By the '90s, Black-led television programs were rapidly becoming normalized. Compared to the '70s or the '80s, where audiences were lucky to see Black actors on the screen, the '90s looked at Black sitcoms differently.

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Thanks to popular series like The Jeffersons in the '80s, television networks and producers understood that fans were hungry for sitcoms featuring majority black casts. Plus, as cable became popular, more channels had a need for original content. This quickly led to a renaissance of black sitcoms, creating some of the best television not just of the '90s, but any era.

10 Sister, Sister Found Success On A Different Network

The main family from Sister, Sister posing for a family photo

Sister, Sister had the perfect concept for a sitcom, twin sisters separated at birth meeting each other for the first time. When their parents realized they were twins, Tia and her mother Lisa moved in with Tamera and her dad Ray, so the sisters could get to know each other. The series also had the perfect cast, with real life twins Tia and Tamera Mowry as the leads, and experienced television stars Tim Reid and Jackée Harry as their parents. What the series didn't have, sadly, were successful ratings.

Airing on ABC's TGIF block, the series was almost canceled due to poor performance by its second season. Fortunately, the show found its way onto The WB, which aired the show for several more years. On The WB, the series was free to grow into a success, becoming one of the best Black sitcoms of the '90s.

9 Family Matters Took Off With Thanks To Steve Urkel

The cast of the Family Matters sitcom posing.

Family Matters was originally a spin-off of the series Perfect Strangers, focusing on actress Jo Marie-Payton's character Harriette Winslow and the Winslow family. The series was originally meant to feature a working-class Black family, but something changed when the series introduced Jaleel White as Steve Urkel.

Only meant to appear once, Family Matters' fans loved the Urkel character and he effectively usurped the rest of the show. Suddenly, the show was about Steve's ridiculous antics, catchphrases, and inventions. The Winslows' home had to suffer through a lot of explosions, but it made for one of the most beloved, and funniest, series of the '90s.

8 Roc Balanced Humor And Drama

Two men driving a garbage truck in the Roc sitcom.

Roc is one of Fox's most underrated sitcoms. The series followed Charles S. Dutton as Roc, a garbage collector working in Baltimore. While most sitcoms featured comedians as either the lead or one of the main characters, Roc stood out for instead simply focusing on professional stage and screen actors.

Nonetheless, Roc maintained its humor, largely because of the series' writing and the cast's chemistry. It never forgot its working-class roots though, even discussing the landscapes of urban neighborhoods in the '90s. It was tough balancing humor with drug pushers trying to take over the neighborhood, but Roc pulled it off. It only lasted a few seasons, but at least it ended before it could wear out its welcome.

7 Wayans Bros Proved How Talented The Wayans Family Was

The Wayans Bros protagonists Shawn and Marlon around their dad Pops

The Wayans family had already established themselves in projects in the late '80s and early '90s, but The Wayans Bros. was the first time two family members got a show all to themselves. The Wayans Bros helped launch The WB Networkby focusing on the relationship between two brothers, Shawn and Marlon.

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On Wayans Bros, the two brothers run a newsstand right next door to their father's diner, "Pops." The Wayans Bros quickly became one of The WB's funniest series, thanks to the odd couple pairing of Shawn's serious attempts to run a business contrasted against his dense young brother Marlon's antics.

6 Living Single Reflected America's Hunger For Sitcoms About Young Adults

The six friends posing in the Living Single sitcom

Living Single is the series NBC borrowed from when it created Friends. Created by Yvette Lee Bowser, Living Single showed a group of young adults--four women, two men--sharing a brownstone in Brooklyn.

Bowser's portrayal of successful young Black people proved to be an immediate success, becoming one of Fox's highest-rated shows in its first season. While the series was hilarious, and Maxine and Regine had epic comic chemistry, what made Living Single work is the way every character felt real. It was the kind of elevated writing that showed what sitcoms needed to go forward in the '90s, making it one of the few sitcoms of the era that still holds up.

5 Hangin' With Mr. Cooper Found A Home In ABC's TGIF Block

The main cast of the Hangin' with Mr. Cooper sitcom

Comedian Mark Curry took on a starring role for ABC's new comedy Hangin' with Mr. Cooper in 1992. Though Curry starts the series as a Golden State Warrior, he gets dunked on so hard by Charles Barkley he's drummed out of the league. From there, he becomes a gym teacher and substitute coach at the Oakbridge High School.

Curry's antics on the show were tempered by his roommates Vanessa and Robin, who initially asked Mark to move in to help them with rent. While the series had an excellent first season slot following Full House, ABC eventually made it part of their legendary TGIF block on Friday nights, where it lasted another five seasons.

4 Kenan & Kel Turned Two Sketch Comedy Actors Into Mega Stars

Kel pulling on Kenan's ears in the Kenan & Kel sitcom

"Who loves Orange Soda?" Most of the biggest Black sitcoms of the '90s came from the usual broadcast channels: NBC, FOX, The WB. Kenan & Kel, though, came from cable channel Nickelodeon, which had been quietly amassing an incredible kids line-up on their SNICK weekend block.

Kenan & Kel took two of the biggest actors from Nick's sketch comedy show All That and turned them into high schoolers. With Kenan constantly coming up with schemes that Kel would inevitably sabotage, the show was comedy gold. Across four seasons and 65 episodes, the series managed to remain consistent and fresh and looks great even today, something Nickelodeon sitcoms often struggle to do.

3 Jamie Foxx Show Was One Of The WB's Best Early Series

The main cast of the Jamie Foxx Show

The Jamie Foxx Show was one of the debut programs for The WB when the network launched in 1996. The series was a vehicle meant for comedian Jamie Foxx, who played Jamie King on the show. Traveling to Los Angeles, Jamie's character worked at his aunt and uncle's hotel while hoping to get discovered as a musician.

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Lining up with both the show and real-life Jamie's musical intentions, the series included a bevy of musical guests like Ron Isley, Mary J. Blige, Gladys Knight, and more. Fortunately, Foxx's talent as a comedian also made it one of the funniest shows on Sunday night, giving fans an early glimpse at his tremendous potential.

2 Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Proved A Young Will Smith's Talents

Will And His Family the original Fresh Prince sitcom

In 1990, NBC launched The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, a series starring one of the most popular hip-hop acts of the 80s, Will Smith. While the '80s and '90s are littered with similar shows that didn't work out, Smith turned out to be even more talented as an actor than he was as a musician.

Smith's incredible chemistry with the rest of Fresh Prince's cast helped turn the series into one of the funniest shows of the '90s. His ability to play off every actor created a different, irreplaceable dynamic that made the series work. Across six seasons, the show was a massive hit for NBC, with its lasting popularity spawning a dramatic reboot for the franchise in 2021.

1 Martin Was The Funniest Sitcom Of The '90s

The main cast of Martin sitcom

In 1992, FOX aired the first episode of Martin, a vehicle for comedian Martin Lawrence. Viewers would get to know Lawrence as Martin Payne, a DJ working out of Detroit, in what quickly became one of the funniest sitcoms of all time.

Lawrence's ability to effortlessly play as multiple different personas within the series, often within the same episode, quickly became a highlight of the series. Each of his personas brought something unique to the show, whether it was martial arts "master" Dragonfly Jones or aging player Jerome. Martin quickly became one of Fox's top-rated sitcoms, running for a total of five seasons before ending in 1997.

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