32 Old Network TV Shows That No One Talks About Enough

Some shows, like Friends and The Brady Bunch still get talked about all time. Others, like the ones on this list, were great shows but have been mostly lost to the winds of time in a lot of ways. Shows like The Mod Squad, Wings, and others don't get talked about nearly enough and so that's why we put together this list. Here is our list of TV shows that simply don't get talked about enough anymore.

The Mod Squad

While there was an attempt at making a movie franchise for the late '60s classic The Mod Squad in the late '90s, the movie struggled at the box office, and in the decades since the show has been mostly forgotten. It's too bad on both accounts, because not only was the show groundbreaking with a mixed-raced and mixed-gender team of crime solvers, but it was just a really cool show.

St. Elsewhere

NBC's St. Elsewhere was never a huge hit, but it had a strong, loyal audience and the cast was stacked. The show ran for six seasons and pretty much launched the careers of Howie Mandel, Ed Begley Jr., and most famously, Denzel Washington. The fact that it was never a huge ratings-getter may explain why it's been relegated mostly to trivia questions about Washington's early career.

Sliders

The biggest problem Sliders faced in its five seasons in the late '90s was the constantly shifting cast. It went through a lot of upheaval during the show's run which was punctuated when the show's star, Jerry O'Connell left after the 4th season. It just couldn't survive after that and maybe because of that, the sci-fi show isn't talked about much anymore.

Mutual Of Omaha's Wild Kingdom

Back in the early days of television, networks weren't afraid to take on wild ideas if they could get a corporate sponsor. Take, for example, Mutual Of Omaha's Wild Kingdom, a show that today seems far too vanilla and wholesome to ever be a hit. Starring the director of the St. Louis Zoo, Marlin Perkins, the show was as educational as it was fun and as a result, it ran for an amazing 18 seasons, from the '60s until the '80s. Outside of a few fond memories by Boomers and Gen Xers, it's mostly forgotten

Ironside

Raymond Burr's most famous role will always be Perry Mason, and that show is still fondly remembered (and has been rebooted recently). The show he starred in after Perry Mason, Ironside, where he plays a paraplegic detective is far less remembered and talked about these days.

Falcon Crest

Jane Wyman is famous for two reasons. First, he was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood in the 1940s and '50s, and second, she was once married to Ronald Reagan. What she is weirdly less remembered for is her turn as one of the best villains on '80s TV on the show Falcon Crest.

Soap

Despite helping both Robert Guillaume and Billy Crystal become stars, Soap is almost never mentioned when talking about great sitcoms from the '70s. In fact, it's the spinoff starring Guillaume, Benson, that is far better remembered.

The Parent 'Hood

The early days of the WB network, in the mid-'90s, were pretty wild. Starting a new network isn't easy and as such, the executives were looking anywhere and everywhere for talent and content. Comedian Robert Townsend had made a few semi-successful movies and landed his first show with the network in 1995. The Parent 'Hood was one of the first shows on the network and ran for five seasons, becoming a minor hit.

Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color

This makes some sense. Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color was pretty groundbreaking, if for no other reason than it was the first show many Baby Boomers remember watching in color on television. While there have been various different names and versions of the show over the years, the classic version from the 1960s is almost never mentioned when talking about shows from the era.

Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman

A TV show with a female doctor as the lead role was still pretty groundbreaking in the '90s, believe it or not. The fact that Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman was about a female doctor in the 19th century was even more groundbreaking, and yet, the show, starring Jane Seymour (who is probably most famous for playing a Bond Girl) as the titular character was a decent hit, even if no one talks about it these days,

Riptide

Producer Stephen J. Cannell was responsible for some of the biggest hits of the '70s and '80s on TV, like The A-Team, 21 Jump Street, and The Rockford Files. All those shows are fondly remembered, but not all of his shows are talked about nearly as much, like Riptide. The show, which ran for three seasons on NBC featured a team of private detectives with a bunch of fun toys they used to solve crimes, like boats and helicopters.

Wings

In the 1980s and 1990s, NBC owned the sitcom game. There are so many classics we still talk about and watch, like Cheers, Friends, Seinfeld, Frasier, The Cosby Show, and more. Wings, one of NBC's biggest hits of the time is far less talked about among those great though it deserves to be. With a great cast and fun setting on Nantucket, the show still holds up like the others, just not in our memories, for some reason.

Barnaby Jones

The Beverly Hillbillies will always be what actor Buddy Ebsen is best known for, but he had another hit in the years after The Hillbillies with Barnaby Jones. The detective show, with Ebsen as the titular detective, was one of the most popular shows of the 1970s, but it's totally eclipsed by Ebsen's earlier work.

227

During it's run for five seasons in the late 1980, 227 was one of the highest rated shows on TV to feature a predominately African-American cast, and yet it's far less talked than shows like it's fellow NBC sitcoms like The Cosby Show and A Different World.

Just Shoot Me!

Even into the late '90s, NBC was still cranking out classic sitcoms, and one of those, Just Shoot Me! is far less remembered, despite being hilarious. Its cast is fantastic, with the likes of David Spade, Laura San Giacomo, Wendy Malik, Brian Posehn, and George Segal, but it's a show that is mostly lost to the winds of time.

Airwolf

The 1980s were ful of wild ideas for TVs and it didn't get any cooler for kids in the era than Airwolf, a show whose star was really a helicopter (and Jan Micheal Vincent, of course). Though it only ran for three seasons on CBS (with a fourth on USA), anyone who grew up remembers it fondly. Or, at least, they remember the theme song, which remains a banger and the most memorable part of the show.

Spenser: For Hire

Author Robert Parker created one of the most popular private detectives in modern literature in Spenser. In 1985, Spenser was brought to the small screen by ABC, starring Robert Urich as the titular Boston detective. It ran for three seasons and while the books are still being adapted,

Gimme A Break!

The 1980s were a rich decade for sitcoms, especially on NBC. Many of those are still discussed and loved today, like Cheers, Family Ties, and Golden Girls, among others. One that seems to get the short end of the stick is Gimme A Break! starring the great Nell Carter. Despite six very successful seasons, the show hasn't held up with some of its contemporaries, despite the onslaught of Gen X nostalgia.

In The House

In the mid-'90s, LL Cool J's In the House had a wild ride. Its first two seasons aired on NBC, before it moved to UPN for two more, before concluding with one season in first-run syndication. It may be because it never really found a home that it's mostly forgotten about today.

Third Watch

Some procedurals seemingly last forever in syndication and on streaming, like, for example, Law & Order. Others, like Third Watch, despite being excellent shows in their day, seem to get completely forgotten soon after they go off the air. It's too bad, because not only was the show great, but it also had some incredible actors move through its cast.

The Jackie Gleason Show

Jackie Gleason is a television icon, even decades after his death in 1987. The Honeymooners is still considered one of the best sitcoms in TV history, and his movie work like The Hustler and Smokey And The Bandit is legendary. The show he spent the most time on though, his eponymous variety show, The Jackie Gleason Show isn't nearly as talked about as his contemporaries like Johnny Carson or Dick Cavett.

Dharma And Greg

Producer Chuck Lorre has created some of the most memorable shows in television over the last few decades like Two and A Half Men, The Big Bang Theory, and Mom. One of his first though, Dharma & Greg, is hardly ever mention, despite being just as funny as the others.

Emergency!

Gritty police and fire fighter procedurals can almost all trace their roots back Emergency! in the 1970s. It even pre-dates iconic shows like Hill Street Blues. But today, it's mostly forgotten, despite being a staple of syndication TV in the 1980s after its initial run in the '70s.

NYPD Blue

Of all the shows on this list, NYPD Blue may be the most dubious addition, as it's not nearly as forgotten as others, but at the same time, for a show as iconic and as groundbreaking as it was, it seems to never be talked about much. It changed the game for police shows and directly led to shows like The Wire and The Shield.

Head Of The Class

After making a name for himself on the iconic WKRP In Cincinnati, Howard Hesseman headed another sitcom that was almost as successful, Head Of The Class, but not nearly as memorable, for some reason.

The Twilight Zone (1980s Reboot)

It makes a little sense that the 1980s reboot of The Twilight Zone doesn't really stand up to the original. However, the show, despite being mostly remakes of some of the best episodes of the original, was still really scary for anyone watching at the time.

NewsRadio

There is no better example of a show being largely un-talked about despite being one of the funniest shows of the 1990s than NewsRadio. Phil Hartman is the star, but the entire cast was incredible, with Joe Rogan, Dave Foley, Khandi Alexander, Andy Dick, and the great Stephen Root.

Baretta

Actor Robert Blake, who died in 2023, had a career that reached all the way back to the 1930s. He is most infamous for beating a murder charge in 2005 and that might explain why his biggest TV hit, Baretta, is hardly ever talked about these days,

Benson

While it's true that Benson is probably more talked about these days than the show it was spun off from, Soap, it still seems like few remember the Robert Guillaume-led sitcom, either.

Dream On

For decades, HBO has been churning out some of the best shows in TV history, and that's hardly limited to Game Of Thrones. Still, one of the cable network's earliest hits, Dream On is hardly ever mentioned when talking about other monster shows that the network has produced.

Knot's Landing

People still love talking about Dallas and all the cliffhangers it produced. Almost no one talks about the show's equally successful spinoff, Knot's Landing. The primetime soap opera for 14 seasons and helped define the 1980s and yet, it hasn't had the staying power of its big brother.

Fish

The best thing about Fish, if we're honest, was the amazing theme song. The show was pretty funny, though it never really lived up to the show it was spun off from, Barney Miller (which also has a banger of theme song). Abe Vigoda is a legend, Fish isn't.