As a Gen-Xer, I believe that the 1990s featured excellent sitcoms thriving on both cable and network TV. While many gained widespread popularity and stole the spotlight, there are countless worthy sitcoms that have since fallen into complete obscurity and deserve some attention.
We’ve selected nine forgotten 1990s sitcoms still worth watching, and our top pick is a must-see comedic gem from 1998 that is led by one of Hollywood’s most beloved icons.
9
Get A Life
America’s most lovable man child
Comedian Chris Elliott (Schitt’s Creek) co-created and starred in Get A Life, a two-season sitcom about a 30-year-old man who still lives at home and works his teenage paper route.
Chris Peterson (Elliott) refuses to grow up. He’s excessively bone-headed, lacks ambition, and is perfectly content living above his parents’ garage, working as a paperboy. While he interacts with his family and friends, hilarity ensues as he tries to avoid as much responsibility as he possibly can. With a bizarre dark sense of humor, the show pushed boundaries for American network television, rethinking what was possible for the sitcom format.
Get A Life is available to stream on Prime Video with a Shout!TV subscription and for free on Tubi.
8
The Critic
Not all movie reviews are positive
The Critic is an animated sitcom about a TV movie critic living and working in New York City. Jon Lovitz stars in the two-season show, which ran from 1994 to 1995.
When his tyrannical media mogul boss forces him to write positive reviews of the most pathetic films, Jay Sherman (Lovitz) instead offers withering, mean-spirited critiques like, “It stinks.” In between his televised reviews, he contends with life as a divorced, single father, punctuated with plenty of slice-of-life humor from living in the Big Apple. Despite its brief run, The Critic built up a cult classic following craving its own pop-culture-oriented animated fun. It’s also, arguably, a career-best performance from Lovitz.
The Critic is available to stream on Tubi.
The Critic
- Release Date
-
1994 – 2001-00-00
- Network
-
ABC, FOX
- Directors
-
Bret Haaland, Lauren MacMullan, Alan Smart, Rich Moore, Dan Jeup, Brian Sheesley, David Cutler, Steven Dean Moore, Susie Dietter, Chuck Sheetz
7
Malcolm & Eddie
Polar opposite roommates land a big payday
Premiering in 1996 on UPN, Malcolm & Eddie is a four-season sitcom headlined by comedian Eddie Griffin and the late Malcolm-Jamal Warner.
Malcolm McGee (Warner) is a considerate, reserved young man living in Kansas City. His roommate, tow truck business owner Eddie Sherman (Griffin), is much more energetic and impulsive. After winning a large sum of money, the two decide to buy their entire apartment building, including the bar beneath it. The premise isn’t original, but the lead duo share rib-tickling chemistry and make it work.
Stream Malcolm & Eddie on Tubi.
Malcolm & Eddie
- Release Date
-
1996 – 2000-00-00
- Network
-
UPN
- Directors
-
Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Mark Cendrowski, John Tracy, Ken Whittingham, Amanda Bearse, Joel Zwick, David W. Duclon, Jim Drake
- Operating System
-
tvOS
- Resolution
-
4K
Immerse yourself in stunning 4K HDR with Apple TV 4K. Stream your favorite content with exceptional clarity and color, powered by the A15 Bionic chip. Enjoy seamless access to apps, games, and Apple Originals, all with the convenience of Siri voice control and personalized recommendations.
6
Dharma & Greg
A reliably funny relationship sitcom
Co-created by Chuck Lorre, the 1997 sitcom Dharma & Greg takes the tried-and-true Odd Couple domestic dynamic and repositions it as a marriage between its leads, Jenna Elfman and Thomas Gibson.
Despite their clear differences, free-spirited Dharma Finkelstein (Elfman) and tight-laced Greg Montgomery (Gibson) impulsively decide to tie the knot on their first date. Their relationship is continuously tested as they actually get to know each other and work to overcome their contentious perspectives. Elfman’s effervescent charm carries most of the show’s humor, which yielded five entertaining seasons.
Dharma & Greg is available for purchase on Amazon.
5
Smart Guy
Before Sheldon, there was T.J.
Sister, Sister was practically a staple of 1990s television. The show followed twin sisters Tia and Tamera Mowry. 1997’s Smart Guy stars Tahj Mowry, the younger brother of Tia and Tamera. Smart Guy is less remembered than Sister Sister, but it deserves just as much recognition.
T.J. Henderson is a boy genius whose intelligence allows him to skip several grades and go straight to high school.The brainy and vulnerable T.J. tries hard to fit in with his older classmates, including his older brother Marcus, with whom he has a complex relationship. Mowry proves himself as much of a comedic natural as his sisters and keeps the show’s flow running for three solid seasons.
Stream Smart Guy on Disney+.
4
Damon
13 episodes of silly brotherly love
As the 1990s arrived, comedian Damon Wayans and his family redefined television comedy with In Living Color on Fox. By the end of the decade, he returned to headline his own sitcom, Damon.
Wayans stars as Damon Thomas, a smooth, single undercover police detective in Chicago who is always coming up with hilarious schemes to aid his investigations. Damon is joined by his married older brother Bernard (David Alan Grier). The show explores the differences between the two brothers and their places in their personal lives and careers.
Damon is available to stream on Plex.
3
Stark Raving Mad
A literary twist on an Odd Couple dynamic
Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother) and Tony Shalhoub (Monk) star in Stark Raving Mad, a 1999 sitcom about an eccentric horror novelist and his new editor.
Ian Stark (Shalhoub) is a best-selling novelist who enjoys pulling pranks. His new editor, Henry McNeeley (Harris), is riddled with visible anxieties, a wide range of fears, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, making him the perfect target for Stark’s antics. As Stark prepares his next book, the two must learn to work together to be successful. Their rapport deepens across its 22 episodes, and the show exhibited great potential before meeting an untimely end. It’s a perfect example of why not to ignore a canceled show.
Stark Raving Mad is available to stream on Plex.
2
Spaced
An overlooked British classic with a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score
It’s difficult to believe, but filmmaker Edgar Wright’s first major collaboration with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost was not for Shaun of the Dead. It was for Spaced, a 1999 British sitcom about two strangers who pose as a couple to qualify for a cheap apartment rental.
As Tim Bisley (Pegg) and Daisy Steiner (Shaun of the Dead’s Jessica Stevenson) get used to living together, they experience oddly surreal adventures, often accompanied by their friends, including Mike Watt (Frost). As the duo try to maintain their ruse, they find their dynamic strained and their combined friend group affected. Though it only ran for 14 episodes, Spaced makes for an excellent quick binge of pop culture references informing its gags, justifying its perfect Rotten Tomatoes score.
Stream Spaced on Prime Video.
1
Two Guys and a Girl
A story of friendship and adulting … and pizza
Before he was Deadpool, Ryan Reynolds starred in the long-forgotten 1990s sitcom Two Guys and a Girl in 1998. The oringal title wasTwo Guys, A Girl, and A Pizza Place, and the show was set at and around a Boston pizza parlor.
Berg (Reynolds) is a perpetual slacker who works at the same restaurant and attends the same college with his roommate Pete (Richard Ruccolo). Sharon (Traylor Howard) also lives with them while she completes her college studies. Once she starts her professional career, she becomes their upstairs neighbor and helps keep them in line and gives them perspective. Reynolds brings his usual wry charm to the narrative, which is enhanced in season two when Nathan Fillion (Firefly) joins as Sharon’s love interest. The show is a must-watch for fans of its lead actors.
Two Guys and a Girl is available for purchase on Amazon.
Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place
- Release Date
-
1998 – 2001-00-00
- Network
-
ABC
- Directors
-
Michael Lembeck, Leonard R. Garner, Jr., Gail Mancuso, John Fortenberry, Ted Wass, Robby Benson, Wil Shriner, Gil Junger, Amanda Bearse, Brian K. Roberts, Gordon Hunt, James Widdoes
Still worth watching
From family-driven comedies to coming-of-age hilarity, there’s an obscure 1990s sitcom for everyone out there. These forgotten sitcoms are easy to binge over a lazy weekend, making them well worth watching and fully deserving of modern reappraisal.
Stephan is the sports journalist for the Maple Grove Report.
