A silver lining to the disastrous year of lockdowns, social distances, and stay-at-home orders in 2020 was Netflix acquiring some of our favorite throwback, black sitcoms. After taking a trip down the best in black TV memory lane, you may find yourself somewhere between ‘leave it in the past’ and “it’s long overdue.” Here’s Been Worthy’s list of 90s black sitcoms they need to bring back.
Living Single
Debates have long swirled about the catastrophe of a final season fans were left with, so let’s scrap it and give it another go in 2023. This classic sitcom is one of few from the 90s where everyone from the main cast is physically here to reprise their roles.
Moesha
I don’t know if my heart can take a Moesha universe without Hakeem or Andell, but the show certainly left us hanging after introducing the missing-Miles and possible pregnancy timelines. With the recent rise of Sheryl Lee Ralph and Mo’nique’s return to television, maybe we can petition for a joint Moesha and The Parkers reboot!?
Sister Sister
Seeing the Mowry sisters hit the red carpet together for the first time in a long time at the Essence Black Women in Hollywood Awards definitely pulled on those Sister Sister heartstrings.
A Different World
Clips from some of Whitley and Dwayne’s interactions on A Different World have been circling the net as #RelationshipGoals. The show ended with them getting married and announcing they’d be having their first child. Bringing this classic back to catch up with one of our favorite TV couples wouldn’t be such a bad thing.
Girlfriends
An honorary mention, as the show aired in the latter half of the 99’ and 2000’s mark. We’d love to see a 21st-century version with the girls—hopefully having gone through some therapy to be better friends—and a peek into if Joan finally kept a man!
Touching the classics can be a touchy subject, but reboots aren’t always a bad thing. Especially, if we use Peacock’s spin-off, Bel-Air of the classic The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air as an example. For some shows, whether the nostalgia is too much to let go of or there’s just so much unfinished business, a little wishful thinking on the ‘what-ifs’ and ‘where-are-they-now’ can’t hurt anybody.
While we wait on possible comebacks, we’ll let these shows rest in peace alongside the beloved cast members who carried them that have passed on. We’ll stick with streaming the classics for now.