The Best TV Shows on ESPN2

Every ESPN2 Show Ranked From Best To Worst

As of October 2026, our compilation of ESPN2’s top-rated series boasts over 20 unique shows. Leading the pack on ESPN2 are Jim Rome Is Burning and Cold Pizza, with their initial broadcasts in 2003 and 2003. From 2003 through to 2026, ESPN2 has accumulated a diverse collection of over 20 television shows.

  • Highly Questionable
    Highly Questionable (N/A)10.0

    Lively sports commentary with a rotating cast of columnists and commentators.

  • Blood, Sweat & Tears: Haney vs. Lomachenko
    Blood, Sweat & Tears: Haney vs. Lomachenko (2023)10.0

    The two-part series features 30-minute all-access episodes taking fight fans inside the training camps of both fighters.

  • Basketball: A Love Story
    Basketball: A Love Story (2018)7.3

    'Basketball: A Love Story' is a series of 62 interconnected short stories that creates a vibrant mosaic of the game, featuring 165 exclusive interviews. The cast encompasses basketball's most prominent figures and explores the complex nature of love as it relates to the game.

  • First Take
    First Take (N/A)6.7

    First Take is an American morning sports talk program on ESPN2 and ESPN2HD. Two back-to-back two-hour episodes air each weekday from Monday through Friday, with the live episode airing from 10 a.m. ET until noon, followed by a repeat. The show is broadcast from ESPN's headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut in Studio E. The entire show, without commercials, is available as an audio-only podcast the afternoon of the same day, following the broadcast of the recorded show.

  • The Ultimate Fighter
    The Ultimate Fighter (2005)6.6

    The next generation of UFC stars are produced in an intense elimination tournament that separates the contenders from the pretenders.

  • Cold Pizza
    Cold Pizza (2003)6.0

    Cold Pizza was a television sports morning talk show that aired weekdays on ESPN2. The show's style was more akin to Good Morning America than SportsCenter's straight news and highlights format. It included daily sports news, interviews with sports journalists, athletes, and personalities, and an assortment of other sports and non-sports topics. This show began airing on October 20, 2003. The show's launch team and daily production management was led by broadcast executives James Cohen, Joseph Maar and Todd Mason. Although Cold Pizza was simulcast on ESPN2HD, it was not produced or presented in high definition. On October 2, 2006, DirecTV became the presenting sponsor with the show titled as Cold Pizza presented by DirecTV. Two back-to-back two-hour episodes aired each weekday from Monday through Friday, with the live episode airing from 10 a.m. ET until noon, followed by a repeat at 12 p.m. ET. The show was hosted by former SportsCenter personality, Dana Jacobson, who joined the program in 2005, and Jay Crawford, who was with the show for its entire run. Skip Bayless contributed during the "1st and 10" segments. Woody Paige, who had been his antagonist during those segments, left after the November 28, 2006, episode, citing health and personal reasons, leaving New York to return to the Denver Post, where he had been a longtime writer.

  • Jim Rome Is Burning
    Jim Rome Is Burning (2003)5.0

    Host Jim Rome interviews sports figures, gives personal opinions on a few of the day's sports stories and is joined by analysts to discuss controversies in sports. Weekly correspondent segments featuring athletes take viewers closer to an aspect of a sport -- inside a team's locker room, a practice or a day in the life of the featured athlete or team.

  • Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest
    Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest (2003)N/A

  • It's the Shoes
    It's the Shoes (2005)N/A

    Bibbito Garcia takes you across the country to check out some of the rarest and most unusual sneaker collections owned by celebs.

  • The Fantasy Show
    The Fantasy Show (2006)N/A

    The Fantasy Show is a fantasy football talk and debate show on ESPN2. The show was supposed to air for 18 weeks a year during the National Football League season every Thursday at 6:30pm ET on ESPN2. However, the debut season of the show only had 11 episodes. In 2017 the series was resurrected and now features Matthew Berry.

  • College Football Live
    College Football Live (2007)N/A

    College Football Live is a show that airs weekdays during the college football season on ESPN or ESPN2, and ESPNU. Its premiere was on Monday, July 23, 2007. Wendi Nix serves as the lead host, and it also features ESPN college football analysts Desmond Howard, Joey Galloway, David Pollack, Trevor Matich and others. College Football Live also features Live interviews with college coaches and players.

  • Scripps National Spelling Bee
    Scripps National Spelling Bee (N/A)N/A

  • Player 54: Chasing the XFL Dream
    Player 54: Chasing the XFL Dream (2023)N/A

    Behind the scenes of building a league and its teams, the series highlights the XFL's motto: "Where dreams meet opportunity." The nine-part docuseries follows the creation of the XFL under new leadership.

  • Life in the W
    Life in the W (2026)N/A

    Follow WNBA players as they navigate pivotal moments in their professional and personal lives amid the continued rise of women's sports.

  • On The Clock
    On The Clock (2023)N/A

    This show follows four top quarterback prospects throughout their final college football season and into the offseason as they prepare for the NFL Combine, their Pro Days and ultimately the NFL Draft.

  • NFL Draft Daily
    NFL Draft Daily (2026)N/A

    A daily draft-focused show covering prospects, mock drafts, and analysis.

  • Where It Lies
    Where It Lies (2026)N/A

    The first docuseries to explore the real world of public golf where quirky characters, hidden histories, and thriving local cultures collide on the course. Each episode uses a public course as a gateway into a city's food, music, traditions, and personalities, revealing how golf shapes — and is shaped by — the communities that play it.

  • The Breakdown with Peyton and Kuechly
    The Breakdown with Peyton and Kuechly (2026)N/A

    Pro Football Hall of Famers Peyton Manning and Luke Kuechly combine their perspectives from opposite sides of the ball to break down the strategy, preparation and key storylines ahead of marquee NFL matchups.

  • Last Train to North America
    Last Train to North America (2026)N/A

    Follow renowned EPSN journalist Martin Ainstein on a unique rail journey across the United States, Mexico and Canada as the three nations prepare to jointly host the biggest sporting event of the summer, the 2026 World Cup.

  • NWSL: The Final Third
    NWSL: The Final Third (2026)N/A

    Angel City FC, Washington Spirit, and KC Current navigate an unpredictable NWSL season.