Forgotten TV Shows From The 90s That Deserve Another Look

Television truly hit its stride in the 1990s. It may not have been packed with prestige TV, but the sitcoms and procedurals that hit absolutely changed television forever. But not every show that was on the air became a hit. Some of the shows we’re looking at today were critical darlings that faded into obscurity, others are cult programs with small but fervent fan bases, and others may as well not exist at all.

Herman’s Head was a truly weird TV show that took the thoughts from inside a man’s head and made them physical. It was basically like Inside Out but not a huge hit. Each episode revolved around Herman, a man whose thoughts and emotions were personified by actors playing intellect, sensitivity, anxiety, and more. See? Very Inside Out. In each episode, the thoughts and emotions debated Herman’s actions to side-splitting results. Briefly a hit, Herman’s Head disappeared from our TVs almost as quickly as it appeared.

Sort of the Ferris Bueller’s Day Off of television, Parker Lewis Can’t Lose follows the titular high school student as he stays one step ahead of his school principal through a variety of schemes and hijinks. Fast paced and packed with surreal humor and visual gags that were ahead of their time, Parker Lewis Can’t Lose was immediately a cult favorite. This is a true hidden gem of the 90s

What if you received tomorrow’s newspaper today? That’s the premise of Early Edition, a series starring everyone’s favorite high school football coach Kyle Chandler as a man who uses his supernatural gift to save lives, prevent disasters, and be an all around do-gooder. Early Edition ran for four years, but it disappeared into TV history in 2000.

The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. was destined for cult status, and not just because it starred Evil Dead’s Bruce Campbell as a wisecracking bounty hunter in the Old West. This show was straight up weird. A Western-sci-fi mashup that’s steampunk adjacent, The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. barely squeaked to one season. If you’re a fan of Campbell’s work this is a show you don’t want to miss.

Talk about a show with a very odd shelf life. Dinosaurs is likely remembered by elder millennials who fondly recall the phrase, “Not the mama!” but for everyone else this show is vapor. This puppet-based sitcom about a family of dinosaurs dealing with normal, everyday issues is a technical marvel with a shockingly dark spine. Weird looking, heavily focused on environmental issues, and wildly violent at times, Dinosaurs has been forgotten in favor of shows like The Simpsons and Married… With Children, similar sitcoms that turn the traditional sitcom on its head, but just 2% less weird.

Sort of an American take on Doctor Who but sans blue box, Sliders follows a group of interdimensional travelers as they move from Earth to Earth in order to get back to their prime planet. The first few seasons of Sliders were a straight up hit thanks to the cool concept and the star power of Jerry O’Connell. Following a cast shakeup that put O’Connell’s brother at the helm of the show, Sliders fizzled out for good. If you’ve never seen Sliders and you’re a science fiction fan, put this bad boy in your queue and you won’t be disappointed.

David E. Kelley’s Picket Fences is a 90s oddity that many viewers simply don’t remember in spite of the fact that it ran for four years. Clearly inspired by Twin Peaks (but far less weird), Picket Fences takes place in Rome, Wisconsin, a strange place where people spontaneously combust and a serial bather (a burglar who breaks into people’s homes and takes a bath) walk the streets. The show had a great cast, and it was a critical darling that won a bunch of Emmys in its day, but it disappeared after it went off the air.

In the 90s, NBC couldn’t go wrong with their sitcoms. They had hits with shows like Friends, Seinfeld, and Mad About You, but the formula went bust with The Single Guy. Starring Jonathan Silverman (the other guy in weekend at Bernies), The Single Guy follows a young writer as he navigates life in New York City, and despite a solid set up with awesome guest stars (Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Conan O’Brien, Emilio Estevez) the show never popped. After two seasons The Single Guy was binned.

NewsRadio is incredible. This workplace sitcom set at a news radio station in New York City is packed with a talented cast made up of Dave Foley, Phil Hartman, Maura Tierney, Stephen Root, and on and on the series is funny, weird, and it has such clever writing. NewsRadio was a critical darling during its run, but the death of Phil Hartman in between seasons four and five took the wind of the show’s sails. Season five is great, but you can feel that the cast is in mourning. Even so, NewsRadio remains a delight.

For two seasons Boston Common follows Boyd Pritchett, a lovable Southern goofball who moves to Boston to help his sister with her transition to college. A classic fish out of water story, the first season was a hit but it lost steam the following years. Even though Boston Common feels pretty old school with its set up, it’s a fun show with a great cast. If you’re looking for a heartwarming time, you can’t go wrong here.