2000s Books, Films And TV: The Decade Guide
Reality television, the Potter and Rings films, and the decade box sets replaced the video shop.
Below: the books worth reading from the 2000s, then the films and television year by year from 2000 to 2009.
Useful for a themed night, a reading list, a reminiscence session or working out what someone grew up with.
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Happy Birthday Papa (Happy Birthday Card) (Multiple designs)
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Happy Birthday Card For The World's Best Sister-in-Law
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Years covered in the 2000s
- 2000 - The Millennium Dome, the fuel protests and Big Brother arriving from nowhere. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2000
- 2001 - Foot-and-mouth, 11 September and the first iPod. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2001
- 2002 - The Golden Jubilee, the death of the Queen Mother and Pop Idol fever. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2002
- 2003 - Iraq, a record-breaking heatwave and England winning the Rugby World Cup. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2003
- 2004 - Strictly and The X Factor both started, and the year ended with the tsunami. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2004
- 2005 - The Olympic bid, the 7 July bombings and the Ashes coming home. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2005
- 2006 - Arctic Monkeys, the Wii and another World Cup penalty shoot-out. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2006
- 2007 - The iPhone, the smoking ban, the floods and the run on Northern Rock. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2007
- 2008 - The banking crash, a brilliant Olympics and Lewis Hamilton on the last corner. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2008
- 2009 - Recession, MPs' expenses and a Christmas number one campaign that worked. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-2009
- That is every 2000s year we have written up so far: 2000 to 2009.
Books of the 2000s
- J. K. Rowling, Goblet of Fire (2000) through to Deathly Hallows (2007).
- Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (2003).
- Dan Brown, The Da Vinci Code (2003).
- Khaled Hosseini, The Kite Runner (2003).
- Andrea Levy, Small Island (2004).
- Stephenie Meyer, Twilight (2005).
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road (2006).
- Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall (2009).
- Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, Room on the Broom (2001) and The Snail and the Whale (2003).
Film and television, year by year
- 2000 - Big Brother launched on Channel 4 in July, and Craig Phillips won the first series.
- 2001 - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring both opened.
- 2002 - Freeview launched in October and replaced ITV Digital.
- 2003 - The Return of the King and Finding Nemo filled cinemas.
- 2004 - Strictly Come Dancing and The X Factor both began.
- 2005 - Doctor Who returned in March with Christopher Eccleston.
- 2006 - Life on Mars, The Inbetweeners' precursors and Torchwood arrived; Big Brother was still huge.
- 2007 - Gavin & Stacey began on BBC Three.
- 2008 - The Dark Knight and Mamma Mia! were the films of the year.
- 2009 - Avatar opened in December and became the highest-grossing film ever at the time.
More from the screen
- 2000 - Gladiator was the film of the year.
- 2001 - The Office began on BBC Two in July.
- 2002 - Spider-Man and The Two Towers were the films of the year.
- 2003 - Little Britain moved to television.
- 2004 - Shrek 2 and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban were the family films.
- 2005 - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit were the films of the year.
- 2006 - Casino Royale rebooted James Bond with Daniel Craig.
- 2007 - The Simpsons Movie and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix were the big releases.
- 2008 - Gavin & Stacey moved to BBC One; The Apprentice was at its peak.
- 2009 - The Inbetweeners and Miranda were the comedies people quoted.
How to use this
- Themed night: one film from the decade, the matching party playlist, and a quiz round from the trivia page.
- Reading list: pick one book from the decade someone was born in and one from the decade they turned eighteen.
- Reminiscence session: read the television lines out and let people finish the theme tunes.
- Anyone born in 2000 turns 50 in 2050, 60 in 2060 and 70 in 2070.
Found your words? Now find the card
Shop cards Look back to 2000 Look back to 2001 Look back to 2002
How to write it so it lands
- Pair one film and one playlist from the same decade for an easy themed night.
- For a card, name the book or programme they grew up with rather than the decade.
- Charity shops are still the cheapest place to find the older titles on this list.
Where to shop next
- Look back to 2000
- Look back to 2001
- Look back to 2002
- Look back to 2003
- Look back to 2004
- Look back to 2005
- Look back to 2006
- Look back to 2007
- Look back to 2008
- Look back to 2009
- 2000s history: events, politics and culture
- 2000s calendar: year by year
- 2000s music: songs, genres and trends
- 2000s films and directors
- 2000s books: novels and authors
- 2000s art: artists and styles
- 2000s fashion: styles, designers and trends
- 2000s food: dishes, restaurants and trends
- 2000s travel: destinations and holidays
- 2000s technology: gadgets and computers
- 2000s shopping guide: what to buy
- 2000s games: board, card and video
- 2000s trivia: fun facts
- 2000s quiz: questions and answers
- 2000s party playlist
- The 2000s: the whole decade
- Retro gift guide: the 2000s
- The decade before: the 1990s
- The decade after: the 2010s
- All decade guides in one place
- Card messages by occasion: every guide in one place
- Card hub: cards, badges and messages by occasion
- Decade history by era
- Decade calendars: every year from 1920
- Decade music: songs, genres and trends
- Decade films: best movies and directors
- Decade books: novels, authors and reading trends
- Decade art: artists, styles and trends
- Decade fashion: styles, designers and trends
- Decade food: dishes, restaurants and eating trends
- Decade travel: destinations and holidays
- Decade technology: gadgets and computers
- Decade shopping guides
- Decade games: board, card and video games by era
- Decade trivia: fun facts by era
- Decade quizzes: questions and answers by era
- Decade trivia game: play for points
- Decade quiz: test your memory
- Shop art prints and posters
- Shop greetings cards
- Shop birthday cards
- Shop funny cards
- Milestone birthday cards
- Nostalgia gift shop
- Retro party supplies
- 00s quiz questions
- Dial-up, MSN and MySpace
- Adverts we can still recite
- Decade music round questions
- Decade guides: books, films and TV by era
- Guess the year quiz
- Care home reminiscence quiz
- Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
- How to make a balloon arch
- Photo booth prop ideas
- Birthday cards for kids
- Pin badges
- All guides
Frequently asked questions
What are the best books of the 2000s?
The list above names real titles published between 2000 and 2009, with their years - a mix of the novels that defined the decade and the children's books that have stayed in print since.
What films and TV shows were popular in the 2000s?
The year-by-year list above gives the screen highlights for each year of the decade. For the full picture of any single year, open that year's page.
Where do these come from?
The film and television lines use the same checked facts as our year pages. The book lists are our own picks - real titles with real publication years, nothing invented.
Do you sell books or films?
No. We make greeting cards, art prints and pin badges in the UK. This page is free to read and free to copy.