With the enduring success of popular '90s shows like Seinfeld and Friends, there is no question that the decade was a breeding ground for memorable TV comedies. However, there are also plenty of funny '90s TV shows that ended too soon as well as several '90s TV shows that ran long before disappearing into obscurity for one reason or another. Take a look at this list of the best sitcoms from the '90s that are largely forgotten and see if it can spark your memory.
Arsenio (1997)
While Arsenio Hall was one of the most popular late-night TV hosts of the 1990s, his later attempt at sitcom stardom did not quite pan out. The Coming to America cast members' self-titled ABC sitcom, which also starred Vivica A. Fox as his onscreen wife, was cancelled after just seven episodes.
The Critic (1994-1995)
From The Simpsons writers Al Jean and Mike Reiss, The Critic starred Jon Lovitz as the voice of New York film reviewer Jay Sherman, who thinks every major release "stinks." While regarded by plenty as one of the all-time best animated TV shows it is hard to truly find enough people who are still aware of the comedy past its two-season run on ABC.
Smart Guy (1997-1999)
Following the success of Sister, Sister, Tia and Tamara Mowry's younger brother, Tahj Mowry, became the star of his own sitcom on The WB called Smart Guy. It follows 10-year-old T.J. Henderson, whose 180 IQ earns him the right to attend high school with his older siblings but, despite his big scores in the classroom, he often still needs guidance from a sitcom dad we would proud to have, Floyd (John Marshall Jones).
Stark Raving Mad (1999-2000)
Despite great reviews, Stark Raving Mad – about a neurotic book editor (played by Neil Patrick Harris) paired with a carefree horror author with writer's block (played by Tony Shalhoub) – did not last more than one season on NBC. Notably, its two main leads would later find great success playing characters that opposed their roles on the show, with Shalhoub leading the Monk cast as an obsessive-compulsive detective and Harris joining the How I Met Your Mother cast as the over-confident Barney Stinson.
Get A Life (1990-1992)
Before becoming an SNL cast member with forgettable tenure, Chris Elliott co-created and starred in a relatively obscure sitcom called Get a Life. Lasting two seasons on Fox, the very strange, but smart, comedy starred the vastly underrated comedian as a grown-up paper boy living in an apartment above his parents' garage.
Damon (1998)
You may remember Damon Wayans' 2000s-era hit My Wife and Kids on ABC but that was not his first attempt at a sitcom after leaving the In Living Color cast. In Damon, which aired 13 episodes on Fox, he and fellow ILC alum David Alan Grier starred as brothers – one a Chicago detective and the other a rent-a-cop – who are reunited in Chicago.
Jenny (1997-1998)
Former model Jenny McCarthy-Wahlberg's greatest successes have primarily been reality competition series, such as co-hosting MTV's Singled Out and serving as a judge on The Masked Singer. She once tried her hand at leading her own self-titled sitcom on NBC, in which she plays a convenience store clerk who inherits a large fortune from the movie star father she never knew, but it only lasted 17 episodes.
Delta (1992-1993)
Following her exit from the cast of the long-running Designing Women on CBS, Delta Burke got her own sitcom which ran for one season on ABC. Delta follows a middle-aged divorced woman who travels to Nashville to follow her dreams of being a country music singer.
Monty (1994)
Henry Winkler became one of the most popular actors of his generation by starring in the scene-stealing supporting role of "The Fonz" on the hit sitcom, Happy Days. However, his first major return to sitcom acting afterward – as the title role of an ignorant conservative radio commentator on Monty – would come to an early stop when Fox canceled the show after 13 episodes.
Unhappily Ever After (1995-1999)
The WB's answer to Married... with Children followed a dysfunctional family of five headed by a schizophrenic (played by Geoff Pierson) who is best friends with a talking rabbit that lives in his basement named Mr. Floppy (voiced by Bobcat Goldthwait). Also starring Stephanie Hodge, Entourage's Kevin Connolly, Nikki Cox, and Malcolm in the Middle's Justin Berfield, Unhappily Ever After lasted 100 episodes but has since drifted into relative obscurity.
The George Wendt Show (1995)
Almost every actor from the Cheers cast would go on to find further success with their own hit sitcom but George Wendt is a surprising exception. The beloved multi-Emmy nominee's self-titled comedy, adapted from a popular radio show called Car Talk, was canceled after CBS aired only six of the eight episodes that were produced.
Malcolm & Eddie (1996-2000)
In the early days of UPN, one of the network's most successful sitcoms was Malcolm & Eddie, which followed the mismatched titular duo as roommates and business partners. However, these days, Malcolm-Jamal Warner is still best known as The Cosby Show's Theo and at least Eddie Griffin has his stand-up and movies like Undercover Brother on his resume.
Two Of A Kind (1998-1999)
After becoming household names by playing the same character, Michelle Tanner, on Full House for eight seasons, the Olsen Twins would later share the screen in their own ABC sitcom, Two of a Kind. The show cast the siblings in their own roles this time – twin sisters also named Mary-Kate and Ashley – but their star power could not keep it running for more than one season.
The Good Life (1994)
Before Drew Carey hit it big with his ABC sitcom, he starred in a supporting role in the short-lived NBC comedy, The Good Life. Lasting one 13-episode season, the show followed the personal and professional life of a lock distribution warehouse middle manager played by John Caponera.
A League of Their Own (1993)
A widely forgotten TV show based on a movie is CBS' A League of Their Own, which actually brought back a few cast members from the classic sports movies, but not Tom Hanks or Geena Davis, which may have cost it a life beyond five episodes. The story of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League's development in World War II would later inspire an acclaimed, but also short-lived, Amazon Prime original series in 2022.
A Family For Joe (1990)
In early 1990, NBC aired a TV movie called A Family for Joe, which starred Robert Mitchum as a homeless man enlisted by a group of orphaned children to pose as their grandfather so they wouldn't be split up into foster homes. Soon after, the network adapted the story into a sitcom, which only lasted nine episodes, but notably starred future Oscar nominee Juliette Lewis and Ben Savage before he led the Boy Meets World cast.
The Parent 'Hood (1995-1999)
The Parent 'Hood starred co-creator Robert Townsend as a former English professor left to run the house as his wife (Suzzanne Douglas) returns to the workforce. Also starring comedian Faizon Love, the show's Mr. Mom-esque premise kept audiences interested for four seasons but, despite becoming available with a Max subscription for some time, it has since become one of The WB's more obscure comedies.
Good & Evil (1991)
In the 1970s, ABC aired a sitcom that cleverly poked fun at daytime soap opera conventions called Soap, which proved to be a groundbreaking hit. When the network tried the concept again with Good & Evil, starring Teri Garr as a vain heiress and Margaret Whitton as her selfless sister, it only lasted 11 episodes.
High Society (1995-1996)
With multiple Emmy wins to her name, Jean Smart is concerned a television icon but not everything on the Hacks star's resume has been a bonafide hit. Take, for example, High Society, which boasts a similar premise to U.K.'s Absolutely Fabulous (starring Smart and Mary McDonnell as two outrageous socialites) but was not quite as successful, lasting one 13-episode season on CBS.
Dharma & Greg (1997-2002)
Dharma & Greg starred Jenna Elfman and Thomas Gibson as the titular couple, who could not be more different but find love with each other anyway. The fun and romantic sitcom ran for five seasons on ABC but, when compared to to co-creator by Chuck Lorre's later projects (i.e. Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory) it has a considerably more obscure legacy.
The Jackie Thomas Show (1992-1993)
After acquiring fame through his marriage to sitcom star Roseanne Barr, Tom Arnold teamed up with his then-wife to create and executive produce his own vehicle called The Jackie Thomas Show. For just 18 episodes, Arnold led the ABC original show business satire as an unlikable sitcom star.
Brotherly Love (1995-1997)
Joey Lawrence stole the show on Blossom, but his follow-up, Brotherly Love, was not quite as successful and only lasted two seasons – one on NBC and the second on The WB. However, we imagine he still had fun starring on the sitcom with his younger brothers, Matthew and Andy, who play the half-siblings he reunites with following the death of their father.
Life With Roger (1996-1997)
Life with Roger starred Mike O'Malley in the title role – a homeless man convinced not to take his own life by a doctor named Jason (Maurice Godin), who eventually becomes his roommate. It lasted only one season on The WB, but O'Malley would become better known anyway for a more successful CBS sitcom called Yes, Dear and for his role in the Glee cast as Kurt's dad, Burt Hummel.
Hudson Street (1995-1996)
Already practically sitcom royalty from the respected success of Who's the Boss? and Full House, Tony Danza and Lori Loughlin teamed up to lead Hudson Street. Following the romance between a divorced homicide detective (Danza) and a crime reporter (Loughlin), the otherwise well-received sitcom suffered from dwindling ratings and, after ABC moved it to a Saturday timeslot, its first season also became its last.
The Office (1995)
While not to be confused with NBC's The Office or its U.K. predecessor, this short-lived CBS sitcom was, coincidentally, an Americanized update of a British sitcom called Upstairs, Downstairs. Lasting just six episodes, it followed a group of executives and assistants working at a packaging company played by a recognizable cast of actors including The Mary Tyler Moore Show's Valerie Harper, Batman voice actor Kevin Conroy, and future That '70s Show cast member Debra Jo Rupp.
Kelly Kelly (1998)
Shelley Long never quite achieved the same level of notoriety that she acquired when playing Diane Chambers to Emmy-winning acclaim on Cheers after leaving in 1987. One of the most obscure examples is Kelly Kelly, where she plays a literature professor whose first name also becomes her last when she marries a widowed fire chief played by Robert Hays.
LateLine (1998-1999)
Best known for his tenure as an SNL writer and cast member and his later political career, Al Franken once had an NBC sitcom, too, called LateLine. Taking place behind the scenes of a late-night news program in the vein of Nightline, it ran for two seasons on NBC, with unaired episodes later appearing on Showtime.
Men Behaving Badly (1996-1997)
The first sitcom starring SNL cast member Rob Schneider after leaving Studio 8H was Men Behaving Badly. He and Ron Eldard played college friends indulging in childlike behavior alongside Justine Bateman the girlfriend of one of them, who is forced to put up with their antics.
Love And Marriage (1996)
Along her way to achieving wide acclaim with Gilmore Girls and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Amy Sherman-Palladino hit a bump in the road. The first series she ever created, Love and Marriage – which starred Tony Denison and Patricia Healy as a couple raising a family in New York – lasted only three episodes on Fox.
Man Of The People (1991-1992)
Years after his success with shows like Maverick and The Rockford Files and before he landed a supporting on 8 Simple Rules, James Garner led a comedy called Man of the People. Lasting 10 episodes on NBC, the series followed a womanizing grifter appointed to the city council, where he comes at odds with the mayor, played by Kate Mulgrew.
Big Brother Jake (1990-1994)
The first original sitcom from The Family Channel, which would come to be known as Freeform many years later, was Big Brother Jake. It starred Jake Steinfeld as a former Hollywood stuntman who returns to his Brooklyn foster home to help out his recently widowed foster mother.
Thunder Alley (1994-1995)
Playing Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show (and on the more dramatic but equally good spin-off, Lou Grant) made Ed Asner a celebrated television icon. However, one of his most rarely acknowledged credits is Thunder Alley, an ABC sitcom in which he starred as a retired racecar driver.
