Iconic 00s TV shows that should be brought back

I'm not sure I'll ever forgive the BBC for cancelling Pulling. While its co-creator Sharon Horgan might be best known for her work on critically-acclaimed series such as Bad Sisters, Motherland and Catastrophe, her earlier BBC Three sitcom, Pulling, is a true masterpiece. 

The series centres on Donna (Horgan), Karen (Tanya Franks), and Louise (Rebekah Staton): a trio of thirty-something women sharing a flat in London, all of whom are deeply flawed, drink to excess and consistently make bad decisions.

The story begins with Donna (Horgan) deciding to ditch her dull fiancé Carl just days before their wedding, forcing her to move in with her two single friends, Karen and Louise, in Penge. Over two seasons, we watch the three friends navigate their messy lives, from career mishaps to romantic disasters.

This brilliant comedy was tragically axed in 2009 after two seasons and a BAFTA nomination. It concluded with a 60-minute special after the BBC opted against renewing it for another run, despite Sharon Horgan and her co-writer Dennis Kelly's eagerness to write a new season.

While a reboot is unlikely, with both creators having moved on with a string of successful projects, there is little doubt that the show's devoted fanbase would be thrilled to welcome it back should they ever choose to revisit the story.

Another television tragedy, Pushing Daisies, was cancelled way before its time. The cult drama starred Lee Pace as Ned, a pie-maker with the ability to bring dead people back to life.

He puts this gift to use solving murders, while also bringing his childhood sweetheart, Chuck (Anna Friel), back to life. The catch? Once he resurrects someone, he can't touch them or they will die for good – leaving him and Chuck in a permanent state of longing. 

Fans were heartbroken when the Emmy-winning series ended after two seasons in 2009. According to creator Bryan Fuller, the show was canned partly due to the 2007-08 Hollywood writers' strike and viewership ratings, leaving fans with many unresolved plotlines and one unanswered question: would Ned and Chuck ever find a way to be together?

Since then, viewers have consistently campaigned for the show's revival on social media, proving that the appetite for this quirky romance remains just as strong almost twenty years later.

Long before Simon Pegg became synonymous with his iconic Cornetto trilogy, he made his mark on the small screen with this surreal sitcom.

Developed in collaboration with Jessica Hynes (W1A) and brought to life by director Edgar Wright (Ant-Man, Baby Driver), the premise follows two struggling twenty-somethings who despite having only just met, decide to move into a flatshare, pretending to be a committed couple to secure the lease on the only home they can afford.

Tim, a bleach-haired aspiring comic book artist, suddenly finds himself homeless following a breakup, while Daisy, a wannabe journalist, is left without a roof over her head upon returning from a six-month trip in Asia.

The show is rounded out by a quirky ensemble, including Tim's military-obsessed friend Mike (Nick Frost), Daisy's fashionable yet ditzy friend Twist (Katy Carmichael), the tortured artist living downstairs, Brian (Mark Heap), and their eccentric landlady, Marsha (Julia Deakin).

The series concluded after two seasons in 2001, at which point the creators felt the characters' narratives had reached their natural conclusion.

While a revival seems unlikely - especially given Simon's past comments that the show captured a specific moment in their youth and "couldn't possibly ever exist again" - I often find myself wondering where Tim and Daisy would be today.

Before they were household names, James Corden and Ruth Jones earned their stripes on Kay Mellor's iconic ITV drama. Running from 2000 to 2005, the series centred on a Leeds-based slimming club, blending heart and humour through the lives of its relatable members.

Boasting a stellar cast including Alison Steadman and Gaynor Faye, the show has recently enjoyed a massive resurgence on streaming platforms and has been hailed for capturing the diet-obsessed culture of the early 00s.

While the show drew to a natural end after five series, the appetite for a comeback is high. Gaynor Faye recently revealed she is actively pushing for a reboot, with scripts written and actors raring to go. Our fingers are firmly crossed for a club reunion!

Fans are still mourning the abrupt cancellation of Freaks and Geeks, which NBC axed in the summer of 2000 before the first season had even finished airing. 

Set at the fictional McKinley High School in 1980, the series follows a group of students navigating the painful realities of adolescence. 

While the show pulled in low ratings at the time, it has since become a cult coming-of-age classic.

Its creators, Paul Feig and Judd Apatow, have since become giants of 21st-century comedy, helping launch the careers of stars like Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, and James Franco. 

In 2024, Paul didn't completely shut down the idea of a return. "I mean, people always want to do a sequel, reunion or something and I'm not a fan of those kind of things," he told LadBible. "If I had a story, if some great idea came into my head, yeah, fine. Because also, the [actors] are still young – it is always sad when you do a reunion and they are all old. But they are all in their prime, so you never know."