15 sitcoms from the 1990s that still hold up today

Case in point! Not everything culturally in “Seinfeld” still tracks, but there is some value in the fact that the characters are supposed to be unlikeable. This actually proved to be an issue with the series finale when it aired, but now time has been kinder to viewing “Seinfeld” on the whole as a show with contempt for its characters (in the best way). Also, by being about the minutiae of life skewed slightly for comedy, it doesn’t feel as dated as reference-heavy shows.

“Friends” is still beloved, even with younger generations. It’s not the smartest show. It’s mostly just good-looking people dating and hanging out and having ridiculously large apartments. Still, the archetypes are easy to understand, and it’s one of the quintessential hangout comedies. It doesn’t live up to its status as a cultural phenomenon, but it still has legs as a sitcom.

“Cheers” is too ‘80s both for a list of ‘90s sitcoms and, arguably, to hold up, at least fully. The spinoff “Frasier,” though, is just some classic farce. The dynamic between Frasier and Niles and the likes of Martin, Roz, and Daphne is pretty timeless. Now, some of the suits the Crane boys wear are rather dated, but any contemporarily set show is going to experience that as time moves on.

Turns out that romantic couples have disagreements that can lead to humorous fallout! That premise has been the center of, say, dozens of sitcoms. Many of them are bad. “Mad About You” is not. Paul Reiser is basically just playing Paul Reiser, but he’s not a bad actor, and his comedic sensibility was crucial to the show. The key is that Reiser is paired with Helen Hunt, who won four Emmys for the show.

Yes, “3rd Rock from the Sun” is broad. It’s also a classic fish-out-of-water sitcom with an easy-to-understand premise, and it isn't tied to any time period. It’s about aliens posing as a family and being continually confounded by human society. The cast is what really helps “3rd Rock” stand out, though, particularly John Lithgow as the patriarch of the fake alien family.

In terms of holding up, we did consider changes to how a show’s star is perceived. You know, the classic “separating art from the artist” debate. Roseanne Barr was booted from the reboot of “Roseanne,” which became “The Conners,” after all. Having said that, “The Conners” ran for so long in part because “Roseanne” is about much more than Roseanne. Additionally, it remains the rare American sitcom about a working-class family.

There are ‘90s sitcoms about working for, say, a radio station or a magazine. They might still be funny, and “NewsRadio” in particular is, but how well do they hold up? “Spin City,” at least, is about managing political crises and doing on-the-fly PR work. That’s something that hasn’t gone anywhere. Plus, Michael J. Fox was the star for the first few seasons.

The thing about Fran’s fashions on “The Nanny” is that they were wild at the time, which makes them timeless in their own way. It’s also an easy-to-understand job, as it’s about a nanny for a rich family, but it’s also a fish-out-of-water comedy. “The Nanny” isn’t some work of genius, but it holds up in that it was a good, light sitcom in the ‘90s, and it still is now.

The three men who created “Frasier” first created “Wings.” It’s not as good a sitcom, but it’s not unlike the “Taxi” of the ‘90s. Like “Cheers,” it’s a workplace sitcom that rarely leaves the workplace, but this time it is a small airport on an island. Because of that, “Wings” feels distinct, and it also built a cast of characters over time. It did air for eight seasons, after all.

After his movie career wound down, Burt Reynolds tried the sitcom thing, and it largely worked. “Evening Shade” is about a former NFL player returning to his small hometown to coach a local high school team. Both Reynolds and Michael Jeter won Emmys for the show. “Evening Shade” has somewhat been forgotten, but it’s worth checking out.

“Get a Life” is a cult show that has seen its cult grow as the years have gone by. If anything, “Get a Life” doesn’t merely hold up. It makes more sense now than it did in 1990 when FOX had no idea what to do with it. The show is bizarre, surreal, and kind of mean-spirited in a good way. It’s pure Chris Elliott, and it’s the best sitcom ever made about a 30-year-old paperboy.

It would not be wholly accurate to say “Living Single” is “Black Friends,” in part because it debuted before “Friends.” However, it’s about six friends living in New York. The ensemble cast featured, among others, Queen Latifah, and it ran for 118 episodes on FOX.

Here’s a sitcom aimed at kids that holds up, in part because it’s not a sitcom for kids. It’s a high-quality sitcom that aired on Nickelodeon and was thus appropriate for an audience with children in it, but it has plenty for you as an adult as well. It’s something of a Suburban “Northern Exposure” in terms of its specific world and slight surrealism, and while it does reflect a ‘90s childhood, people were able to enjoy “Stranger Things.” They can manage.

One more child-friendly sitcom from the ‘90s for you. There is a reason, beyond a nostalgia play, for “Boy Meets World” getting a legacy sequel/spinoff in “Girl Meets World.” Of the TGIF sitcoms of the ‘90s, “Boy Meets World” is probably the best. It certainly beats “Teen Angel.”

Yes, “The Simpsons” is animated, but it’s still a sitcom. Yes, it continues to run, but it ran throughout the ‘90s. It was the best sitcom of the ‘90s. Also, clearly it still holds up, because it’s still incredibly popular. We couldn’t do this list without “The Simpsons,” and so we shall end with “The Simpsons.”