As with every decade, the 90s had some really good and really bad television. That is true for its sitcoms as well. Some comedies accomplished what they needed to and made viewers laugh. Others did not and were just plain bad – and not even in a humorous way. After all, sometimes really bad shows can make you laugh enough that you'll continue to tune in each week. Sometimes the concept of a series just doesn't lend itself to good comedy. Sometimes ratings are so poor that a show is cancelled, so it never gets a chance to improve. With so many shows on television, every one can't be good. That's especially true when there are plenty ideas to which they can be compared.
However, sometimes, something just works. Maybe the chemistry is there, whether between two characters or with the entire cast. Maybe the writing is exactly what it needs to be. Maybe a series wisely takes what works and follows it through, whether it's a character or a relationship.
Then there are the series that are based on books or movies or spin-offs of other series. There's a fine line when it comes to those. Sometimes, the remakes are better. Sometimes, the original was so good that there's too high a bar for the show to realistically meet. A sign of a good sitcom is that years later, you can still watch reruns and laugh. That's true for many of the ones from the 90s on this list. On the other hand, the really bad ones make you cringe when you remember they existed.
Here are the 15 Worst Sitcoms Of The 90s (And The 15 Best), Officially Ranked.
Worst: Sister, Sister
The series followed twins who were separated and adopted at birth. Thanks to a chance encounter, they discovered they were sisters. That led to the sisters and their parents having to get along, and they often clashed.
The series itself wasn't bad and in no way the worst. As tends to be the case with teen sitcoms, there were lessons learned by the end of each episode. That could and did get very cheesy. Plus, there was the running gag of the neighbor who liked both sisters and whom they repeatedly rejected.
Best: Step by Step
The series followed two single parents who met on vacation, fell in love and got married. When they returned home, they had to tell their children and blend their families. It was very clearly very similar to The Brady Bunch, but nowhere near as good.
For the most part, it was amusing. Watching kids have to get along because their parents got married isn't a new concept. It's been done time and time again. As long as the show stuck with comedic storylines, it did well (When it tried to get serious, it tended to fail to remain serious). At the time, it was entertaining to see the two families try to make it work.
Worst: Smart Guy
The series followed a young boy genius who went from elementary school to high school – at age 10. Again, this wasn't necessarily a bad show. It showed how T.J. had to try to fit in, both at school and with friends his own age.
That made it entertaining to watch at the time, but looking back years later and as an adult, it's easy to see why it only lasted three seasons. It wasn't exactly relatable either. Sure, kids skip grades all the time, but it's rare that someone skips six grades.
Best: Mad About You
The series followed newlyweds Paul, a documentary filmmaker, and Jamie, a public relations specialist, in their everyday lives. The best way to get an audience behind a couple is with a great meet-cute story. Mad About You had that. The two met at a newsstand in New York when she offered up a terrible excuse to get her hands on his copy of the New York Times.
Notable guest stars and crossovers also helped. This show had that in spades, including crossovers with Friends and Seinfeld.
With a great cast backed by great chemistry and writing, it's easy to see why it was nominated for and won a number of Emmy and Golden Globes.
Worst: Saved by the Bell: The New Class
Thanks to nostalgia, people still talk about Saved by the Bell somewhat fondly, as it set the foundation for high school sitcoms to come. That's not the case with one of its spin-offs, The New Class. It focused on new characters and featured cast changes each season. Mr. Belding and, starting with season 2, Screech, were the only familiar faces.
Since the concept of the series didn't change, it's no surprise that some of the storylines were familiar as well. Even though it had a longer run than the other series, it should say something that Saved by the Bell is the one that people tend to remember.
Best: Sabrina the Teenage Witch
The series was not perfect by any means. Sabrina tried to get a handle on using magic after learning she was a witch on her 16th birthday. That led to hijinks and, sometimes, predictable situations and laughs. However, despite some hiccups along the way, including cast changes that could have been handled better, it was an entertaining series.
The show had great female characters, as Sabrina's relationship with her aunts was a highlight. The jokes were funny more often than they weren't. The fantastical element of magic just added to the laughs. Plus, who could forget the talking cat? Seeing what Salem had to say was often reason enough to tune in each week.
Worst: Dharma & Greg
Dating is hard. Who wouldn't want to skip it? That was exactly what Dharma and Greg did when they went on a first date and then got married. Their very different personalities (and their parents' matched theirs) led to numerous clashes.
It was the perfect formula for a comedy, but it wasn't exactly a concept that should have lasted as long as it did. The bickering due to their differing opinions was still present even in the final episode. In fact, the most realistic part of their relationship was probably Greg uttering the word "divorce" when the two appeared in an episode of Two and a Half Men.
Best: The Nanny
The series, inspired by Fran Drescher's personal life growing up in Queens, followed her character, who was a Jewish-American from Flushing, New York trying to sell cosmetics to British Broadway producer Maxwell Sheffield. Instead, she became the nanny for his three children. Predictably, Fran and Maxwell fell in love and eventually got married and had kids.
There were many running gags throughout the series and that seemed to help it remain successful.
The characters had their own quirks, which they played off each other's. Drescher even won a TV Land Award for Favorite Nanny in 2008. Even years later, people liked and remembered her performance and the character.
Worst: Veronica's Closet
Veronica Chase owned Veronica's Closet, dedicated to lingerie and books designed to keep romance alive. She had a rocky marriage and left her husband and had to move on from that. It was a good concept and one that should have worked. People want to watch someone recover – especially with some comedic moments along the way – after something like that. However, it wasn't what it could have been.
It started going downhill after season 2 and one character's life ended when his wife pushed him into a volcano. That storyline alone should probably give this sitcom a spot on a worst list since it sounds like something out of a soap opera.
Best: Family Matters
The series was a spin-off of Perfect Strangers and originally focused on the middle-class Winslow family in Chicago. However, in the middle of the first season, viewers met the family's neighbor, Steve Urkel. He was only supposed to be in one episode but went on to become the show's main character. He even appeared on other shows, like Full House. The series took what worked and went with it. It was a smart move.
Even those who never watched the series probably know who Urkel is. There are references to his character (and his catchphrase) in pop culture even now. Whether or not you liked Urkel, he became a memorable, albeit annoying character.
Worst: Harry and the Hendersons
Based on the movie of the same name, the sitcom followed a family that adopted a Bigfoot, Harry. They found him on a camping trip and brought him home with them. The movie didn't exactly get rave reviews. That should have been a sign. Sadly, this wasn't a case where the television show wasn't any better.
The premise was simple, but it was more than a bit ridiculous. When the world found out about Harry, the government didn't take him into custody. There even just so happened to be a female Bigfoot with whom Harry fell in love.
Best: Murphy Brown
This show focused on Muphy Brown returning to work at a fictional television news magazine after time in rehab. There was a reason the series received many Emmy and Golden Globe nominations and wins: it worked and it was funny. That was due in part to the great cast and writing and focus on a great female character. There were also several running gags, including numerous characters acting as Murphy Brown's secretary (Most only lasted one episode).
Its success is why there will be a revival airing on CBS in the 2018-19 season. Some of the original cast, including Bergen, are returning. Hopefully it captures the same magic as the original series did.
Worst: Suddenly Susan
The premise was simple: the titular character left her fiance at the altar. Susan then had to adjust to taking care of herself and being single, so she wrote a column about it. Unsurprisingly, her ex-fiance's brother had more-than-friendly feelings for her.
It was just another workplace comedy and there was nothing special about it. If you've forgotten it existed, you're not the only one. It wasn't a critical hit. Its high ratings in its first season can easily be attributed to its time slot, between Seinfeld and ER, not the show itself.
Best: Full House
The series followed a widowed father raising his three daughters with help from his friends. Even if you weren't able to watch it when it originally aired, there are numerous places to catch reruns. Plus, the sequel on Netflix, Fuller House, is similar enough.
Full House wasn't necessarily quality television. However, it was entertaining and fans knew what they were getting when they tuned in. There were numerous running gags, though some were eye roll-inducing. The jokes were corny, but it never strayed far from what it was in the beginning. The cast remained the same, with a few minor changes in the characters' statuses around the central family.
Worst: Hangin' with Mr. Cooper
The main character, Mark Cooper, was a former NBA player who became a substitute teacher and gym coach. He moved in with his childhood friend and her friend, living in the den. You don't need to know much else than that to figure where the comedy of the show comes in. If you want to know why this wasn't great, just look at the series finale plot. Rather than try to figure out which personal ad was Vanessa's, Mark answered all the ads in the paper.
That's a storyline that could only work on a sitcom, like most sitcoms' storylines, but it's still awful. Still, if the show had made it to a sixth season, the premiere would have been their wedding.
Best: That '70s Show
Before The Goldbergs targeted nostalgia, there was That '70s Show. More often than not, the series made its viewers laugh. It followed a group of friends and a few of their parents beginning in 1976. In fact, it's because the parents weren't just forgotten like most shows about teens tend to do that this show was so great.
While it did tackle some serious issues of the times, it focused on comedic moments, especially in later seasons.
The series used a number of visual elements (like split screens, dream sequences and unique scene transitions). There were also numerous running gags and catchphrases, from Fez's real name to someone falling off the water tower to "burn."
Worst: Caroline in the City
The series followed a successful cartoonist with a complicated love life. Its first two seasons were good, and the ratings showed that. That changed drastically in the next couple of seasons. So, it was a bit surprising that season 4 ended with such a big cliffhanger. The end was that just as Caroline was about to marry another man, Richard showed up. Then, the show was cancelled.
The first two seasons were available on DVD, but have since been discontinued. However, it's not like you missed out on much or anything you can't see in any other sitcom.
Plus, a series finale cliffhanger can affect how an entire series is judged. In this case, it's not remembered fondly.
Best: The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Will Smith played a fictional version of himself in the popular series that addressed race and class issues well. The theme song was memorable, the rapping was clean and it introduced the premise of the show. After getting into a scuffle in Philadelphia, his mother sent him to live with his aunt and uncle in Bel-Air, Los Angeles.
His working-class background led to amusing clashes with his upper-class family members. The show worked because the characters, especially Smith's, were likeable. It was something that the entire family could watch together. Still, it wasn't ratings gold by any means. In fact, it's probably due to its re-runs that it's remembered fondly.
Worst: Clueless
Based on the movie of the same name, the sitcom had many of the film's cast reprising their roles, except Rachel Blanchard took over as Cher.The series only lasted one season on ABC before its cancellation. However, UPN picked it up for two more years before axing it due to low ratings.
A couple of the season 1 episodes aired out of order, including the pilot. Perhaps it suffered because the movie was so well-known and there were significant changes made for the show.While the movie wasn't a masterpiece by any means, it was entertaining and something fans can remember fondly. The series was not.
Best: Boy Meets World
Nearly everyone knows this show, thanks to re-runs, DVDs and even a sequel, Girl Meets World. The original series followed Cory Matthews and his friends and family, from his time in middle school to college. Boy Meets World did tackle some serious issues and for the most part in the right way. However, at the heart of it, it was exactly what a sitcom should be: a series that made its viewers laugh.
It bordered on ridiculous at times. That included Cory's over-the-top reactions, crazy dreams and flash-forwards, a riff on a horror movie and running gags including Eric's Feeny call. With all of that, it was very entertaining and it even holds up today.