Summary
- The 1990s was a golden era for TV shows, with a mix of dramas, sitcoms, and sketch comedies that are still beloved today.
- Shows like "Friends," "Dawson's Creek," and "Beverly Hills, 90210" tackled important social issues, while "The Nanny" and "Clarissa Explains It All" brought laughter to audiences.
- The diverse cast of "All That" and the groundbreaking female-led "Clarissa Explains It All" paved the way for future shows, making the 1990s a decade of television nostalgia.
Every decade has seen some unforgettable TV shows, but there's a special sense of nostalgia when talking about 1990s TV shows. TV in the 1990s is ed for its dramas, like ER, of which some even mixed with other genres, such as sci-fi (The X-Files) and even horror (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), but this decade also had its good dose of sitcoms. Many of the sitcoms from the 1990s have become TV classics and are even regarded as some of the best TV shows ever made, and this decade also welcomed other types of TV content.
The 1990s saw the peak of some of the decade’s most popular TV networks, which were home to some successful and memorable TV shows, as are the cases of Nickelodeon and MTV. Of course, the 1990s had a bit of everything for viewers of every age and with different tastes, making way for a decade with a wide variety of TV shows, of which many have the power to evoke a lot of nostalgia. Here are 13 TV shows that will definitely bring back memories from the 1990s and drive that nostalgia wild.
13 Moesha
Moesha is a sitcom that aired on UPN from 1996 to 2001, for a total of six seasons. Moesha starred Brandy Norwood as the title character, a teenager living with her upper-middle-class family in Los Angeles. Moesha addressed topics that affect teenagers, such as teen pregnancy, drug use, and the death of a parent, and had a good dose of family drama when shocking family secrets were revealed.
12 Smart Guy
Smart Guy is a sitcom that aired on The WB from 1997 to 1999. It followed T.J. Henderson (Tahj Mowry), a child prodigy who moved from elementary school to high school at the age of 10, but being a genius didn’t make fitting in with his older classmates easier. Smart Guy’s focus was T.J.’s efforts to try to adapt to high school while still being a small kid, as well as the contrast between him being a genius and his brother being an underachiever. Smart Guy also dealt with serious topics from time to time, such as one episode about online strangers and predators.
11 All That
All That was a sketch comedy TV series, seen as the Saturday Night Live for children. All That aired on Nickelodeon from 1994 to 2005 for 10 seasons, and pretty much like SNL, it featured short comedic sketches and had a musical guest every week, always keeping the tone appropriate for a young audience. All That has been praised for its diverse cast, comedy style, and its impact on children’s television, and it saw the rise of various Nickelodeon stars, such as Amanda Bynes, Nick Cannon, Kel Mitchell, Jamie Spears, and Kenan Thompson.
10 Blossom
Blossom is a sitcom that aired on NBC from 1991 to 1995. Blossom starred Mayim Bialik as the title character, an Italian-American teenager living with her single father, Nick (Ted Wass), and her older brothers Tony (Michael Stoyanov) and Joey (Joey Lawrence). The family was adjusting to their mother, Maddy, leaving them to pursue her own career, while Tony was a recovering addict and Nick was a session musician.
Meanwhile, Blossom navigated life with the help of her best friend, Six LeMeure, and would frequently daydream of celebrities giving her advice. Blossom’s fashion style, the series’ tone, and Joey Lawrence are enough to evoke some serious 1990s nostalgia.
9 Clarissa Explains It All
Clarissa Explains It All aired on Nickelodeon from 1991 to 1994, and it starred Melissa Joan Hart as teenager Clarissa Darling. Clarissa Explains It All followed the title character as she explained directly to the audience all the things that happened in her life as she dealt with typical teenage concerns such as school, pimples, getting her driver’s license, her annoying younger brother Ferguson, and more.
Clarissa Explains It All was the first Nickelodeon TV series to have a female lead, making way for other female-led shows created by the network. Just like Blossom, Clarissa’s outfits, as well as the slang she and her best friend Sam used, are more than enough to send anyone back to the 1990s.
8 The Nanny
The Nanny is a sitcom that aired on CBS from 1993 to 1999. The Nanny starred Fran Drescher as Fran Fine, who one day was fired by her ex-fiance and found an unexpected job as the nanny of Maxwell Sheffield’s (Charles Shaughnessy) three kids: Maggie, Brighton, and Grace. Adding to the fun times at the Sheffields’ house were the butler, Niles (Daniel Davis), and Maxwell’s business partner C.C. Babcock (Lauren Lane), who often made comments about each other, but not nice ones. The Nanny is one of the most iconic TV shows of the 1990s thanks to its comedy style, its characters, and Fran’s unique fashion style.
7 The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is a sitcom that aired on NBC from 1990 to 1996. The Fresh Prince starred Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart teenager from West Philadelphia who was sent to live with his wealthy uncle and aunt in Bel-Air. What followed were Will’s attempts to adapt to a completely new lifestyle, all with a lot of humor, though The Fresh Prince also tackled some serious topics from time and time. The Fresh Prince is considered one of the greatest sitcoms of all time, and anyone who watches it won’t be able to get the theme song out of their heads for a while.
6 Boy Meets World
Boy Meets World is a coming-of-age sitcom that aired on ABC from 1993 to 2000. Boy Meets World followed Cory Matthews (Ben Savage) and his friends Topanga Lawrence (Danielle Fishel) and Shawn Hunter (Rider Strong), from their childhood days to their college years. As such, Boy Meets World covered a variety of topics throughout the different ages and phases the characters went through, and these went from innocent issues to more serious ones, like substance abuse, child abuse, and cults. Boy Meets World is one of the most successful and beloved TV shows from the 1990s.
5 Friends
Friends is a sitcom that aired on NBC from 1994 to 2004, and it continues to be regarded as one of the greatest TV shows of all time. Set in New York City, Friends followed a group of six friends – Phoebe, Monica, Joey, Chandler, Rachel, and Ross – as they did their best to balance all areas of their lives while dealing with everything adulthood threw their way. From the fashion and hairstyles (like the famous haircut “The Rachel”) to the pop culture within the series, Friends has everything to take the audience back to the 1990s, as it also dealt with social issues that were current back then.
4 Dawson’s Creek
Dawson’s Creek is a teen drama TV series that aired on The WB from 1998 to 2003. Set in the small town of Capeside, Massachusetts, Dawson’s Creek followed aspiring filmmaker Dawson Leery (James Van Der Beek), his childhood friend Joey Potter (Katie Holmes), his best friend Pacey Witter (Joshua Jackson), and new girl Jen Lindley (Michelle Williams), as they went through many ups and downs in their teenage years and early adulthood. As such, Dawson’s Creek addressed topics like death, mental health, divorce, homophobia, and more. Dawson’s Creek is credited with starting the boom of teen TV shows in the late 1990s and the 2000s.