Happy Days may not have been the first TV experiment in nostalgia.
But co-creators Michael Eisner and Tom Miller definitely knew they were taking a risk when they pitched the show to Paramount.
Not surprisingly, the concept didn’t fare well with execs, and the studio passed.
The market research department said a coming-of-age sitcom about the idealism and innocence of 1950s youth would never work in the trippy 1970s.
But over time, with a little push from George Lucas, Happy Days made history as one of the most significant nostalgia-based shows of all time.
And ever since Fonz and Richie Cunningham showed us how to laugh at our childhood, TV audiences have had a love affair with nostalgic TV shows.
Many new TV shows also followed the Happy Days formula, whether it was The Wonder Years, set in the late 1960s while airing in the late 1980s, or That 70s Show, which showed us the glee of the 1970s while airing in the 1990s.
Even in the 2020s, we’ve never really stopped loving nostalgia and using “period pieces” as a storytelling technique.
Today, with Gen X and Millennials at the wheel of modern culture, we’re tapping back into the 1980s and 1990s and remembering how boomers and slackers saw the world.
We were disconnected and barely scratching the surface of modern technology. But the memories were powerful enough to stick with us and symbolize the lives of whole generations.
Here are eight TV shows that recreate or recapture yesterday’s nostalgia without being too cringe in that Revenge of the Nerds kind of way.
Matlock
Kathy Bates is back on television, and although Matlock takes place in the modern era, it’s easy to see how this rebooted and gender-swapped version of Matlock is a tribute to the 1980s.
Kathy Bates plays, and seemingly channels, the Andy Griffith character of 1986, Ben Matlock. But she’s not just a country bumpkin. She’s also a bit sneaky, a bit disarming, and above all, genteel and charming, as expected.
Bates played a similar role in The Office as Jo Bennett.
However, it’s easy to see how this modern retelling of Matlock has more secrets than it’s letting on, especially regarding why Matlock is going undercover at a law firm and solving a much bigger mystery.
While taking down giants with a smile, her “I’m just a harmless old lady” shtick just gets better with age.
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Bel-Air
Ironically, most people remember the 1990s hit sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air for its dramatic moments involving family conflict, rather than its many lighthearted moments.
Years after the show came to an end, fan Morgan Cooper made a short film and reimagined The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air as a dramatic TV series he called Bel-Air.
It was such a natural evolution that it caught the attention of Will Smith, who wanted to revisit nostalgic characters like Vivian, Uncle Phil, House Manager Geoffrey, Carlton, and Hilary.
Bel-Air is a bit dark, but who can deny the 1990s took on dark themes with a jaded grin?
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Cobra Kai
Cobra Kai was less of a reboot and more of a “repair” of the hatchet job that was The Karate Kid reboot of 2010. Will Smith’s kid learning Kung-Fu? Come on!
Cobra Kai actually revisited the original characters of Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence (played by original cast members Ralph Macchio and William Zabka) and picked up where the movies left off.
And before it’s all over, we also get more cameos from original cast members from the first three Karate Kid films.
No, Hilary Swank never returned to revisit “Julie”, but hey — we still get feels hearing Daniel talk about his mentor.
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Walker
True, Walker was unceremoniously canceled despite its good ratings. (Another TV first!) But it’s hard to deny that producer and actor Jared Padalecki made a genuine and valiant attempt to recreate 1990s nostalgia with a 2020-era lens.
Family conflict was low, while gang-police conflict was high.
And while Cordell Walker did not exactly tribute Chuck Norris (he didn’t even kick anyone’s butt with savage kicks), he did give fans a taste of 1990s nostalgia.
Walker’s troubled but good-natured family steals the show, while Jared balances between cowboy stoicism and a moralistic community leader.
Walker, Texas Ranger wasn’t just about beating up bad guys. Ultimately, it was about remembering the forgotten Western genre in the spirit of films like Lone Wolf McQuade.
Watch Walker Online
That ’90s Show
That ’90s Show reminds us how great the 1990s actually were while we slacked and remembered how cool the 1970s sounded.
Set in 1996, the show revisits iconic 1970s parents Red and Kitty, but through the lens of Leia Forman, the teenage daughter of Eric Forman and Donna Pinciotti.
The show is double nostalgic in the sense that it remembers the 1990s while also remembering distinctive 1970s characters.
Most of those characters come back, too, such as Donna Pinciotti (Laura Prepon), Fez (Wilmer Valderrama), and even Bob Pinciotti (Don Stark).
Even legends like Eric Forman (Topher Grace), Jackie Burkhart (Mila Kunis), and Michael Kelso (Ashton Kutcher) show up, reminding us that you usually CAN go home again — as long as you’re not in jail. Sorry about that, Hyde.
Watch That ’90s Show Online
Night Court
The original Night Court captured the madness and uninhibited comedy that defined the 1980s.
It was one part burlesque show, one part dad jokes, and one part sad commentary on fatherless boys — a recurring motif throughout its nine seasons.
It seems impossible to revisit such a “you had to be there” moment in time. Not only because of the madcap and politically incorrect comedy, but just the simple fact that most of the original cast was resting in peace.
Except John Larroquette.
The same John Larroquette who always comes back to TV in some capacity, usually playing sidekicks or irritable B-sitcom protagonists. But this time, he gets it right.
On Night Court, the reboot, he revisits his greatest role as Dan Fielding, who bonds with Judge Abby Stone, the daughter of his late friend, Harry Stone.
While Harry Anderson’s presence is sorely missed, it’s impossible not to follow Dan Fielding, all grown up and bitter — until he meets a gang of old friends, including former bailiff Roz, played again by Marsha Warfield.
Night Court might well set a record for a sitcom actor inhabiting the same character for decades if it wasn’t for one other guy.
Watch Night Court Online
Frasier
Kelsey Grammar has always teased his desire to revisit Frasier Crane after retiring the character in 2004.
And if Grammar has learned anything in his four-decade sitcom career, it’s that you can’t take your ensemble cast with you.
In the 1990s, he didn’t get the luxury of inviting back Ted Danson or Bebe Neuwirth until Frasier was a hit.
Likewise, in the 2020s, he couldn’t get David Hyde Pierce to return as Niles Crane. Some ”ships” have sailed.
But to his credit, Grammar is eager to return to a world that has surpassed him in technology, culture, and, of course, new family members.
This time, Frasier moved back to the Boston, Massachusetts, area, taking a job as a Harvard University professor, hoping to reconnect with his son Frederick Crane.
The original Frasier always felt nostalgic, especially in scenes involving Kelsey Grammar and the late John Mahoney, who played Frasier’s irritable but earnest father, Martin Crane.
They talked about the past. They shared introspective monologues. They thought about the 1980s and how a drink at the end of the day was everything.
Grammar spent so much of the 1990s finding neuroses and avoiding happiness that it is refreshing to see him as a fully realized character.
This new Frasier loves more, gives more, and supports his friends and family in a way Frasier of old could never comprehend.
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Stranger Things
Stranger Things is the most successful nostalgic show and is the one exception on this list, in that it feels dynamic and “in the moment” and is never just a trip down memory lane.
Stranger Things gives us Gen X’s aesthetics while creating its own universe of terror, intrigue, and happy endings. (Or shall we say, Happy For Now endings, at least until the final season)
While the show references many 1980s culture riffs and movie tributes, its premise and execution are also distinctly 1980s.
The series plays with classic tropes and themes from 1980s movies, such as children going on adventures, dungeons and dragons, government conspiracies, and paranormal discoveries.
The cinematography is influenced by 1980s directors like Steven Spielberg and John Carpenter. Even the 1980s synth-heavy soundtrack evokes the feeling of 1980s mischief.
The Duffer Brothers recreated the 1980s very well, right down to including the nostalgic and iconic objects we all still talk about, like arcade games, walkie-talkies, basement hangouts, and terrible sofas.
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Why We Love Nostalgia TV
While trendy and quite effective in getting attention, nostalgia is also very therapeutic.
It helps members of Gen Z and A visualize a forgotten pre-internet existence while also softly triggering Gen Xers and Boomers to remember the highs and lows of their glory days.
I personally hope this nostalgia obsession never ends.
Because in the back of our minds, we always want to know what happened to our favorite characters — and we want that portal to an alternative universe to stay open and not just feel like a lost memory.
Those happy days never have to end if we keep remembering the past so fondly.
Over to you, TV Fanatics! What TV shows do you think are doing nostalgia right? Hit the comments and let us know!