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


Family Guy
1999
country: United States
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.


Late Show with David Letterman
1993
country: United States
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.


The Daily Show
1996
country: United States
The World's Fakest News Team tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and pop culture.


Young Hearts
1995
country: Brazil
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 Night with Conan O'Brien
1993
country: United States
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.


Friends
1994
country: United States
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.


Frasier
1993
country: United States
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.
N.N.
N.N.
1990
country: Colombia
Colombian Sitcom focused on the adventures and misadventures of Nerón Navarrete,(A.K.A. "NN") a nice and playful gambler with huge desire to overcome, which comes from the countryside to the city. His clumsiness, because of many contradictions, only equal to the tenderness of her character, always polite, which makes engaging in all sorts of crazy situations in their quest to conquer the world.


South Park
1997
country: United States
Follow the misadventures of four irreverent grade-schoolers in the quiet, dysfunctional town of South Park, Colorado.


Detective Conan
1996
country: Japan
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.


King of the Hill
1997
country: United States
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.


Chibi Maruko-chan
1990
country: Japan
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.


Charmed
1998
country: United States
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.


Futurama
1999
country: United States
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.


Rugrats
1991
country: United States
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.


The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
1992
country: United States
Jay Leno hosts some of the biggest celebrities in the world.


Will & Grace
1998
country: United States
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.


Ninja Boy Rantaro
1993
country: Japan
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.


One Piece
1999
country: Japan
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!


Buffy the Vampire Slayer
1997
country: United States
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.


Everybody Loves Raymond
1996
country: United States
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.


3rd Rock from the Sun
1996
country: United States
The high commander of an alien expedition lands on Earth -- what he considers to be the least-important planet -- in human form as Dick Solomon. Along for the ride are his alien compatriots Harry, Sally and Tommy -- who is the eldest of the group but is now angrily trapped in a teen's body.


The King of Queens
1998
country: United States
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.


Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
1996
country: United States
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.


That '70s Show
1998
country: United States
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.


Wings
1990
country: United States
Brothers Brian and Joe Hackett attempt to run an airline on the New England island of Nantucket while surrounded by their various wacky friends and employees.


Beavis and Butt-Head
1993
country: United States
Two dimwitted teenagers discuss TV, heavy-metal music, nachos, and trying to "score with chicks." When the duo aren't sitting on the couch, they try to pick up girls at the local convenience store, slack off at school, or wreak havoc while working at a burger joint.


Have I Got News for You
1990
country: United Kingdom
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.


Sex and the City
1998
country: United States
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.


The Nanny
1993
country: United States
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.


SMAP×SMAP
1996
country: Japan
SMAP×SMAP was an ongoing weekly Japanese variety show on Kansai TV and Fuji TV starring the members of SMAP. The show began on April 15, 1996 and it aired from 22:00 to 22:54 every Monday. The show's usual ratings were higher than 20%, which is considered high since most variety shows range from 10-20%. Each episode begins a variety of skits, comedic performances, and/or games. These are followed by Bistro SMAP, in which the SMAP members compete against each other to impress celebrity judges with their gourmet cooking. Last is a musical performance by SMAP which may include celebrity guests, as well.


The Howard Stern Show
1994
country: United States
Raunchy interviews, sketches, and social commentary from the king of shock radio


Tatlı Kaçıklar
1996
country: Turkey
No overview available


Goof Troop
1992
country: United States
Goofy is a single father raising his son, Max in Spoonerville. As it happens, Goofy and Max end up moving in next door to Goofy's high school friend Pete and his family. Pete's son PJ and Max become best friends practically doing everything together.


The Powerpuff Girls
1998
country: United States
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.


V.I.P.
1998
country: United States
While attending a Hollywood premiere with a famous action star, a crazed fan pulls a gun—but her movie hunk turns into a coward, and it's Vallery who becomes the hero. Suddenly, she's thrown into a world of action and danger as owner of a Hollywood protection agency, Vallery Irons Protection (V.I.P.), taking risks to protect others at a price few are willing to pay.


Animaniacs
1993
country: United States
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!


The Drew Carey Show
1995
country: United States
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.


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


Dexter's Laboratory
1996
country: United States
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.
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.