There are years that don’t really end when the calendar changes. 2006, for Italians, is certainly one of these. It is the year of the blue sky above Berlin, of Fabio Grosso’s rigor, of the squares filled until dawn and of a national team that became world champions. But it is also the year of films, television series and characters which, twenty years later, continue to occupy a surprisingly vivid place in the collective imagination.
They arrived in the rooms The devil wears Prada, The Prestige, Casino Royale And Night before exams. They made their debut on television Dexter, Heroes And 30 Rockwhile Japanese animation delivered to the public titles destined to become global phenomena, from death Note to Gintama.
Two decades later, many of those products have not disappeared. On the contrary, they are reviewed by those who discovered them at the time and recovered by a generation that had not yet been born in 2006. A ranking developed by JustWatch based on the activities of Italian users shows how nostalgia has become one of the drivers of contemporary streaming.
«The Devil Wears Prada» is the most popular film of 2006
Dominating the cinema rankings is The devil wears Prada. The comedy set in the world of fashion, starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway, has long gone beyond the boundaries of simple commercial success to become a cultural phenomenon.
Miranda Priestly’s jokes have become the stuff of social networks, her coats and her entrances into the editorial office continue to inspire memes and quotes, while the relationship between career, ambition and private life retains a surprising relevance. Furthermore, the film has returned to the center of attention thanks to the wait for its sequel, confirming the strength of a title that continues to speak to even the youngest audiences.
In second place is The PrestigeChristopher Nolan’s thriller dedicated to the obsessive rivalry between two illusionists. A film constructed like a magic act, full of clues, deceptions and narrative twists that invite the viewer to watch it again several times.
The surprise comes from third place, occupied by Idiocracy. Received without particular fanfare upon release, Mike Judge’s satirical comedy has acquired cult status over the years. His representation of a society dominated by superficiality, consumption and the progressive loss of skills is today often reread as a grotesque prediction of some contemporary dynamics.
From Scorsese to James Bond, an unrepeatable year for cinema
The ranking confirms how 2006 was full of films capable of standing the test of time. He appears in fourth place The Departed – Good and evilthe crime film directed by Martin Scorsese which finally earned him the Oscar for best director.
Continued Pan’s Labyrinth by Guillermo del Toro, a dark tale set in Franco’s Spain, capable of combining fantasy, violence and historical memory. It is in sixth place Little Miss Sunshinea family tale on the road that has become one of the symbols of independent cinema of the 2000s.
Seventh is Casino Royalethe film that ushered in the era of Daniel Craig as James Bond. His more physical, vulnerable and tormented Agent 007 marked a clear break from the character’s previous incarnations.
They close the top ten Love doesn’t go on holidaywhich has now become a recurring event on Christmas streaming, The Da Vinci Code And Night before exams. The latter remains the highest-ranking Italian title and one of the films that best described adolescence, school and the transition to adulthood of the generation that grew up in the early 2000s.
The ten most popular films of 2006 today
The complete ranking therefore sees first place The devil wears Pradafollowed by The Prestige And Idiocracy. Fourth to tenth places appear The Departed – Good and evil, Pan’s Labyrinth, Little Miss Sunshine, Casino Royale, Love doesn’t go on holiday, The Da Vinci Code And Night before exams.
It’s a very different selection of genres and languages. There are thrillers, comedies, fantasy, auteur cinema and generational tales. What unites them is the ability to have produced scenes, characters and imagery that are still recognizable twenty years later.
«Dexter» dominates among television series
On the television front, the most popular series of 2006 is Dexter. The protagonist is a forensic technician from Miami who leads a second life as a serial killer, choosing as victims people guilty of murder.
The series revolutionized crime television by asking the audience to side with a morally ambiguous character. Dexter Morgan thus became one of the most recognizable antiheroes of modern television, anticipating a narrative season populated by dark and imperfect protagonists.
Second place is occupied by death Note. The psychological challenge between Light Yagami, a student in possession of a notebook capable of killing, and Detective L transformed the anime into a global phenomenon. Even today it is one of the most used titles as a gateway to the world of Japanese animation.
Complete the podium Heroesthe series that brought superpowers to generalist television before the expansion of the Marvel and DC universes made the genre omnipresent on the small screen too.
Also in the rankings are «I Cesaroni» and the great Japanese anime
He appears in fourth place 30 Rocka sitcom created by Tina Fey and set behind the scenes of a television show. Fifth it is instead The Cesaronithe Italian fiction that has become the symbol of a specific period of national television.
The extended Garbatella family, the love stories between Marco and Eva and the immediately recognizable theme song continue to exert a strong nostalgic attraction on those who grew up in the 2000s. The return of the series and its protagonists has also rekindled interest in the original seasons.
The ranking also confirms the strength of Japanese animation. Beyond death Noteappear Gintama in sixth place e Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion to the eighth. Seventh is the teen sports drama Friday Night LightsWhile Mickey’s house closes the ranking, demonstrating the ability of children’s content to cross generations.
The 2006 series most loved by Italians
After Dexter, death Note And Heroesthe ranking continues with 30 Rock, The Cesaroni, Gintama, Friday Night Lights, Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion And Mickey’s house.
The presence of three souls in the first eight positions also indicates a change in the habits of the Italian public. Titles once considered niche products are now an integral part of the offer of the main platforms and are discovered by much wider audiences.
Because 2006 still works
The success of these titles does not depend only on quality. The emotional relationship built with the period in which they were published also weighs heavily.
Rewatching a film or series from 2006 often means recovering a different way of consuming entertainment: DVDs, weekly television programming, cinemas that are still central and a world before the widespread diffusion of smartphones and social networks.
However, streaming has changed how nostalgia works. A title from the past no longer has to wait for a television repeat or a physical re-release to return to circulation. It can be instantly retrieved, put on a watchlist, and replayed from a scene that has gone viral on TikTok.
The JustWatch ranking was constructed by analyzing the popularity recorded in the last 24 months by films released in 2006 and by series launched, or distributed with at least one season, during the same year. Activities such as clicking on platform offers, adding titles to personal lists and reporting content as already seen were considered.
The result is a portrait of a year that continues to refuse to become merely the past. In 2006, Italy lifted the World Cup in Berlin, Miranda Priestly pronounced her icy judgments, James Bond changed face and Dexter Morgan began his double life. Twenty years later, all you need to do is open a platform to find them all there.
