13 TV Sitcoms from the ’90s You’ve Probably Forgotten About

The ‘90s were full of great television as network programming elevated itself to meet the proliferation of cable. With so many fantastic sitcoms that aired throughout the decade, some are easily lost in the shuffle. Here are 13 ‘90s sitcoms you may have forgotten.

’90s TV Sitcoms from You’ve Probably Forgotten About

Major Dad

Politics and lifestyles collide in the series Major Dad, which ran for four seasons from 1989 to 1993 on CBS. The series follows U.S. Marine Corps Major John “Mac” MacGillis (Gerald McRaney) after he marries liberal journalist Polly Cooper (Shanna Reed) and learns to live with her four young children. A true relic of its time, the series notably incorporated the Persian Gulf War into its story as it progressed while Polly’s episodic diary entries would reflect contemporary news.

Townies

A trio of comedic talent makes up the centerpiece of the short-lived sitcom Townies, which ran for a single season on ABC in 1996. Set in Gloucester, the series stars Molly Ringwald, Jenna Elfman, and Lauren Graham as three young women working at a local restaurant who each dream of moving to the big city and making something of their lives. While Townies was canceled mid-run, leaving five episodes unaired, the show serves as a great showcase for its leads, with Elfman starring in Dharma & Greg the following year, while Graham went on to star in Gilmore Girls.

Hearts Afire

Beloved actor John Ritter had first burst on the scene with the enormously successful sitcom Three’s Company in the ‘70s and ‘80s before returning to headline the ‘90s sitcom Hearts Afire. Running for three seasons on CBS from 1992 to 1995, Ritter played a conservative senatorial aide who falls for a liberal political journalist as they cross paths on Capitol Hill. After the first season, the story pivots to its core couple relocating to a Southern town and a life out of federal politics, while Hearts Afire maintains much of its bubbly charm.

Cybill

Fresh off her enormously successful ‘80s comedy series Moonlighting, which came to an end in 1989, Cybill Shepherd returned to episodic television with the sitcom Cybill. Running for four seasons on CBS from 1995 to 1998, Shepherd stars as Cybill Sheridan, a facsimile of herself as a struggling middle-aged actor trying to raise her teenage daughter as a single mother. Created by Chuck Lorre, Cybill won Shepherd a Golden Globe for her work and was nominated for multiple Emmys before the series was abruptly canceled during its fourth season.

Grace Under Fire

Long before creating such sitcom powerhouses as Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory, prolific television producer and writer Chuck Lorre created the ABC series Grace Under Fire. The series starred Brett Butler as Grace Kelly, a single mom in a small Missouri town who raises her three children while working at a local oil refinery. With more grit to its sitcom proceedings than many of its contemporaries, Grace Under Fire’s troubled behind-the-scenes history ultimately overshadowed its success, leading to its eventual cancellation after five seasons in 1998.

Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper

Basketball was at its ubiquitous peak in the ‘90s, and one sitcom that capitalized on that was Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper, following a former professional basketball player who became a teacher and coach after his athletic career. Running for five seasons on ABC from 1992 to 1997, the show is set in Oakland and, apart from starring turns by Mark Curry and Holly Robinson, features a young Raven-Symoné. With solid chemistry between its leads, Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper combines the possibilities of its public school setting with family-friendly comedy.

Anything But Love

After starring in numerous films throughout the ‘80s, actor Jamie Lee Curtis returned to television for the sitcom Anything But Love, which aired on ABC for four seasons from 1989 to 1992. Curtis plays a young writer who relocates to Chicago and writes for a local magazine, working with her eccentric editor, played by Richard Lewis, with the pair trying to keep their relationship professional. Curtis would earn a Golden Globe for her work on Anything But Love, with her chemistry with Lewis elevating the show above its contemporaries.

Wings

The oft-forgotten show set in the same shared television universe as Cheers and Frasier is Wings, which ran for eight seasons from 1990 to 1997 on NBC. The show features two brothers, played by Tim Daly and Steven Weber, who work as pilots in their small New England town, finding love and professional success along the way. Complete with the occasional crossover to Cheers, Wings feels very much in the same mold as its sister series albeit with its own unique premise.

The Drew Carey Show

More than just being the host of The Price Is Right and occasional host of Whose Line Is It Anyway, Drew Carey first became a television staple with his own long-running sitcom The Drew Carey Show. Running for nine seasons on ABC from 1995 to 2004, Carey starred as a fictionalized everyman version of himself working a white-collar job in Cleveland with his friends. A solid sitcom with a fan-favorite cast, The Drew Carey Show is television comfort food, delivering laughs without much drama or overt creative risks across nine seasons.

NewsRadio

NewsRadio was a sitcom with a stacked cast of comedic talent, including Dave Foley, Stephen Root, Jon Lovitz, and Phil Hartman, in his final series regular role. Running for five seasons from 1995 to 1999 on NBC, the show is set in the workplace of a quirky news radio station in New York. Critically acclaimed throughout its run, NewsRadio would also bring plenty of younger comedic talent in recurring or guest-starring appearances rounding out its already impressive ensemble as one of the best sitcoms of the ‘90s.

My Brother and Me

By the mid-’90s, Nickelodeon began to extend more into adolescent-friendly sitcoms that would steadily become its programming backbone into the next decades. One of the earliest was My Brother and Me, which ran for a single season from 1994 to 1995 and followed a young family living in Charlotte. The first Nickelodeon show with a predominantly Black cast, My Brother and Me is elevated by its likable cast, especially the endearing dynamic between its sibling protagonists as they come of age.

Spin City

After his blockbuster success starring in the Back to the Future trilogy, actor Michael J. Fox returned to television for the long-running sitcom Spin City, which ran for six seasons from 1996 to 2002. The show is set in the chaotic New York City mayoral office, with Fox playing the city’s deputy mayor who secretly runs the city while the elected mayor mainly keeps up public appearances. After four seasons, Fox left the series to spend time with his family as his Parkinson’s disease symptoms intensified, with Charlie Sheen starring in the final two seasons.

Two Guys and a Girl

Ryan Reynolds and Nathan Fillion may be geek royalty today, but their early careers really took off with the ABC series Two Guys and a Girl, originally titled Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place. Running for four seasons from 1998 to 2001, the show follows friends working at a Boston pizza parlor before eventually graduating from college and starting their careers in earnest. Any show that features a guest-starring appearance from blink-182 should be included on this list and Two Guys and Girl doesn’t disappoint. And, of course, Reynolds and Fillion’s comedic chops are already well-honed this early in their careers, making the sitcom a delight.

And those are 13 sitcoms from the ’90s you’ve probably forgotten about.