We’re living in a second Golden Age of television. It’s been said ad nauseum because, well, it’s true. Television right now is the best it’s ever been, and with so much content to sift through there’s almosttoo muchgreat TV. But just because television is going through a stellar stage doesn’t mean what came before is bad. In fact, some of the television of the 90s served as direct precedents to the groundbreaking era we’re living in now. Sitcoms enjoyed a peak run, dramatic storytelling was working within very specific parameters but churning out engaging, unforgettable arcs, and most importantly, it was the era of the episode.
Throughout the 90s, the episode was king. This current wave of binge-able television and the serialized short-story approach weren’t yet popular. Instead, without the benefit of DVRs or TiVO, television shows lived and died by week to week viewing. As a result, we got some truly outstanding standalone hours and half hours of television. There’s a reason titles for episodes ofFriendsbegan with “The One with…”
And so, given the importance and quality of 90s TV, and the fact that it gets a bit swept under the rug in this current second Golden Age, we here at Collider felt it prudent to take a look back at the best of the best. We’ve previously singled out thebest animated television that the 90s had to offer, so now we present the best live-action TV shows of the 90s.
Note: In terms of eligibility, a show had to have aired at least one entire season between 1990 and 1999, thus series likeThe West WingandThe Sopranos—which began in Fall 1999—were deemed ineligible for this list despite their supremely high quality.
ER (1994–2008)
You can’t talk about 90s dramatic television without mentioningER. With 15 seasons, it has the distinction of being one of the longest running shows in the history of television, and it’s a miracle the show was able to keep up its breakneck pace for over a decade. The show was hotly anticipated upon its launch, as it came from the author ofJurassic Park,Michael Crichton, and boastedSteven Spielbergas one of the executive producers, who famously suggested one change to the pilot: don’t kill offJulianna Marguiles’ character Carol Hathaway in the first episode.
The series tackled issues as wide-ranging as drug abuse, abortion, euthanasia, child abuse, and even workplace murders. Through it all, the focus was always on the characters. Seriously, go back and watch at least the first five seasons—that right there is some tremendous character-driven storytelling. And in a day and age where drama series normally consist of 13 or less episodes, the fact that showrunnerJohn Wellsand his team were churning out 22 episodes a season without forsaking quality seems like a minor miracle in hindsight. While the show certainly declined a bit in the later years, especially afterAnthony Edwards’ Dr. Green departed the series, it remained a consistently solid place for engaging storytelling. And oh yeah, it launched the career ofGeorge Clooney. –Adam Chitwood
Freaks and Geeks (1999-2000)
It’s fitting that co-creatorsPaul FeigandJudd Apatowand starsJames Franco, Seth RogenandJason Segelwent on to define college-aged comedy at the cinemas for the decade afterFreaks and Geekswas sent to permanent detention—becauseGeeksreceived the most fervent save-this-show! petitions of the early Internet age. Young fans and critics alike tried to use message boards, emails, and snail mail to save this touching little gem that chronicled a year in a recognizable Michigan high school from the vantage points of the burnouts and the school project nerds. Dissatisfied fans were waiting for what the creative team would do next. And they delivered. ButGeeksis so much more than a yearbook for the creators of modern bromance cinema, siblingsLinda CardelliniandJohn Francis Daleydon’t get enough credit for creating two of the most identifiable and timeless adolescents ever on television. They’re both studious, but pulled in different directions due to hormones and a desire to not be defined by their grades from both their classmates and their parents (the tender and stern duo ofBecky Ann BakerandJoe Flaherty). Set in the 1980s,Freaks and Geeksremains one of the truest time capsules but the characters and their what-happens-after-high-school concerns are timeless. —Brian Formo
Seinfeld (1989–1998)
Seinfeldis one of the greatest TV shows of all time. Full-stop. Along withFriends, it stands astheiconic 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. The central conceit ofSeinfeldis to follow the lives of four individuals, but there are two main twists. 1. Their lives will be as normal and uneventful (in the television sense) as possible. And 2. These will not be great people. It turns out it’s a match made in heaven.
Contrary to what many may say,Seinfeldisn’t a show about nothing. It’s a show about what happens when you do and say the things you’re not supposed to do and say. 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. And while the stories got a little too outlandish followingLarry David’s exit, the series remained watchable due to the chemistry and charisma ofJerry Seinfeld,Julia Louis-Dreyfus,Jason Alexander, andMichael Richards.
Episodes like “The Contest” and “The Chinese Restaurant” are classics not because of some crazy plot development or thrilling twist—they stand out because the dialogue-driven narrative unfurls in an unforgettable manner, and because these performers land beat after beat with impeccable comedic timing. Television has changed dramatically sinceSeinfeldleft the airwaves, but this show will never not be funny, relatable, and just a smidge despicable. —Adam Chitwood
Homicide: Life on the Streets (1993-1999)
Homicide: Life on the Streetsis so often given footnote status that many viewers have allowed it to rest on its laurels rather than re-visit the show. Yes, it broughtDavid Simon’s investigative work to the screen, which eventually brought us one of the absolute best television programs ever,The Wire. And yes, it introduced us toRichard Belzer’s Detective Munch, who would reprise this role on everything fromThe WiretoLaw & Order, Arrested Development, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, The X-FilestoLuther(mentioned across the pond to Idris Elba’s UK detective, his name carries so much detective lore), Belzer will probably even appear in character for private parties. But it’s important to never forget thatHomicideis the greatest network television procedural of all time. This distinction isn’t due just to the grit of the Baltimore streets, nor the grit and human incompleteness of the detectives (in addition to Belzer,Andre Braugher, Yaphet KottoandClark Johnsondo phenomenal work), but becauseHomicide—while still mostly keeping to the one case per episode framework that network TV has standardized for procedurals—never lets anything get tidy.
Homicidedoesn’t pull third act twists, it rarely ever has a last minute confession, and the motives for both killer and cop are always presented not as the type of stuff that’s “ripped from the headlines” but instead exists on the back page: the routine homicidal trauma within a city’s DNA due to budget restraints and bad city planning. And these are the cops who catch the criminals after all safety nets have been gutted by the city. Nothing is neat and tidy because that would be a disservice to the citywide mess thatHomicideacknowledges and that Simon would give greater exploration inThe Wire, when he was set free of the procedural framework. Before Simon was able to that, though, he was involved with the best representation of a popular template.~ Brian Formo
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)
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, andBuffy the Vampire Slayerwas his first, most successful, and one of his best. The first few seasons were also quintessentially 90s, with all the spaghetti straps, overalls, and babydoll dresses you could want.
Based off his 1992 movie of the same name – though definitively superior and different in tone –Buffy the Vampire Slayerfollows the title hero as she slays her way through vampires, monsters, demons, lovesick AI, and all the varied creature creations that crawl out of the Hellmouth. In the meantime, she’s also dealing with the drama of day-to-day life, and given that the show ran for seven seasons, we get to follow her as she matures through a lot of life stages – from the turmoils of high school and first love, through the awkward college transition to maturity, and ultimately to adulthood.Buffyskillfully ties those two worlds together – the supernatural and the mundane – and like all the best genre storytelling, all the monsters and madmen are metaphors to make life’s harsh realities go down a little easier. Always entertaining, endlessly quotable, often laugh-out-loud funny, and occasionally downright devastating,Buffy the Vampireis an icon of genre television. —Haleigh Foutch
In Living Color (1990-1994)
One could simply look at the amount of talent that got their start onIn Living Colorand you’d have a good sense of just how important this show remains to this day. Say what you will about where the Wayans brothers ended up, slumming it hard in those popular but soulless parody films, they were a force of nature on this wildly inventive sketch series. Kim, Damon, Shawn, and creatorKeenen Ivory Wayansall did their best work here, from Damon’s Anton Jackson, the blueprint for Dave Chapelle’s uproarious crack-head sketches, and Homey D. Clown to Keenen’s Arsenio Hall impressions and Shawn’s Ice Poe bits. Then there wasJim Carrey’s Fire Marshal Bill (“Let me show you something!”),Jamie Foxx’s Carl “The Tooth” Williams,David Alan Grier’s Calhoun Tubbs,Chris Rock’s Cheap Pete,Kim Wayans’ takes on Whitney Houston and Grace Jones, andTommy Davidson’s Sweet Tooth Jones, and the list goes on and on.
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 ofKey & Peele. That its reputation remains so sterling is a testament to the show’s creative team but it does make one wonder how more series that openly showcased so many young, brilliant performers haven’t flooded television by now. The answer is obvious, but that doesn’t mean that it’s any easier to swallow when one sees the radical humor that these young men and women unleashed in torrents. —Chris Cabin
The Practice (1997–2004)
One of the most popular genres in the television medium is the legal drama. It’s popular because it lends itself so easily to TV storytelling—you can introduce and wrap up a case within the context of a single episode. But in the echelon of the many, many,manylegal dramas that have graced the small screen,David E. Kelley’sThe Practiceis surely one of the best. Kelley was coming off of creating the quirky hitPicket Fencesand the medical seriesChicago Hope, but withThe Practicehe offered up something a bit more gritty, more urban, and as a result widely popular.
The series revolved around a small law firm, with a cast headed up byDylan McDermott,Lisa Gay Hamilton,Lara Flynn Boyle, andCamryn Manheim, and 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—and it’s no wonder, as Kelley’s writer’s room included futureHousecreatorDavid Shoreand eventual Oscar-winningSyrianascribeStephen Gaghan. —Adam Chitwood
Felicity (1998-2002)
Oh where for art thou curls, Felicity?? Though the premise ofFelicitywas a little stalkerish — girl follows guy to college because she never had the chance to talk to him in high school — what came afterwards was a really great, heartfelt series about navigating one’s college years, making unexpected friends, and discovering who you are. Though Felicity (Keri Russell) cut her hair off and caused a national crisis, and the love triangle that formed with Felicity and Ben (Scott Speedman) and Noel (Scott Foley) had a very, very terrible way of concluding (remember the alt-universe episodes?),Felicitywas an engrossing series full of humor and heart in a way that was entertaining, emotional, and often very relatable.— Allison Keene
Twin Peaks (1990–1991)
It’s still kind of strange to think thatTwin Peaksaired in the early 90s. It feels so much like a show of the 2000s—a heavily serialized plot, auteur-like flourishes, unrestrained weirdness, and a complete lack of interest in what audiences expect and/or want. And yet,David LynchandMark Frostpulled off auteur TV before it was even a thing.Twin Peaksstill stands today as one of the most wholly unique pieces of storytelling to ever grace the small screen.
The setup was simple enough—the body of a young girl is found in a small town, secrets are exposed, it turns out nobody really knows anybody at all—but Lynch and Frost relish the minutiae of daily life in Twin Peaks, fleshing out their characters with hefty amounts of heart. And, let’s be honest,Twin Peaksis downrightweird, but in the most delightful way. The show would act as a cornerstone piece of television for years to come, serving as one of the biggest influences on 2000s classicLostand innumerable other shows that tried—and failed—to match the right mix of crazy and sweet that madeTwin Peaksso great. –Adam Chitwood
Law & Order (1990-2010)
Let’s forget for a moment how many spinoffs and imitators this towering bastion of TV has produced over the years — proving its popularity and also its legacy — and remember just how fantastic the basis of this show really is. Has any procedural nailed the format so perfectly? There’s a reasonLaw & Orderis still in syndication on a number of networks — you’re able to tune in at any time, to any episode, and get sucked in to a story. The “ripped from the headlines” plots also gave the show a platform to deal with some very difficult real-world issues,mostlyon the law side, but occasionally regarding the police as well.
Though we never got to know the investigators or attorneys very well, they were all essential to the story being told (if you loveLaw & Order, you absolutely have your favorite cast lineups). That unforgettable interstitial “chung-chung” will be lodged in our collective minds forever, and though NBC dropped the ball with the series in its final seasons and let it wither on the vine, the original will always be the best.— Allison Keene
