The 1990s was a decade filled with lots of wonderful television programs, including gold mines in the beloved sitcom genre. For people living under a rock, or who just don’t know, a sitcom stands for a situational comedy. While there have been some exceptions, most successful sitcoms film in front of a live studio audience, which is a much different experience than watching it at home. The studio audience sees all these different takes and bloopers, as well as getting a cast introduction before the show films.
Some television fans of the 1990s were in attendance for some of the funniest, most iconic, and extremely emotional scenes ever filmed. Out of all the sitcoms that made it to air in the 90s, only a handful of them was picked up for more than a season or two. However, there were some that absolutely brought down the house and are still considered the best shows of all time. Whether they were aimed towards teenagers, adults, or just a casual viewer, these sitcoms have become the most rewatchable shows of a bygone era.
10 Family Matters Was An Important Family Show Filled With Heart, Hilarity, & Urkelmania
Family Matters began as an everyday family comedy revolving around Police Officer Carl Winslow and his family, but would soon turn into the Steve Urkel show. Urkel, the nerdy but fun-loving neighbor, wasn’t introduced until midway through the first season but became a mainstay from thereon. Originally, Family Matters was a spinoff from Perfect Strangers and focused solely on the Winslow family, a middle-class family from Chicago, Illinois.
While there were usually multiple storylines going on involving the Winslow family, the show really took off when Jaleel White brought Steve Urkel to life, and the main arc of each show started revolving around the Urkel character. Family Matters brought a lot of laughs and even tackled serious issues such as racism and gun violence, making it one of the important sitcoms of the 1990s.
9 Full House Told A Heartwarming Story Of A Widowed Father, A Cool Uncle, & A Wacky Best Friend Taking Care Of One Big Family
After losing his wife in a terrible car accident, news reporter Danny Tanner struggles to balance his work life and his home life. As a young widower with 3 young daughters, Danny turns to his brother-in-law Jesse and his best friend Joey to move in and help with the girls. Created by Jeff Franklin and aired on ABC from 1987 to 1995, Full House wasn’t received well by critics but always maintained steady ratings and lasted for 192 episodes.
While the show was known for its childish comedy and normal family squabbles, it also had special episodes dealing with eating disorders, drunk driving, and the loss of a loved one. The cast was extremely talented and included John Stamos, Bob Saget, and Dave Coulier, while also making child stars out of Candace Cameron, Jodie Sweetin, and the Olsen twins. Full House has become even bigger through syndication and re-runs, it also spawned a spin-off on Netlfix called Fuller House in 2016 and ran for 5 seasons.
8 Saved By The Bell Featured A Group Of Teenage Students Dealing With Love, Life, & Belding
Saved By The Bell has had many iterations over the years, including Good Morning Miss Bliss, The College Years, and The New Class. However, the show’s greatest success was when it followed around Zack, Kelly, Jessie, Slater, Lisa, and Screech, 6 teenage students who deal with school, romance, and friendship. In addition to the young cast, another featured player included Dennis Haskins as Mr. Belding, the goofy but lovable principal of Bayside High who has a love-hate relationship with his students, especially Mark-Paul-Gosselaar’s Zack Morris.
Saved by the Bell was aimed to catch the eye of young people, especially teenagers, and always seemed to have hilarious moments in each episode. However, the show would also cover more mature issues, including homelessness, drunk driving, drug use, and even death. The show spawned the aforementioned sequel shows and even had 2 TV movies, Hawaiian Style in 1992 and Wedding in Las Vegas in 1994.
7 Home Improvement Follows A Quirky Handyman Dealing With Hardware & Homelife
Tim Allen portrays Tim Taylor in Home Improvement, a manly but loving father and husband who thinks he’s more of a handyman than he really is. The show would run from September 1991 to May 1999 and totaled 204 episodes over 8 seasons, even winning awards at the Emmys and the Golden Globes. While the show had a couple of serious episodes, including one about Randy Taylor’s cancer scare, it definitely had more laughs than tears over the show’s successful run.
While the laughs were provided by the whole Taylor family, the best jokes on the show usually revolved around Tim and Al Borland working on their TV show, Tool Time. In addition to Al’s interactions with Tim, the wise neighbor to the Taylors, Wilson Wilson, always provided funny insight that Tim would mix up. Additionally, what made it even funnier was that Wilson’s face was never fully shown throughout the entire run of Home Improvement, and each episode used creative ways to hide it.
6 Boy Meets World Centers On An Evergrowing Cory Matthews Plus His Family, Friends, & Feeny
One of the best sitcoms for younger people and teenagers, Boy Meets World follows young Cory Matthews as he grows, matures, and deals with all the normal problems a young man goes through. The show spanned from September 1993 to May 2000 and ran for seven seasons on ABC, mixing teenage comedy with the occasional serious episode. Cory, his family, and his close friends Shawn and Topanga were mainstays from the beginning of the series, as was the Matthews family neighbor and Cory’s teacher, George Feeny.
While the show would introduce other main characters over the years, such as Jonathan Turner, Jack Hunter, and Angela, the show began and ended with Mr. Feeny teaching important lessons to Cory, Shawn, Topanga, and Eric. The show had a cultural impact on many different things, including positive feedback on having an interracial relationship between Angela and Shawn. Boy Meets World also spawned a Disney spin-off titled Girl Meets World in 2014, which followed the life of Cory and Topanga’s teenage daughter.
5 Everybody Loves Raymond Was A Funny Family Circus Put On Screen
Most wives’ or husbands’ worst nightmare would be living with or next to their in-laws, which is exactly the scenario in Everybody Loves Raymond. Ray, a local sportswriter, lives with his wife and three kids and also has his parents right across the street, making for some hilariously stressful situations. The show aired on CBS for 9 seasons and 210 episodes, beginning in September 1995 and ending in May 2005. The cast was loaded with amazing talent, including Peter Boyle, Doris Roberts, Brad Garrett, and Patricia Heaton, in addition to leading man, Ray Romano. Everybody Loves Raymond had both strong ratings and critical success, constantly landing in the top 10 of the ratings and was nominated for 69 Emmys, including winning 15 and winning 1 Screen Actors Guild Awards.
4 The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air Was An Amazing Comedy That Tackled Serious Issues & Taught Life Lessons
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (TFPOBA) will always be considered one of the best shows of the 90s, thanks to Will Smith’s breakout acting performance and the hilariously heartwarming stories told. When Will gets in trouble at home in West Philadelphia, his mom sends him out to Bel-Air to stay with his Uncle Phil and Aunt Vivian, as well as their three kids and faithful butler, Geoffrey. Created by Susan and Andy Borowitz, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air aired on NBC from September 1990 to May 1996 and was loosely based on Will Smith’s real life.
Will was hilariously clashing with the rich lifestyle of his Uncle Phil and the rest of the family but would end building strong relationships with everyone by the end. Similar to the other sitcoms of its time, the show was known for its great comedy but also covered serious issues, including gun violence, racism, and abandonment. After 148 episodes and 6 seasons, TFPOBA ended its successful run but is still watched on streaming apps, and HBO Max had a reunion special in November 2020.
3 Friends Hilariously Brought Together 6 People Dealing With Relationships, Romance, & Friendship
Who knew that bringing together 6 unknown actors would work out so well and it would become one of the most beloved sitcoms ever to grace a TV Screen? Well, that’s exactly what Friends did, and even though the show has been off the air for 17 years, fans are still clamoring for more. It’s one of the most-watched shows on Netflix and the cast recently all got back together for the first time in years on Friends: The Reunion on HBO Max. Ross, Rachel, Joey, Phoebe, Chandler, and Monica won all of America’s hearts and found major success for 10 seasons.
Lasting from September 1994 to May 2004, Friends centered around this group of friends who enjoyed sitting around a coffee shop, fighting over apartments, and finding love in strange places. Friends ranked highly on practically every important television list and also was nominated for 62 Emmys during its run, even winning for Outstanding Comedy in 2002.
2 Frasier Remains The Greatest Spinoff Sitcom To This Day Thanks To Kelsey Grammer’s Exquisite Performance
The character of Frasier Crane was first introduced in the third season of the hit show, Cheers, in 1984 and lasted until the final episode of Frasier in 2004. Kelsey Grammer, who portrayed Frasier for a total of 20 years, was Emmy Award-nominated for the Outstanding Supporting Actor on Cheers and Wings, as well as winning the Emmy for Outstanding Leading Actor for his role on Frasier.
After Cheers ended, Grub Street Productions created and produced Frasier, a show that would follow the titular character return to Seattle and begin a radio show about psychiatry. The spin-off show also reconnected Frasier with his similar brother, Niles, and his polar opposite father, Martin, with the latter moving in with Frasier after being shot on duty and being forced to retire. In addition to Grammer’s Emmy Award, the show itself would win a total of 37 Emmys, including winning Outstanding Comedy 5 years in a row.
1 Seinfeld Is A Pop Culture Phenomenon That Is Unprecedented & May Never Be… Yada, Yada, Yada
Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer came into audiences’ lives in 1989 and would stay on the air for a total of 9 seasons until 1998, turning the comedy world on its head and paving the way for the success of many other beloved sitcoms. Based on the lives of comedians Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, the show about nothing became a show viewers could not miss. While it started off slow and wasn’t initially well-received, Seinfeld would go on to dominate ratings and critical reviews for 9 seasons and 180 episodes.
Seinfeld was constantly being nominated for Emmys, Golden Globes, and Screen Actors Guild Award, including wins for Best TV Series and Most Outstanding Comedy on several occasions. In addition to all the success in ratings and reviews, Seinfeld is constantly quoted and remains one of the most popular shows to this day, thanks to reruns and streaming services such as Hulu and Netflix.
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