11 Notable TV Shows That Debuted in 1994

Here are 11 notable TV shows that debuted in 1994 — who knew that the TV of 30 years ago would prove so influential?

Chicago Hope

David E. Kelley was a force in television for years. In the ‘90s alone he created Picket Fences, The Practice, Ally McBeal, and Chicago Hope. This particular show, the one that debuted in 1994, was a medical drama set in the Windy City.

The ensemble medical drama was originally headlined by Mandy Patinkin as a cardiac surgeon who plays by his own rules, but gets results. However, since Patinkin can be, shall we say, a difficult figure on the set, eventually he would move into a recurring role and others, including Mark Harmon as Jack McNeil, would fill the void. Chicago Hope ran for six seasons and 141 episodes.

Sister, Sister

In the ‘90s, you had multiple options when it came to twin sisters doing light comedy. While the Olsens were doing their thing, the Mowrys, Tia and Tamera, had their own show in the TGIF lineup. In the first episode of Sister, Sister, identical twins separated at birth are reunited, and through a series of machinations get to live together.

Sister, Sister did not reinvent the wheel, and it only lasted on ABC for two seasons. But then the WB brought the show over, and it got four more seasons.

Also, shout out to Tahj, their younger brother, who got his own sitcom, Smart Guy.

Space Ghost Coast to Coast

TV shows don’t get produced like Space Ghost Coast to Coast anymore. The creators were basically told by Cartoon Network to whip together a cheap animated show for adults. What came out of that? An old, obscure ‘60s superhero, Space Ghost, was recontextualized into a talk-show host. Animation was reused. The budget was razor thin. And yet, the end product is a delight.

Space Ghost Coast to Coast legitimately birthed Adult Swim, and thus the Adult Swim style of comedy. Low key, this is one of the most-influential shows of the 1990s. It’s an absurdist delight.

Part of the fun is the style of Space Ghost’s interviews. Real people were interviewed in the real world, and their answers were cut into the show haphazardly and for the sake of humor, which was pretty brilliant.

All That

Nickelodeon was reinventing itself in 1994. The Secret World of Alex Mack and Aaahh!!! Real Monsters were added to the network, but neither of those shows were as important as All That. While one of Nick’s first notable shows was a sketch show starring kids, You Can’t Do That on Television, that was by-and-large a Canadian production that aired on Nick. All That was a sketch show starring kids created by the network.

It proved to be one of the biggest hits for Nickelodeon. It yielded a movie, Good Burger, and also a couple spinoffs. Kenan & Kel and The Amanda Show came from All That, and Kenan Thompson would go on to be the longest-serving cast member in Saturday Night Live history.

Not too shabby for Pierre Escargot.

The Critic

The Simpsons was a massive cultural force for over a decade, so naturally two of its former show runners, Mike Reiss and Al Jean, got a chance to create their own show. Enter The Critic.

Jay Sherman, voiced by Jon Lovitz, is a movie critic with a readymade catchphrase (It stinks!) surrounded by eccentrics like his boss Duke and his father. The premise of the show also allowed for many a movie parody, in a way predating Family Guy style of comedy, but at least with some justification to it.

The Critic belongs in the “brilliant but canceled” category: ABC axed it after one season, but then FOX picked it up to pair it with The Simpsons. There, it only lasted one season as well. Still, The Critic is remembered by fans of ‘90s TV. Give it a watch if you missed it.

Party of Five

Party of Five was part of the teen angst dramedy era of the ‘90s. While it wasn’t as big as Beverly Hills, 90210, it had plenty of fans. The FOX show, which could be a bit more mature by dint of being on FOX, ran for six seasons and 142 episodes. It also helped to build the careers of Matthew Fox, Neve Campbell, and Jennifer Love Hewitt.

The premise begins in a dark place: The five Salinger siblings find themselves without parents after a car crash. However, since eldest brother Charlie is 24, he becomes the caretaker of his four younger siblings.

From there, the Salingers get into even more drama, with the stakes of every teen problem amplified by the challenging family dynamic.

Ellen

There are a couple of ways to talk about Ellen. It became a huge cultural talking point. In “The Puppy Episode,” Ellen Morgan comes out as gay, and at the same time Ellen DeGeneres did the same thing in real life. This was a massive cultural moment.

But let’s just talk about Ellen as a show. In the first season, it wasn’t even called Ellen. It was called These Friends of Mine and was more of a hangout sitcom, with standup comedian DeGeneres as the ostensible lead. “The Puppy Episode” didn’t happen until the fourth season.

This was a show more notable for its cultural significance than its contributions to comedy.

Friends

Oh, you know, just arguably the biggest sitcom of the ‘90s (and the 2000s, while we’re at it). Friends remains a monolith of the sitcom genre. Decades after its debut it even became one of the biggest shows on Netflix, before it moved to (HBO) Max.

The show didn’t have much of a premise. It was about, well, friends. While the show did not invent the “hangout sitcom,” it did help popularize it. Friends spawned many imitators, but none could land like this one. It helped to have such a remarkable cast.

My So Called Life

My So Called Life is one of the classic one-season wonders. It may have only lasted for 19 episodes, but the ABC show (which many people caught in reruns on MTV) has had more cultural impact than dozens of shows that ran for over 100 episodes. For teenagers looking for a show that could resonate with them in 1994, My So Called Life delivered with gusto.

Claire Danes starred as Angela Chase. She and her schoolmates deal with many issues facing teenagers, from the “very special episode” types to the “relatable minutiae” moments of growing up. Additionally, Angela’s parents are three-dimensional, high-quality characters as well.

Why couldn't it last? One of its creators, Ed Zwick, detailed the reasons in this excerpt from his new book Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions. In short, it was ahead of its time.

The Magic School Bus

For kids, and for parents, educational shows that aren’t a total snooze are to be cherished. The Magic School Bus was such a show in the ‘90s. In its original run, the show based on a book series ran on PBS for four seasons and 52 episodes. For once, watching PBS was not a chore for children (or, for many adults).

Lily Tomlin voiced Miss Frizzle, a cheerful teacher who fortunately happens to have access to a magical school bus that allows her to take her kids on all sorts of adventures. The show made good use out of celebrity guest voices, though we imagine most kids weren’t really excited to hear Elliot Gould or Dan Marino.

The parents, though, may have gotten a kick out of it. What’s important is kids learned and nobody was bored into nodding off.

ER

We end back at NBC, because, wow, were they a powerhouse starting in 1994. Bear in mind, they already had Seinfeld and Frasier, the latter of which had debuted in 1993. Friends debuted on the sitcom side, but in the drama world, NBC got a show that, with all due respect to David E. Kelley, ate Chicago Hope’s lunch.ER is, perhaps, the defining TV medical drama. It ran for 15 seasons and 331 episodes.

It paved the way for George Clooney to become a movie star, and for Juliana Margulies to become a TV star. Celebrities, even celebrity directors, wanted to be part of ER.

It was nominated for 124 Emmys, winning 23 of them. Imagine tuning into NBC to check out a couple of new shows called Friends and ER. You couldn’t have known it, but you would be watching two shows that would come to be recognized as TV classics.

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Main image: Jennifer Aniston as Rachel in Friends. NBC