The 40 most popular 1990s comedy TV shows, ranked. Click any show for ratings, reviews, trailers, and where to watch.


Family Guy
1999 · US
Sick, twisted, politically incorrect and Freakin' Sweet animated series featuring the adventures of the dysfunctional Griffin family. Bumbling Peter and long-suffering Lois have three kids. Stewie (a brilliant but sadistic baby bent on killing his mother and taking over the world), Meg (the oldest, and is the most unpopular girl in town) and Chris (the middle kid, he's not very bright but has a passion for movies). The final member of the family is Brian - a talking dog and much more than a pet, he keeps Stewie in check whilst sipping Martinis and sorting through his own life issues.


Arthur
1996 · US
The show revolves around the lives of 8-year-old Arthur Read, an anthropomorphic aardvark, his friends and family, and their daily interactions with each other.


Friends
1994 · US
Six young people from New York City, on their own and struggling to survive in the real world, find the companionship, comfort and support they get from each other to be the perfect antidote to the pressures of life.


The Daily Show
1996 · US
The World's Fakest News Team tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and pop culture.


Young Hearts
1995 · BR
Malhação is a Brazilian television series for the teenage audience. The soap started in 1995, and was set in a fictional Gym Club called Malhação on Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro. Through the years the location varied slightly. Although the name of the soap remains the same, it is now set in the Múltipla Escolha High School.


Late Show with David Letterman
1993 · US
David Letterman uses mature humor to appeal to his audience in this weeknight series, which gets its music from a house band led by Paul Shaffer. Among the show's most-famous segments are the Top Ten List and Stupid Pet Tricks, the latter of which subsequently led to an additional recurring segment called Stupid Human Tricks.


One Piece
1999 · JP
Years ago, the fearsome Pirate King, Gol D. Roger was executed leaving a huge pile of treasure and the famous "One Piece" behind. Whoever claims the "One Piece" will be named the new King of the Pirates. Monkey D. Luffy, a boy who consumed a "Devil Fruit," decides to follow in the footsteps of his idol, the pirate Shanks, and find the One Piece. It helps, of course, that his body has the properties of rubber and that he's surrounded by a bevy of skilled fighters and thieves to help him along the way. Luffy will do anything to get the One Piece and become King of the Pirates!


South Park
1997 · US
Follow the misadventures of four irreverent grade-schoolers in the quiet, dysfunctional town of South Park, Colorado.


Chibi Maruko-chan
1990 · JP
Meet Maruko, a sweet schoolgirl with a hefty dose of curiosity (and occasional laziness!). She sails through life in a cozy town alongside her loving parents, grandparents, and sister. Maruko has a band of loyal friends, including her closest pal, Tama-chan, but her playful and doting grandpa is at the heart of it all. Life is never dull in this charming series.


Ally McBeal
1997 · US
Ally McBeal is a young lawyer working at the Boston law firm Cage and Fish. Ally's lives and loves are eccentric, humorous, dramatic with an incredibly overactive imagination that's working overtime!


Ninja Boy Rantaro
1993 · JP
Rantarō, Shinbei and Kirimaru are ninja apprentices in the Ninja Gakuen, where first grade ones are called "Nintamas". They must learn everything a ninja must know, but as for our heroes, money, food or playing are more interesting. The series show the everyday adventures of our heroes.


Detective Conan
1996 · JP
The son of a world famous mystery writer, Jimmy Kudo, has achieved his own notoriety by assisting the local police as a student detective. He has always been able to solve the most difficult of criminal cases using his wits and power of reason.


Frasier
1993 · US
After many years spent at the “Cheers” bar, Frasier moves back home to Seattle to work as a radio psychiatrist after his policeman father gets shot in the hip on duty.


Charmed
1998 · US
Three sisters (Prue, Piper and Phoebe) reunite and unlock their powers to become the Charmed Ones, the most powerful good witches of all time, whose prophesied destiny is to protect innocent lives from evil beings such as demons and warlocks. Each sister possesses unique magical powers that grow and evolve, while they attempt to maintain normal lives in modern day San Francisco.


King of the Hill
1997 · US
Set in Texas, this animated series follows the life of propane salesman Hank Hill, who lives with his overly confident substitute Spanish teacher wife Peggy, wannabe comedian son Bobby, and naive niece Luanne. Hank has conservative views about God, family, and country, but his values and ethics are often challenged by the situations he, his family, and his beer-drinking neighbors/buddies find themselves in.


Rugrats
1991 · US
Focuses on a group of toddlers, most prominently Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, Lil, and Angelica, and their day-to-day lives, usually involving common life experiences that become adventures in the babies' imaginations. Adults in the series are almost always unaware of what the children are up to; however, this only provides more room for the babies to explore and discover their surroundings.


Futurama
1999 · US
The adventures of a late-20th-century New York City pizza delivery boy, Philip J. Fry, who, after being unwittingly cryogenically frozen for one thousand years, finds employment at Planet Express, an interplanetary delivery company in the retro-futuristic 31st century.


Crayon Shin-chan
1992 · JP
Shin-chan, the boy next door, is a walking disaster, creating chaos wherever he goes. With the body of a child and the mind of an adult, Shinchan is wreaking more havoc than any child before. Shin-chan is carefree, optimistic and gets excited about everything. This 5 year-old likes to do things his way.


Buffy the Vampire Slayer
1997 · US
Into every generation a slayer is born: one girl in all the world, a chosen one. She alone will wield the strength and skill to fight the vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness; to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their number. She is the Slayer.


Have I Got News for You
1990 · UK
Hilarious, totally-irreverent, near-slanderous political quiz show, based mainly on news stories from the last week or so, that leaves no party, personality or action unscathed in pursuit of laughs.


Alarm for Cobra 11: The Motorway Police
1996 · DE
A long-running German television series about a two-man team of highway police, originally set in Berlin and later in North Rhine-Westphalia.


The King of Queens
1998 · US
Life’s good for deliveryman Doug Heffernan, until his newly widowed father-in-law, Arthur, moves in with him and his wife Carrie. Doug is no longer the king of his domain, and instead of having a big screen television in his recently renovated basement, he now has a crazy old man.


Late Night with Conan O'Brien
1993 · US
Stepping into the late-late slot vacated by David Letterman, Conan O'Brien stars in a show that far outdoes its competition in sheer strangeness. Along with the celebrity interviews and musical numbers typical of late-night talk shows, this program make frequent use of odd walk-on characters and frequent "visits" from celebrity guests.


The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
1992 · US
Jay Leno hosts some of the biggest celebrities in the world.


The Nanny
1993 · US
That flashy girl from Flushing with the heart of an angel (and the voice of a slighty more nasal angel). The comic misadventures of the sweet and sassy Fran Fine, her sophisticated employer, Broadway producer Mr. Sheffield, his boisterous brood and his wisecracking staff.


Cow and Chicken
1997 · US
Follows the surreal adventures of a cow, named Cow, and her chicken brother, named Chicken. They are often antagonized by "The Red Guy", who poses as various characters to scam them.


The Drew Carey Show
1995 · US
Drew is an assistant director of personnel in a Cleveland department store and he has been stuck there for ten years. Other than fighting with co-worker Mimi, his hobbies include drinking beer and not being able to get dates. To make a few extra bucks he has a micro-brewery going in his garage with his buddies.


That '70s Show
1998 · US
Crank up the 8-track and flash back to a time when platform shoes and puka shells were all the rage in this hilarious retro-sitcom. For Eric, Kelso, Jackie, Hyde, Donna and Fez, a group of high school teens who spend most of their time hanging out in Eric’s basement, life in the ‘70s isn’t always so groovy. But between trying to figure out the meaning of life, avoiding their parents, and dealing with out-of-control hormones, they’ve learned one thing for sure: they’ll always get by with a little help from their friends.


Will & Grace
1998 · US
Will Truman and Grace Adler are best friends living in New York, and when Grace's engagement falls apart, she moves in with Will. Together, along with their friends, they go through the trials of dating, sex, relationships and their careers, butting heads at times but ultimately supporting one another while exchanging plenty of witty banter along the way.


Everybody Loves Raymond
1996 · US
Ray Barone is a successful sportswriter living on Long Island with his wife Debra, daughter Ally, and twin sons, Geoffrey and Michael. Ray's meddling parents, Frank and Marie, and brother, Robert, live directly across the street.


Dexter's Laboratory
1996 · US
Dexter, a boy-genius with a secret laboratory, constantly battles his sister Dee Dee, who always gains access despite his best efforts to keep her out, as well as his arch-rival and neighbor, Mandark.


Sex and the City
1998 · US
Based on the bestselling book by Candace Bushnell, Sex and the City tells the story of four best friends, all single and in their late thirties, as they pursue their careers and talk about their sex lives, all while trying to survive the New York social scene.


Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
1996 · US
On her sixteenth birthday, Sabrina Spellman discovers she has magical powers. She lives with her 600-year-old aunts Hilda and Zelda as well as talking cat Salem in the fictional town of Westbridge, Massachusetts.


Sailor Moon
1992 · JP
One day, Usagi Tsukino, clumsy 2nd-year middle school student, stumbles upon a talking cat named Luna. Luna tells her that she is destined to be Sailor Moon, "champion of love and justice", and she must search for the fabled Moon Princess. Usagi finds friends that turn out to be destined senshi as well, and together they fight to save the world from the certain doom brought upon by the Dark Kingdom.


The Powerpuff Girls
1998 · US
A series about Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup, three kindergarten-aged girls with superpowers, as well as their "father", the brainy scientist Professor Utonium, who all live in the fictional city of Townsville, USA. The girls are frequently called upon by the town's childlike and naive mayor to help fight nearby criminals using their powers.


Animaniacs
1993 · US
The two Warner Brothers Yakko and Wakko and their Warner sister Dot had been (supposedly) created in the 1930's, but their cartoons were too screwy for the general public to handle. The three Warners were locked up in the studio water tower until they escaped in the 90's. There, they run wild, causing chaos everywhere!


Mad About You
1992 · US
Young, urban newlyweds Paul and Jamie Buchman try to sustain their marital bliss while sidestepping the hurdles of love in the '90s.


Home Improvement
1991 · US
The daily trials and tribulations of handyman Tim Taylor, a TV show host raising three boys with help from his loyal co-host, domineering wife, and unseen neighbor.


KochiKame
1996 · JP
Ryotsu Kankichi, or Ryo-san for short, is an unconventional cop working at the local police station who loves money. Together with famous celebrities like Nakagawa and Reiko, his strict boss Police Chief Ohara, and other wildly unique characters, he gets everyone caught up in all sorts of hijinks!


Three Guys and Three Girls
1996 · KR
The series is Korea’s first youth sitcom, revolving around three men and three women sharing a university lodging house. The group navigates comedic and romantic adventures, with a focus on friendships and budding relationships. Key highlights: Lee Ui-jung (one of the female leads) stands out with her quirky hairstyle and serves as the show’s central figure, particularly through her dynamic with Song Seung-heon’s character The sitcom blends lighthearted humour with relatable themes of young adulthood, making it a pioneer in Korean TV history
1990s television was the last era of true mass audiences, when a network sitcom or a season finale could be a shared national event.
TV comedy has moved from the multi-camera sitcom to the single-camera half-hour to the genre-blurring 'sadcom.' The format's real advantage is time — jokes that depend on years of accumulated character history.