Editing Rob Lowe (section)

===2000s===
After leaving ''The West Wing'', Lowe was the star and executive producer of a failed NBC drama, ''[[The Lyon's Den]]'' (2003).<ref>{{Citation|title=The Lyon's Den (TV Series 2003–2004)|work=IMDb|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0380124/|language=en|access-date=2021-01-19|archive-date=December 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201222021208/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0380124/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2004, he tried again in a series entitled ''[[Dr. Vegas]]'', but it also was quickly canceled.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Dr. Vegas|url=http://epguides.com/DrVegas/|url-status=live|access-date=2021-08-14|website=epguides.com|archive-date=August 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210814032511/http://epguides.com/DrVegas/}}</ref>

Lowe passed on the role of [[Derek Shepherd]] on ''[[Grey's Anatomy]]'', which eventually went to [[Patrick Dempsey]].<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2006-11-16-rob-lowe_x.htm | work=[[USA Today]] | title=Lowe back in politics | first=William | last=Keck | date=November 17, 2006 | access-date=May 22, 2010 | archive-date=January 17, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110117013301/http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2006-11-16-rob-lowe_x.htm | url-status=live }}</ref>

Despite his two canceled TV series and flops like ''[[View from the Top|View From the Top]]'' and the made-for-TV movie ''[[Perfect Strangers (2004 film)|Perfect Strangers]]'' during his post–''West Wing'' run,<ref>{{Citation|title=Perfect Strangers (TV Movie 2004)|work=IMDb|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0415201/|language=en|access-date=2021-01-19|archive-date=January 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126091608/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0415201/|url-status=live}}</ref> Lowe found success in the TV miniseries genre. In 2004, Lowe starred in the [[TNT (U.S. TV network)|TNT]] remake of the Stephen King miniseries ''[[Salem's Lot (2004 miniseries)|Salem's Lot]]'', which was the highest-rated cable program of that summer and the highest ratings TNT original programming had at the time.<ref>{{Citation|title=Salem's Lot (TV Mini-Series 2004)|work=IMDb|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0355987/|language=en|access-date=2021-01-19|archive-date=January 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126131842/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0355987/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2005, he starred as Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee in Sorkin's London West End production of ''[[A Few Good Men (play)|A Few Good Men]]'', the first time the two had worked together since ''The West Wing''. Although Lowe had expressed unhappiness about his decreased role on that show at the time of his departure, he has now repeatedly said that any animosity between them is over and that he was pleased to be working once more with Sorkin.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}

That same year, Lowe starred in the miniseries ''[[Beach Girls (TV miniseries)|Beach Girls]]'' on the [[Lifetime (TV channel)|Lifetime]] network, based on the [[Luanne Rice]] novel of the same name.<ref>{{Citation|title=Beach Girls (TV Mini-Series 2005)|work=IMDb|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0461071/|language=en|access-date=2021-01-19|archive-date=January 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125200138/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0461071/|url-status=live}}</ref> The series premiere received the highest ratings for a movie premiere in Lifetime history.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}} Later, Lowe filmed his supporting role as a movie agent in the 2006 independent film ''[[Thank You for Smoking (film)|Thank You for Smoking]]''.<ref>{{Citation|title=Thank You for Smoking (2005)|work=IMDb|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0427944/|language=en|access-date=2021-01-19|archive-date=January 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119174244/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0427944/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2006, he filmed ''The Perfect Day'' for TNT, in which he took a pay cut to film in [[New Orleans]] in order to help the [[Hurricane Katrina]]-ravaged area. That same year, Lowe filmed ''[[Stir of Echoes: The Homecoming]]'', the sequel to the 1999 [[Kevin Bacon]] thriller ''[[Stir of Echoes]]'', and it was announced that Lowe would join the cast of ''[[Brothers & Sisters (2006 TV series)|Brothers & Sisters]]'' for a guest run of several episodes.

In January 2007, ABC announced that Lowe would be staying on ''Brothers and Sisters'' as a "special guest star" for the rest of Season 1 after Lowe's initial appearance on the show in November 2006 brought the best ratings and demographic showing for the show since its premiere. Soon after ABC announced an early Season 2 renewal for ''Brother & Sisters'' in March 2007, Lowe announced he would be returning for the show's second season. He continued to appear in the series until the end of the 2009–10 season. Then, Lowe announced he would leave, unhappy with the stories and his lack of screen time in the fourth season. In an episode broadcast on May 16, 2010, his character was part of a multi-vehicle crash involving a large truck and was put into a [[coma]]. The storyline was wrapped up in the first episode of the fifth season; Lowe did not appear in the episode.

In June 2006, he was the guest host for an episode in the third series of ''[[The Friday Night Project]]'' for the United Kingdom's Channel 4. Lowe has also appeared in a televised advertisement for 'Visit California' with other celebrities, including Governor [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]]. (In the advertisement campaign, he was usually pictured in a white tee-shirt printed with the California state flag.)

Lowe had a supporting role in the 2009 movie ''[[The Invention of Lying]]''<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/6251536/The-Invention-of-Lying-review.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/6251536/The-Invention-of-Lying-review.html |archive-date=January 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=The Invention of Lying, review|last=Sandhu|first=Sukhdev|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph|The Telegraph]]|date=August 29, 2014|access-date=October 16, 2017|language=en-GB|issn=0307-1235}}{{cbignore}}</ref> and a leading role in ''Too Late to Say Goodbye''.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/2009/05/07/lauren-holly-ro/|title=Lauren Holly, Rob Lowe to star in Lifetime Movie Network's 'Too Late to Say Goodbye'|date=May 7, 2009|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|access-date=October 16, 2017|archive-date=October 17, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017042426/http://ew.com/article/2009/05/07/lauren-holly-ro/|url-status=live}}</ref>