There is fresh movement around 5 great classic shows I wish I had watched sooner, and the story is worth a closer look.
We pulled together what is known so far and what it could mean for the people following it.
We all have our blind spots when it comes to streaming. I’ve admitted the classic movies I was late to, including L.A. Confidential and To Live and Die in L.A. Now, it’s time to come clean about the classic TV shows I wish I had watched sooner. Some of these I can blame on my age — two of these shows premiered before I was born.
However, I missed out on the initial runs of three shows that debuted in the 2000s. For one of them, I didn’t have HBO, so I can’t be too hard on myself. For the other two, I don’t have any good excuse. They aired on Fox and NBC, respectively — two channels I had. Thankfully, streaming services brought them into my life, and I righted my wrongs.
NBC’s Thursday night lineup was part of the network’s “Must See TV” programming. In the 2000s, I made sure to watch ER at 10 p.m. ET. However, I rarely tuned in earlier in the night to watch The Office, the workplace comedy about the employees at Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. Had I seen enough of The Office to understand the concept? Yes. Did I sit down and watch every episode when it was on NBC? I did not. In fact, I did not stream every episode of The Office from start to finish until late 2020 before the show moved from Netflix to Peacock.
I’m glad I took the time to binge-watch the series because it earned a spot on my Mount Rushmore for comedy shows. I guess now is the right time to admit I have never seen the UK version of The Office created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. Perhaps it’s time to add it to my watchlist.
Arrested development was a show canceled way too soon by Fox. I didn’t discover “the story of a wealthy family who lost everything and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together” until a decade after its 2003 premiere. Once I heard that Netflix commissioned a new season, I decided to give the show a shot.
Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman) is the aforementioned son who must keep the family together after George Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor) heads to jail. The show excelled when it came to absurdist humor and the running gags are the stuff of legends. Gene Parmesean might be my favorite bit from a comedy this century. Unfortunately, I can’t speak too highly of the fourth and fifth seasons.
Where to begin when speaking about one of the greatest shows of all time? I did not have HBO in the early 2000s, so I didn’t start watching The Wire until 2012, four years after the series finale. David Simon’s groundbreaking series examines the drug trade in Baltimore through the eyes of the dealers, law enforcement, and government. It’s one of the smartest shows ever written, and it smartly evolved by featuring a new subject in each subsequent season.
The Wire is also proof that Emmys don’t always matter. The show only received two Emmy nominations during its run. One of the show’s nominations, a writing nod for Middle Ground, the 11th episode of the third season, has one of the most shocking ends to a character arc in the show’s history.
I was not one of the millions of viewers to watch The Wonder Years pilot after Super Bowl XXII. Spoiler alert, I wasn’t alive. I had older siblings, so I was familiar with the Arnold family growing up. I caught most of The Wonder Years when it aired on ABC Family, and filled in all the gaps when it hit streaming.
The show begins in 1968 and introduces 12-year-old Kevin Arnold (Fred Savage) and his middle-class family. Over the course of six seasons, Kevin goes through many accomplishments of adolescence: first love, jobs, high school, and more. It’s a special coming-of-age 1980s sitcom that remains as relatable as ever despite depicting a time over 50 years ago. Kevin checking on Winnie after her car accident still tugs at the ol’ heartstrings.
Family Matters is another show that premiered before I was born. I knew about Steve Urkel (Jaleel White) by the end of the show’s run in 1998, but I caught most of the episodes in reruns on ABC Family and Nick at Nite. First, Family Matters has one of the five best opening theme songs in sitcom history. A spin-off of Perfect Strangers, Family Matters follows the Winslow family, led by Carl Winslow (Reginald VelJohnson) and his wife Harriette (Jo Marie Payton).
The show began as a portrait of a Black middle-class family living in Chicago. By season 2, the show became a star vehicle for Urkel, who broke out in season 1 so much that the show promoted him to the main cast in season 2. It’s one of the rare times when too much of something is not a bad thing. Urkel makes me laugh, and I’m sure his first “Did I do that?” will make you laugh, too.
If you’re like me, then you’re always checking the streaming services for new and returning shows. One of the more interesting additions to streaming is Silo season 3, Apple TV’s excellent sci-fi show. When I’m not watching Silo, I’m finishing The Bear season 5, the final run of episodes for Hulu’s hit show.
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