'90s TV shows that we need to see on our screens again

Summer camps were all the rage back in the day, with books, movies, and TV shows like Nickelodeon’s Salute Your Shorts highlighting the beauty of spending several weeks away from home bunking in cabins. With summer camps not being as wildly popular anymore, it wouldn’t make much sense to bring this back, but maybe if kids watched this today, it might ignite a camp renaissance of sorts!

Parker Lewis Can’t Lose was very Saved by the Bell-coded in that the main character leaned heavily towards what Zack Morris was about. Perhaps that’s why the series only lasted a few seasons and was unable to grasp the zeitgeist like Morris and his Bayside buds.

Ally McBeal was and forever is a girlboss icon. She should be more celebrated than she currently is for her taking on life, love, and the law as a baddie in court.

With climate change being more talked about now than it was in the ‘90s, it’d make all the sense in the world for Captain Planet to get back out there with a new crop of planeteers to try and teach the world that Earth needs to be loved and cared for more than it is.

Way too many shows in the ‘90s centered around families highlighted the typical two-parent household that fared well financially in a wonderful suburban or city setting. Rarely did kids in broken homes who relied on government assistance see themselves on TV. That is what made The Torkelsons so special. If any streamer picked this up, it’d be a millennial dream come true. It would also be interesting to see this type of story done today because the family sitcom is begging for a strong revival.

Before Omri Katz became every millennial’s favorite virgin to light a black candle in Hocus Pocus, he was Marshall Teller in a Fox Kids series called Eerie, Indiana. For a kids' show, this was pretty dark for Saturday mornings as it combined horror and science fiction. It was like X-Files for elementary youths. With very little in that department for kids nowadays, someone might want to redo this, or at least set up another kid in Somewhere, USA to have their own creepy adventures.

Music videos are an art form that used to be widely celebrated, and Pop-Up Video didn’t just play videos. They also had little facts pop up (get it?!) throughout the video. This forced a generation of people learn a few things and appreciate the beauty of videos more than they do today as they just live on YouTube.

Imagine it: The Critic comes back with Jay Sherman trying to transition from a TV movie critic to a YouTuber. It’d be pretty amazing and quite hilarious.

PBS was one of the best channels in the ‘90s because it wasn’t just educational goodies like Sesame Street and Wishbone but also more mysterious greats like Ghostwriter. Apple TV+ tried to revive this in 2019, but it went nowhere. Probably because the original was good enough to just binge on its own.

Those who love a perfectly constructed sitcom will love what Brett Butler did in Grace Under Fire.

NBC had a block of Saturday morning programming aimed at teens, and one of those shows was about a high school basketball team called Hang Time. It starred, among other people, Anthony Anderson, who went on to help lead the hit ABC series Black-ish. Sports kids would dig a remake of this if done right!

Rick & Morty fans would benefit from finding somewhere to watch Duckman. That show was tailor-made for the Adult Swim era of television.

Yellowstone has made people really into the Western world of today, but in the ‘90s, Dr. Quinn had people hooked on the American frontier. It’d be interesting to see if modern audiences would embrace this concept once more. Plus, it’d get Jane Seymour back on American TV again.

The Lawrence brothers were everything in the ‘90s, with a couple of them paving their path on shows like Blossom and Boy Meets World, but when they did team up for Brotherly Love, there was a bit of sibling magic that happened. Now, the brothers are back together with a lovely podcast, and only time will tell if those brothers either revive their previous TV series or get the chance to do something completely different together on the small screen.

Once upon a time, there was a show about a father who had a mental health issue that caused him to believe a stuffed animal spoke to him. This would not fly today, so it’s better left in the past but worth the watch for those who loved the likes of Roseanne and Married with Children.  

Ironically enough, one of Eddie Murphy’s lesser-known projects was a stop-motion animation series about the projects in which he played the superintendent. Comedy gold, this is one that everyone deserves to watch at least once in their lifetime.

Fans make the pop culture world go round, and MTV recognized this when they created a show in which superfans would get the chance to interview their favorite celebrities, ranging from the obvious musicians to athletes and actors. While social media has made famous faces more accessible today, this would still be a delightful revival for many who live and breathe the fandom lifestyle.

Mark Curry’s Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper wasn’t the most groundbreaking television, but it was simple and fun. It was a show families could sit around and enjoy together. If Curry ever wanted to step back into the role, it’d be interesting to see him revive the character on an episode of Abbott Elementary.

Nickelodeon used to have an abundance of great programming, including a cascade of great live-action shows, such as The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo. This helped jumpstart many millennials' interest in true crime, and they are grateful for that.

MTV wasn’t a wasteland of reality TV. There was a time when the network’s original programming was quite interesting, like Celebrity Deathmatch. This might be one of the best shows to bring back because so many more feuds have come about since it went off the air in 2002.