TV

The shows everyone claimed they were not watching — and were.

1990 · #10
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
In 1990, Bart Simpson could get your T-shirt banned at school. Sneakers came with a button you could pump. And one of the year’s biggest movie stars was a kid who turned his own house into a booby trap. The eighties had not disappeared, but entertainment was escaping its original screens. Cartoons became clothing, songs became dances, and video games could follow you out of the living room. These are the ten hypes that seemed to turn up everywhere. Will Smith arrived in Bel-Air with bright clothes, quick confidence, and no intention of quietly blending into his wealthy relatives’ world. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air premiered on NBC on September 10, 1990, placing Smith’s established rap persona at the center of a network sitcom. The premise was wonderfully efficient: put Will and Uncle Phil in the same room, wait a moment, and somebody would probably disagree. In 1990, the show felt new—a comedy led by a rapper who did not need to hide his personality to become its star.
1990 · #3
Bart Simpson
Bart Simpson could cause trouble at school without attending. All he needed was a T-shirt. After The Simpsons became a weekly series at the end of 1989, Bart’s face and attitude spread across merchandise in 1990. Reports emerged of schools objecting to shirts that celebrated underachieving. Children saw a joke; some adults saw a challenge to the lesson they were trying to teach. A cartoon character had stepped off the screen and into arguments about dress codes, shopping, and copyright.
1997 · #8
South Park Debuts
Comedy Central's little cutouts arrived in August and immediately sounded like something you were not supposed to watch. That was the point. Kids found it. Parents found out.
1997 · #7
Teletubbies Hit the U.S.
Four brightly colored creatures from a British kids' show landed on American PBS and then on every merch rack that would have them. Toddlers were hooked. Everyone else had an opinion.
1998 · #8
The Seinfeld Finale
On May 14, 1998, more than 70 million people watched Jerry, George, Elaine and Kramer sign off. Whether you loved the ending or argued about it for weeks, you were in the conversation.
1998 · #5
Dawson's Creek
The WB's teen soap premiered in January and made a whole generation talk like they had a writers' room. Soundtrack, hair, and a small-town dock that somehow felt national.
1998 · #4
South Park Goes Mainstream
The construction-paper kids had debuted in 1997. By 1998 they were a merchandising machine and a moral panic — which is another way of saying they had won.
1999 · #10
SpongeBob SquarePants
Nickelodeon's porous yellow goofball premiered in July 1999. It looked like a kids' cartoon. It immediately became a language — and it has not left since.
1999 · #7
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
Regis, the lights, the lifelines. Prime-time quiz night became a national habit, and "Is that your final answer?" escaped the studio for good.