The ‘90s were unequivocally a golden era for sitcoms. Seinfeld, Friends, Home Improvement, Roseanne, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Boy Meets World are just a handful of the many shows we still think of fondly, and watch in syndication, today.
When people say sitcoms aren’t as good as they used to be, the “used to be” they’re referring to is the ‘90s.
While there’s an incredibly long list of fantastic shows from the decade, one unfortunate side effect of having so many great shows is that sometimes some really good ones fall through the cracks.
Thankfully, we spent way too much time watching TV in the ‘90s, and have gone deep into our memory banks to pull out 10 of our favorite sitcoms that we feel deserve to be remembered.
Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place
Before he was on every magazine’s “Sexiest” list, and before he played comic book superhero Deadpool, Ryan Reynolds was one of the stars of the ‘90s sitcom Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place (later renamed Two Guys and a Girl).
Other prominent names on the show included Castle, and Firefly, star Nathan Fillion, and Seinfeld’s “Yada Yada” woman herself, Suzanne Cryer.
During Season One the show also featured Julius Carry (RIP) – aka Sho’Nuff from The Last Dragon – as the owner the pizza place. It goes without saying that we wouldn’t make any complaints about our pizza with Sho’Nuff running the place!
The Drew Carey Show
At its best, The Drew Carey Show, with its incredibly blue humor, may have been the funniest show on television.
Masters of improv, I’m convinced there were times Ryan Stiles and Diedrich Bader (the latter now stars on American Housewife) ignored the script and decided to come up with something on the fly to make the rest of the cast laugh.
This would be a constant during the show’s annual live episodes, which were always Must See TV.
Also, this clip of guitarists auditioning to be in Drew’s band is EPIC.
NewsRadio
NewsRadio featured the legendary Phil Hartman in his final role before his tragic passing.
Not only was the show a perfect vehicle for Hartman’s humor, and voice, it included a veritable who’s-who of comedic actors. Dave Foley, Stephen Root, Andy Dick, Joe Rogan, Maura Tierney, Vicki Lewis and Khandi Alexander all had prominent roles on the show.
Amazing casts were a trend with ‘90s sitcoms.
The Norm Show
The Norm Show, which was later renamed Norm, had a very specific audience – you had to love the humor of Norm Macdonald.
The show had an all-star cast including Nikki Cox (Las Vegas), Laurie Metcalf (Roseanne), Faith Ford (Murphy Brown), Kate Walsh (Grey’s Anatomy), Artie Lang (The Howard Stern Show) and Max Wright (ALF), but it was the comedy of Norm Macdonald that was the motor that made the show run.
Herman’s Head
In 2015 Pixar released a widely hailed and incredibly popular film titled Inside Out, which was based on the concept of emotions being distinct characters. Those of us who watched a significant amount of television in the ‘90s were already familiar with that idea, because we originally saw it on the sitcom Herman’s Head.
Herman’s four main emotions were sensitivity, lust, anxiety and intellect/logic. Sometimes they worked in unison, sometimes they clashed.
For the era in which it ran, it was a wildly unique concept and one clearly ahead of its time.
Weird Science
Weird Science purists will probably seethe when they see the ‘90s television show version of the classic ‘80s film listed here, but hear me out.
I have two words for you: Vanessa Angel
Angel was perfect in the role of the boys’ gorgeous computer generated genius with genie-like powers.
I have two more words for you: Lee Tergesen
Yes, the man we’d end up knowing as Tobias Beecher on HBO’s Oz played the jerky older brother on the show.
For these two actors alone the sitcom version of Weird Science is deserving of recognition.
Dave’s World
Harry Anderson’s post-Night Court vehicle, Dave’s World, was a sitcom based on the writing of famed Miami Herald humor columnist Dave Barry (specifically his books Dave Barry’s Greatest Hits, and Dave Barry Turns 40).
Do you know what you get when you combine great comedic content with a great comedic actor? You get 98 episodes of a great sitcom that deserves to be remembered.
The John Larroquette Show
John Larroquette’s post-Night Court vehicle, The John Larroquette Show, focused on Larroquette’s character, John Hemingway, a recovering alcoholic appointed to manage a St. Louis bus depot.
Both deep and humorous, the show was a landmark program in that it had a multiracial cast, which was not the norm for American sitcoms in the ‘90s.
The Steve Harvey Show
To some, Steve Harvey has become known as a bit of a punchline, but back in the ‘90s he was one of The Original Kings of Comedy, as was Cedric the Entertainer. Put them together, and you had a show that was both topical, and damned funny.
The Steve Harvey Show, which revolved around Harvey’s character of a soul singer turned high school teacher, also featured rapper The Lady of Rage in a recurring role, and when you include the artist who gave us “Afro Puffs,” with two fantastic comedians, you have our attention.
Sadly, one of the show’s young stars, Merlin Santana, was killed in 2002, the same year the show ended.
Spin City
You really can’t go wrong when your cast includes Barry Bostwick and Michael J. Fox. Even when Fox had to leave Spin City after Season Four due to Parkinson’s disease, Charlie Sheen proved to be equally great on the show, taking it in new directions.
In addition to the leads, the cast included Michael Boatman, Alan Ruck and Richard Kind for all six seasons, and Carla Gugino, Connie Britton and Jennifer Esposito for extended stints.
Oh, and because we mentioned Sho’Nuff from The Last Dragon when discussing Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place, it should be noted Faith Prince had a recurring role on Spin City. Many may remember as Angela Viracco, girlfriend of Eddie Arkadian, in The Last Dragon.
Want more blasts from the past? Check out our #THROWBACKTHURSDAY page.
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