi may be known more as the kid-turned-superhero with the incredible biceps from Shazam, but he used to be known better as the nerdy spy who worked at a big tech store known as Chuck. This show had all the nerdy references of The Big Bang Theory, the workplace comedy of The Office, and the high octane spy action of Alias. The theme song from "Cake" that accompanied every episode practically begged you to get up and dance before the episode began.
This show may not have aged as well as many of its contemporaries, but its opening credits sequence will transport anyone back to 2007 in a flash.
12 Doctor Who
Sure, Doctor Who may technically be from 1963, but the version most people are familiar with today came from 2005. Show runner Russell T Davies had the unenviable task of resurrecting the single most iconic British science fiction show of all time. That included resurrecting the show's iconic opening credits while modernizing them for the current audience. In pretty much all possible ways, Davies proved to be a massive success.
We'll see if he can remake Doctor Who and its iconic opening titles when he returns to Doctor Who once again in 2023...
11 The Office
If there's one show from the 2000s that has remained just as popular over 20 years later, it's not LOST, American Idol, or Heroes. No, pretty much every seen from The Office is just as iconic as it was when it first premiered on NBC in 2005. That opening credits sequence is no exception. Charming music accompanies a brief welcome to the city of Scranton, the offices of Dunder Mifflin, and the cast of characters who work there. It may be simple, but it is perhaps the one that has aged the best.
Now that Peacock is presenting new, recut episodes of the show, it's unlikely that anyone will ever get this theme song out of their head.
10 Firefly
The 2000s had several incredible scifi series ranging from Battlestar Galactica to Fringe. Despite the many seasons those shows, and many others in the genre, lasted, only one series truly became THE definitive science fiction show of the 2000s. That would be Joss Whedon's space western series, Firefly. While fans of the show will likely quote any scene from the series at the drop of a hat, the incredible thing about this show that people tend to overlook is its incredible opening sequence. From the soul full music, to the fire branded titles, this sequence immediately makes you want to go out and buy a brown coat before flying through the 'Verse in your very own ship.
Unfortunately, thanks to the three million controversies still surrounding Joss Whedon, it's unlikely that this scifi classic will ever get its long-awaited return to glory.
9 Sons of Anarchy
FX was the network that dared to get into the ring with HBO and its gritty tv dramas. Shows like The Shield, Nip/Tuck, Rescue Me, The Riches, and Damages all matched HBO's best in terms of writing, but only one really competed with their opening credtis game. That would be the motorcycle club take on Hamlet from the demented mind of Kurt Sutter, Sons of Anarchy. The show's theme song, as well as the close up on every character doing something awesome, just made you want to jump on a Harley right next to Jax and the gang.
For what it's worth, Mayans M.C. has a pretty epic theme as well, but it's got nothing on the original.
8 Kim Possible
Cartoons of the 2000s had some seriously iconic theme songs. The Fairly Oddparents, Danny Phantom, Spongebob Squarepants, Phineas and Ferb, and countless others from Nickelodeon, The Disney Channel, and Cartoon Network had theme songs that could easily make this list. There can only be one series to have the best kid's cartoon theme though, and that would have to be Kim Possible. This song was so good that it could've been a banger without having a tv show to go with it. Not only that, but the brief action sequences in the titles made you want to watch a whole marathon to make sure you figured out who all of those comic booky villains of Kim's were.
7 The West Wing
Network television largely decided to give up on opening title sequences. If it did have them, the show would likely have a flashy way to show the title and little else. Aaron Sorkin's The West Wing was the opposite of this. It had a truly elegant opening credit sequence with a sweeping, orchestral theme song, and an equally regal way of showing each character as if they were photographed as part of history.
The show hit big with audiences when it premiered in 1999, but it really made its mark when it became syndicated. Marathons of this show used to play on Bravo 24/7 throughout the 2000s. That's likely where most of the fans of the show truly fell in love with the show.
6 Six Feet Under
The company known as Digital Kitchen works with the likes of FX, HBO, Showtime and more to design their incredible title sequences. The show that put them on the map for this was their iconic introduction into the quirky and soul full lives of people working in the funeral business in Six Feet Under. Today, the show is most often discussed for its opening credits sequence and its perfect finale. People tend to forget the occasional terrible plot line or foolish character decision.
The title sequence was so great that the team won an Emmy for Outstanding Main Title Design in 2002. That would not be the team's last Emmy or even its last entry on this list.
5 Smallville
The WB, which then became The CW, joined with network television's campaign against the long opening credits sequences they were once known for in shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The one show that bucked that trend for a solid decade was Smallville. It had a theme song that was on pretty much every mix-CD fans made in the 2000s. Even when the show's quality began to drop in its later half, the theme song still remained as exciting as ever.
4 Dexter
Showtime still has yet to make a greater series than Dexter. Nor have they made a greater opening credits sequence than Dexter's either. The opening sequence provided a quirky, creepy look at the casual way people use horrible violence just preparing for the day. Simple acts like tying shoes and making breakfast are made to look like the kind of heinous acts Dexter gets up to in his spare time.
Also, Digital Kitchen deserves credit for scoring another Emmy for this one in 2007. They really were the unsung heroes of this decade of television.
3 The Sopranos
The Sopranos may have technically begun in 1999, but it's impossible to not mention how iconic this show, and its opening titles, were for television in the 2000s. The show's antihero protagonist trying to keep a family inspired the likes of Breaking Bad, Mad Men, The Shield and so many more. What was just as iconic for fans of the show was the opening credits which showed Tony's daily routine of driving to work as a mobster. It may seem like a mundane, ordinary activity, but the music makes it clear that Tony Soprano just driving to work is something out of a Scorsese film.
2 Cowboy Bebop
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Anime of the late 1990s and early 2000s had some truly epic opening title sequences. None of them compare to the truly extraordinary titles from Cowboy Bebop, which premiered in America in 2001. The incredible music "Tank!" is accompanied by a frenetic, throwback sequence of animation that is just as entertaining if not more so than anything that will happen in that episode. Even if someone had no interest in anime, this title sequence would still likely win them over. It might just be one of the greatest opening titles of a television show of all time.
Netflix's Cowboy Bebop may have made a ton of mistakes, but replicating this title sequence shot-for-shot was the perfect choice.
1 Mad Men
There's only one opening sequence that deserves the number one spot as the most iconic of the 2000s. That would, of course, be the legendary opening for Mad Men. The sequence showed star Don Draper falling through the New York advertisement world full of models, booze, and more models. It's like a Bond title sequence, only without any of the action. As if Don Draper is defenseless against his own world of American excess that's advertised on every corner and on every commercial.
This show may rank alongside the likes of LOST, Heroes, and My Name is Earl as "you really had to be there" shows of the 2000s, but this title sequence will forever remain one of the most iconic ever created.