20 Forgotten TV Shows From the '90s We Wish Were Still on the Air

Starring Mark Curry, Holly Robinson Peete, and Raven-Symoné, Hangin' With Mr. Cooper was a hilarious sitcom offering plenty of life lessons. What made the show stand out, though, was that the lead character was a charismatic, single Black man who worked as a high school teacher — he was professional, hip, entertaining, and totally relatable. We'd love to see a show depicting someone like Mr. Cooper on TV today.

It's not every day that a series focuses on a (fictional) character who gets soaked in nasty chemicals that give her all sorts of superpowers, but that was the premise of The Secret World of Alex Mack. Larisa Oleynik played the teen lead who had to keep her newfound powers a secret in fear of what the chemical plant would do if it found out. This Nickelodeon show blessed us with four seasons before ending in 1998, with Alex and her family almost getting blown up, and Alex being arrested before given an antidote.

Who knows if she took it or not.

This family-friendly teen comedy about a bunch of high schoolers working at the Bar None dude ranch only aired for three years — from 1989 through 1991 — but it was totally fun to watch the wacky antics and mishaps of the crew. Think Saved by the Bell, but on a dude ranch. If it were still on the air today, it would be a great example of teamwork, work ethic, and pure silliness.

Most people probably don't remember The Ben Stiller Show, but it was a sketch comedy show created by Judd Apatow, featuring some of the biggest names in '90s comedy — including Andy Griffin and Janeane Garofalo. While some of the sketches would be completely un-PC today, any fan of Ben Stiller's brand of comedy would go crazy for a modernized comedy show featuring top TV comedians.

When Grace Under Fire debuted in 1993, the premise was a unique one for the times. It's about a single mother and recovering alcoholic who escaped an abusive relationship, and attempts to rebuild her life and raise good kids. In 2023, those themes wouldn't be surprising, but Grace Under Fire was a sitcom, not an hour-long drama, and if it were on the air today, we bet lots of moms would tune in for a quick laugh and a bit of inspiration.

Brotherly Love was just cute, and yes, in part we mean because it stars all three of the Lawrence brothers. (Talk about '90s heartthrobs — they were it.) Seriously, though, it's a warm and cozy sitcom that actually managed to capture some of the real-life stresses that many people go through. It's about a group of three brothers whose father dies, and the oldest is left to take care of his brothers, take over the family business, and figure out how to balance his personal life and his new responsibilities.

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The '90s were definitely an angsty decade, and nobody did angsty quite like Claire Danes and Jared Leto — both of whom went on to become Hollywood A-listers years after they starred in My So-Called Life. It's actually surprising that this show about a teenage girl — learning to manage her social life, her love life, and her parents — wasn't more successful, but its depiction of the teen years may have been way ahead of its time.

MADtv was a sketch comedy show similar to Saturday Night Live, but more risqué. It was based loosely on MAD magazine, and featured a number of top comedians — including Michael McDonald, Aries Spears, Nicole Sullivan, Alex Borstein, and Ike Barinholtz. Keegan-Michael Key even starred on the program for five years. MADtv was on the air for a long time, and while it took things a little too far on more than one occasion, it was friggin' hilarious more often than not.

Ever wonder where Alfonso Ribeiro landed after The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and all the hosting gigs? It was on In the House, a sitcom starring leading man LL Cool J in his prime, and tons of other big-name celebs — among them, Robin Givens, Kim Wayans, Debbie Allen, Lark Voorhees, and John Amos. LL's character is a retired football player who is forced to rent out part of his home to help make ends meet and must contend with the fact that his life will never be what it once was.

Northern Exposure was a really unique primetime drama about a new doctor who realizes too late that the terms of his scholarship require him to set up practice in the remote town of Cicely, Alaska. He ends up finding community among the town's quirky residents, enjoying his time in Cicely far more than he expected. This one would definitely translate well today. After all, Alaska is still The Last Frontier, and a mysterious place to many.

The Wayans family was a staple on '90s TV, but perhaps none of their shows resonated as much with young people of color as The Wayans Brothers, starring Marlon and Shawn — both of whom went on to have huge careers. The sitcom was about two brothers living together and working at their father's diner. The show was majorly funny, but more than anything, it was a showcase of Black culture, music, style, and entertainment at the time.

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Eerie, Indiana only made it to 19 episodes, but it should have gone on far longer. It's about a teenager who moves to small-town Eerie, and along with his new nerdy best friend, begins investigating all of the weird paranormal activity and strange events that seem to be plaguing the town. That sounds worth watching, no matter the decade.

Created by and starring Howie Mandel, we can't say Bobby's World is as educational as many of today's cartoons, but it's about a little boy with a massive imagination whose antics both kids and their parents had fun watching. So all things considered, not only did it encourage kids to be creative, but it also fostered family time.

Anyone else really still miss The Adventures of Pete & Pete and get the urge to watch it on occasion? We can't quite put our finger on why we loved this show so much, but it probably starts with the fact that it's about two brothers with the same name. (That's just too weird not to be intriguing.) The show basically follows the brothers in their quirky hometown as they try to make sense of life and the people around them. It's funny, it's entertaining, it's good, old-fashioned television.

New York Undercover was a '90s cop show with an edge. It was a gritty depiction of New York's crime world, starring a diverse cast of fantastic actors — including Lauren Velez, Malik Yoba, Michael DeLorenzo, and Patti D'Arbanville. It would absolutely fit into today's primetime lineup, and would probably fare better than a lot of the new shows debuting of late.

With all of those shows about witches and other supernatural creatures that are popular today, we're sure that if Brimstone were on the air in 2023, it would be a huge hit. Ironically, this show — about a dead cop who has been sentenced to hell but returns to Earth to recover evil spirits that got away — only lasted 13 episodes in 1998.

Are You Afraid of the Dark? was probably one of the first spooky shows that many '90s kids ever watched. It debuted on Nickelodeon five whole years before the ever-popular Goosebumps series and actually aired for most of the decade, with a break in 1997 and 1998. The premise was that a group of kids called The Midnight Society would get together around a campfire to tell scary stories that came to life on the screen. It was so much fun and a great intro into the horror genre for many kids. Though a limited series reboot was released on NickRewind ahead of Halloween 2019, it seems plans for a second season stalled.

Many fans believe that the '90s were the golden age of Disney Channel, and in many ways, those fans are right. One of the most beloved shows during that time was Bug Juice, a docuseries that followed the lives of the children who went to Camp Wazyiatah (and their counselors). Given how much we love reality TV today, we have no doubt that a reboot of this show would be a huge hit.

Freaks and Geeks was a coming-of-age series that only lasted one season, despite how much people loved it — and despite how loved it is now, years later. It starred a lot of A-listers, though they were only in their teens or early 20s and at the start of their careers at the time. The cast included Busy Philipps, James Franco, Seth Rogen, and Linda Cardellini.

Speaking of forgotten TV shows with all-star casts, this one definitely qualifies. Back before Ryan Reynolds was Ryan Reynolds, he starred (alongside Nathan Fillion) in the sitcom Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place, which was eventually shortened to Two Guys and a Girl. The original premise of the series was about a group of college friends who all worked at the same pizza place.

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