Things that defined the ’90s: floppy middle-parted hair, questionable taste in leggings, and—most important—some truly iconic TV shows. Most of which, tragically, were canceled way too soon. From Clarissa Explains It All to Clueless (yes, they made the movie into a show), these are the shows from the 1990s that we wish were still on air (er, on Netflix, I guess) today.
Breaker High
Yes, that’s Ryan Gosling on the right in this picture, and no, I am not okay. You might not remember Breaker High because it was only on for one season, but guys, we need to discuss the plot: It’s about a group of kids who go to high school on a cruise ship. If you can find a way to stream this show today, you are a better internet sleuth than I.
Buffy the Vampire Slaye
Sometimes in life, you have to make tough choices. And for us ’90s and early aughts kids, it all came down to this: Buffy or Charmed?! Both were canceled too soon, but Buffy was significantly more ’90s and is often considered one of the Greatest Shows of All Time (nothing but the truth!).
Camp Wilder
Camp Wilder only lasted for one gloriously ’90s season before being canceled and was part of ABC’s iconic TGIF lineup. You wanna know the saddest part? Twenty episodes were filmed and the network only bothered to air 19 of them, because ratings were so low. I! Demand! Justice! P.S. Apparently, this show was a hit in Germany, so maybe you could relocate and try streaming it there?!
Dawson’s Creek
Excuse me while I spend the next few minutes crying over Dawson, his aforementioned creek, and the fact that this show isn’t in my life anymore. It did, however, introduce us to a timeless GIF of James Van Der Beek weeping hysterically.
Sister, Sister
This iconic ’90s show was on for six seasons, but it was actually canceled by ABC midway through its run, only to be picked up by The WB, which clearly thought ABC was being insane, which it was. Tragically, the revival (announced last year) doesn’t seem to be coming out anytime soon.
Malibu Shores
Guys, this show literally lasted only 10 episodes on NBC in 1996. Which is kinda wild considering it was about angsty teen high school drama in L.A. and starred Keri Russell. Like, what more do you want, world? I cannot for the life of me figure out a way to stream this, so if you can, I salute ya.
Mr. Show With Bob and David
Mr. Show was hugely popular for people who stayed up past 10 p.m. and watched HBO. The sketch comedy featured comedian guest stars like Sarah Silverman and Jack Black, and while it never had a huge audience (premium cable was pretty limited back in ye olden days), it was pretty influential.
Salute Your Shorts
Camp Anawanna, we hold you in our hearts! Salute Your Shorts was *the* best show about camp (fine, there aren’t that many out there), and the reason it was canceled is so weird: The cast didn’t want to relocate to Nickelodeon Studios in Orlando. Like, they literally opted to ditch their jobs, that’s how little they wanted to live in Florida.
Swans Crossing
Never heard of Swans Crossing? Probably because it was literally on for only 13 weeks before being dumped. The insane part? It managed to produce 65 episodes in those 13 weeks. (And yet, I cannot figure out how to stream any of those 65 episodes online! Harrumph.) Yes, that’s a young Sarah Michelle Gellar you see right there in the middle.
