Things that defined the ’90s: floppy middle-parted hair, questionable taste in leggings, and—most important—some truly iconic TV shows. Most of which, tragically, were canceled way too soon. From Clarissa Explains It All to Clueless (yes, they made the movie into a show), these are the shows from the 1990s that we wish were still on air (er, on Netflix, I guess) today.
3rd Rock From the Sun
If you didn’t have a crush on Joseph Gordon-Levitt as hot humanoid alien Tommy Solomon, were you even living? 3rd Rock From the Sun blessed us with its unearthly presence for six seasons, and its ending definitely left room for a revival.
All That
Kids from the ’90s will remember coming home and feeling extremely cool while watching All That, Nickelodeon’s “sketch comedy” show for kids. Like, sorry, Lorne Michaels, but SNL who?
Boy Meets World
Between Shawn’s middle-part hair flop, Cory’s love for unbuttoned button-downs, and Topanga’s insane bangs, no show defines ’90s TV more than Boy Meets World. Hands up if Mr. Feeny is still your imaginary mentor.
Breaker High
Yes, that’s Ryan Gosling on the right in this picture, and no, I am not okay. You might not remember Breaker High because it was only on for one season, but guys, we need to discuss the plot: It’s about a group of kids who go to high school on a cruise ship. If you can find a way to stream this show today, you are a better internet sleuth than I.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Sometimes in life, you have to make tough choices. And for us ’90s and early aughts kids, it all came down to this: Buffy or Charmed?! Both were canceled too soon, but Buffy was significantly more ’90s and is often considered one of the Greatest Shows of All Time (nothing but the truth!).
Camp Wilder
Camp Wilder only lasted for one gloriously ’90s season before being canceled and was part of ABC’s iconic TGIF lineup. You wanna know the saddest part? Twenty episodes were filmed and the network only bothered to air 19 of them, because ratings were so low. I! Demand! Justice! P.S. Apparently, this show was a hit in Germany, so maybe you could relocate and try streaming it there?!
Clarissa Explains It All
Guys! Clarissa really did explain it all. Like how to sneak into your best friend’s window with a secret ladder. And how to deal with your annoying little brother. And how to buy your first training bra. The list goes on.
Clueless
To be clear, this show was not as good as the movie. And it didn’t star Alicia Silverstone as Cher. And the fact that it lasted three seasons on TGIF is fully shocking. But it tried. Bless its confused ’90s heart!
Dawson’s Creek
Excuse me while I spend the next few minutes crying over Dawson, his aforementioned creek, and the fact that this show isn’t in my life anymore. It did, however, introduce us to a timeless GIF of James Van Der Beek weeping hysterically.
Doug
Anyone else ship Doug Funnie and Patti Mayonnaise harder than they ship their own relationship? Cool, same. Doug accompanied us through almost the entire decade, and spoiler alert: He and Patti finally go on a date in the last episode. Cute.
Goosebumps
Sure, it was just a hokey ’90s kids show. But Goosebumps introduced us to Slappy, the evil ventriloquist dummy, and nothing has been the same since. Thanks, R. L. Stine!
Malibu Shores
Guys, this show literally lasted only 10 episodes on NBC in 1996. Which is kinda wild considering it was about angsty teen high school drama in L.A. and starred Keri Russell. Like, what more do you want, world? I cannot for the life of me figure out a way to stream this, so if you can, I salute ya.
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
🎵 This is the story all about how Will Smith’s life got flipped turned upside down 🎵…and then he morphed into a massive movie star. God bless the ’90s.
Power Rangers
What? Just a show about a group of teens who transform into spandex-wearing superheroes. Nothing to see here! P.S. Can someone please explain how spandex is going to protect these kids from alien monsters? Thx.
Rugrats
Only the ’90s would produce a massively popular show about a fleet of talking babies. Did anyone else identify with the bratty older sister, Angelica? Cool, just me.
Sabrina the Teenage Witch
No offense to Netflix, but the Sabrina reboot has nothing on the original. Mostly because it’s lacking an animatronic talking black cat who sassily sips tea and throws shade.
Saved by the Bell
What’s your favorite episode of Saved by the Bell? Mine is obviously the one where Jessie Spano screams “I’M SO EXCITED, I’M SO EXCITED, I’M SO SCARED” in the midst of her caffeine pill addiction. Good, legendary times.
The Amanda Show
Please jump into this time machine with me and let’s go back to the days when Amanda Bynes was the Queen of Nickelodeon. Like, girl had her own freakin’ show.
From Marie Claire US
