Take A Stroll Down Reality Lane, And Look Back At the Most Influential Reality Shows Ever
25. The Real World
Image Source: MTV
Back in the early ’90s, The Real World was appointment viewing for the MTV generation. As one of the progenitors of modern reality TV, it’s hard to overstate how influential The Real World is. It’s such a simple premise. The network gathered together a bunch of attractive, crazy young people, and threw cameras on them. This approach signaled a massive shift in mainstream broadcasting. Producers realized one didn’t need “professional actors” or “stories” or “sets” in order to create a phenomena.
24. Boy Meets World
Image Source: IMDb
Sure, we had some great educators in school, but Mr. Feeny is arguably the most iconic teacher in TV history. This ’90s hit was the story every teenager could relate to, or wished was their own. Cory and Topanga were everything, and now their story continues on Disney Channel’s spin-off show Girl Meets World.
23. 3rd Rock from the Sun
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This show made early-career Joseph Gordon-Levitt a household name. It also gave us some of John Lithgow‘s best physical comedy. 3rd Rock from The Sun took the multi-cam sitcom format and spun it on its head. 3rd Rock successfully took the Mork & Mindy premise and expanded it to an entire family unit of aliens who land on Earth attempting to study mankind (by blending in among them). 3rd Rock was never a particularly deep series, and the true highlights are the regular laugh-out-loud moments that arise thanks to incredible chemistry between the leading cast.
22. Everybody Loves Raymond
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Everybody Loves Raymond was the quintessential “family/marriage sitcom” of its decade. It was never genre-bending, but generally solid and always dependable. Ray and Debra seemed like people who could easily be living across the street from you (which was the whole idea). Of course, the characters of Ray’s parents and his brother Robert were just as important — if not more so. Look no further than the show’s Emmy history, where Doris Roberts and Brad Garrett led the series in wins.
21. Saved by the Bell
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The definitive high school sitcom of the early 1990s, Saved by the Bell reflects the day-glo colors of the era perfectly. As a central character, Zack Morris is like a slightly preppier version of Ferris Bueller — a schemer and philanderer with no shortage of friends. Though sequel series would take viewers to the college years and even introduce a new class, this core series was most representative of the ’90s.
20. The Practice
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In the echelon of the many, many, many legal dramas that have graced the small screen, David E. Kelley’s The Practice is surely one of the best. The series revolved around a small law firm, with a cast headed up by Dylan McDermott, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Lara Flynn Boyle, and Camryn Manheim. It went on to score dual Best Drama Series Emmy awards. While it ran out of steam later in its run, those first few seasons were must-see TV.
19. In Living Color
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Created by Keenan and Damon Wayans, In Living Color was seemingly meant to offer an alternative to sketch comedy shows such as SNL, whose casts have always had a tendency to feature “one black guy” until recent years. Say what you will about where the Wayans brothers ended up, but they were a force of nature on this wildly inventive sketch series. This would be the first African-American-fronted sketch series to take grip of the nation, and it’s arguably remained the best — with the possible exception of Key & Peele.
18. Will and Grace
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Will & Grace was such a charming series that not only was a great story of friendship of a quirky straight gal (Debra Messing) and her gay soulmate (Eric McCormack), but also was a rare series at the time to portray openly gay characters in the main cast (including Sean Hayes’ Jack). It received an absurd 83 Emmy nominations throughout its run, and each of the four main stars won an individual Emmy, making it one of only three sitcoms to achieve that feat. The stories weren’t really anything you hadn’t seen before, but the places they were coming from (gay culture/ Jewish culture) were refreshingly new to many more conservative Americans.
17. Law and Order
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There’s a reason Law & Order is still in syndication on a number of networks. One can tune in at any time, to any episode, and get sucked in to a story. Though we never got to know the investigators or attorneys very well, they were all essential to the story being told (if you love Law & Order, you absolutely have your favorite cast lineups).
16. Freaks and Geeks
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There aren’t many comedies or dramas that have ever done more with 18 episodes (only 12 broadcast in the initial run) than Freaks and Geeks. It’s one of the most influential cult shows in history. The characters are awkward — we’re talking about kids seriously challenged in their quest to simply fit in and get through a day in high school. Set in the 1980’s, Judd Apatow’s Freaks and Geeks remains one of the truest time capsules.
15. NewsRadio
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NewsRadio was set at a radio station populated by an eccentric staff of dreamers, blow-hards and troublemakers. The main character is young news director Dave Nelson, played by Kids in the Hall’s Dave Foley. Foley’s character is the classic calming presence within the eye of the storm around him. The cast even features Andy Dick and Joe Rogan. Though known primarily for his work on Saturday Night Live, the late great Phil Hartman did some of his best work on this delightful sitcom.
14. Sports Night
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While Aaron Sorkin would go on to create his magnum opus in the drama realm, he got his big break in the world of television with the short-lived sitcom Sports Night. A Sportscenter parody was a pretty ripe idea for a comedy-drama when Sorkin dreamed it up in the late ’90s. Classic Sorkin tropes abound like the unspoken office romance — the nerd who’s good with words, and soaring speeches that no one could ever possibly spout off the top of their head. That’s what makes Sports Night great.
13. The X-Files
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The X-Files is an icon of the Sci-Fi genre and the ’90s alike. Centered around the investigations of Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Fox Mulder (David Duchovny), The X-Files followed in the footsteps of The Twilight Zone —chronicling their creepy, funny, and intriguing investigations into the world of the extraordinary. The first few seasons are some of the best science fiction to ever hit TV, and the show remains a touchstone of the heights televised science fiction can accomplish.
12. South Park
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The South Park of the 1990’s was quite a different show from the one it grew into over the years. The main characters were also quite a bit different. Stan, Kyle, Kenny and Cartman were more innocent characters back then, truly childlike in many ways. The early episodes are focused much tighter on those central characters (while just beginning to dip into pop culture parody).
11. Homicide: Life on the Street
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The best cop show of recent times was set not in New York or LA, but rather in Baltimore. It featured a squad of embattled, super (street) smart, sardonic detectives fighting against the drug dealing and killing which blitzed their beloved city. This series stemmed from the pen of David Simon. It was as literate, funny and deep as television could be.
10. Buffy, The Vampire Slayer
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Before he became the mastermind behind one of the biggest mega-blockbusters of all time, Joss Whedon had a knack for turning out beloved cult TV series. Buffy the Vampire Slayer was his first, most successful, and one of his best. Based off his 1992 movie of the same name, Buffy follows the title hero as she slays her way through vampires, monsters, demons, and all the varied creature creations that crawl out of the Hellmouth. Prior to Buffy, nobody had really blended horror and comedy elements in a way that was so accessible to a young, geeky audience.
9. My So-Called Life
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It sometimes seems like all the most influential shows of the ’90s were in the mold of My So-Called Life. They were surprisingly mature, critically adored, and cancelled immediately. Angela felt like a real teenager, and the show didn’t succumb to hokey “lessons” or forced heart-warming moments. The series subverted a lot of TV norms, and also featured a lot of tough teen issues without treating them like after-school special topics. But most importantly, it gave us Jordan Catalano (Jared Leto).
8. Sex and the City
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When Sex and the City first aired, its frank discussions of love, dating, relationships, and sex were revolutionary. The series followed four professional women (Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis, and Cynthia Nixon) in their 30s navigating the uncertain waters of dating (at a time when most others are married). While the earlier episodes focus more on social commentary and sexual trends, late seasons zero in on the four main characters’ ever more complicated relationships and life decisions.
7. Twin Peaks
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It’s still kind of strange to think that Twin Peaks aired in the early ’90s. The David Lynch mystery drama was a tangled conspiracy that touched on the double lives of practically every person who comes into contact with FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper. Twin Peaks still stands today as one of the most wholly unique pieces of storytelling to ever grace the small screen.
6. Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
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Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, the story of a young man from West Philadelphia sent to live with his aunt and uncle in an upscale Los Angeles neighborhood, is classic ’90s sitcom. The format’s familiar, and the plot is predictable. Yet, there’s something special about this cast and characters that made Fresh Prince stand the test of time. Of course, the pure charisma of Will Smith didn’t hurt either.
5. ER
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You can’t talk about ’90s dramatic television without mentioning ER. It was the ultimate primetime medical drama that equally divided its time between life-saving medical procedures and the personal lives of the nurses and doctors who performed them. The series had a revolving door of doctors and nurses throughout its fifteen-season run. It also starred a number of famous faces — including Anthony Edwards, Julianna Margulies, Noah Wyle, and some guy named George Clooney.
4. The Simpsons
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At its creative peak in the mid-’90s, there was no better-written show on TV than The Simpsons. Every type of humor is present. From the ubiquitous pop culture references to self-referential parody — and also slapstick, wordplay, and simply silly, iconic characters. Really, what TV character has been quoted more times since the early ’90s than Homer Simpson?
3. Frasier
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Who knew a radio psychologist’s life could be so entertaining? It’s easy to forget that Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammar) began as a character on Cheers before dominating his own TV franchise. While the writing was incredibly sharp, it was really the performances of the main cast (David Hyde Pierce, Peri Gilpin, Jane Leeves, John Mahoney) that sold Frasier as a comedy classic, and one that was a rare successful combination of high and low brow humor.
2. Friends
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In the ’90s, the sitcom was a huge genre. Nothing was bigger than Friends. Along with Seinfeld, another very different kind of sitcom, these two series hit upon cultural touchstones in a way few other sitcoms of the decade did. From the hit sensation that was the “Smelly Cat” song to make-ups and break-ups we’ll never forget, this group of New York City friends made us all wish we were part of their squad.
1. Seinfeld
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Seinfeld is one of the greatest TV shows of all time. It stands as the iconic sitcom of the ’90s, but it wasn’t just a success in the realm of comedy—it was a success in the television medium as a whole. Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer are constantly going against the grain of social norms, which serves as both the basis and the premise of the comedy that ensues. It’s a brilliantly simple twist on the sitcom format, and it allowed four incredible performers to shine week after week.
