Revisit the days of Bill Nye and “The Big Comfy Couch” and find out where your fave show lands.

20 PBS Kids shows from the ’90s you may have forgotten, ranked

Revisit the days of Bill Nye and “The Big Comfy Couch” and find out where your fave show lands.

By Lauren Piester

August 1, 2026 9:00 a.m. ET

PBS icons: Wishbone, LeVar Brton, and Arthur. Credit:

Millennials, welcome back to your childhood.

We’ve been out of the 1990s for 26 years now, and yet it sometimes still feels like yesterday we were sitting down after school with a juicebox, a PB&J, and a brand new episode of *Wishbone*, or maybe *Arthur*, or perhaps *The Magic School Bus. *Sure, some kids were watching *All That* or *Legends of the Hidden Temple*, but those kids had cable.

Those kids hadn’t been forced to watch every single bit of programming on PBS out of necessity due to lack of options, which also means they hadn’t yet discovered how many incredible options there were on public TV.

There was a lemur named Zoboomafoo, a Science Guy named Bill Nye, a dinosaur named Barney, and a magic bus that put *Transformers* to shame. Now, we’ve done one of the hardest things a PBS Kid has ever had to do: rank the top 20 children’s programs that aired on the network in the 1990s.

It was a tough task, but someone had to do it, so crack open your Lunchable and scroll on down to see the ’90s PBS Kids shows ranked from worst to best.

Adventures from the Book of Virtues (1996–2000)

‘Adventures from the Book of Virtues’.

This animated series followed BFFs Annie Redfeather (Kath Soucie) and Zach Nichols (Pamela Adlon). They learned about morality from Annie’s animal pals: a bison, a hawk, a bobcat, and a prairie dog. The guest cast was stacked with names like Kathy Bates, Tim Curry, Mark Harmon, Elijah Wood, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, and many more.

The lessons verged on preachy, and the show’s origins were admittedly questionable: It was created by former Secretary of Education William Bennett, a Ronald Reagan appointee, and greenlit by PBS right as the network was facing the potential loss of its funding.

Wimzie’s House (1997–2001)

‘Wimzie’s House.’ (No, they’re not Muppets).

Wimzie was a little dragon-bird monster who lived with her monster parents, grandmother, and little brother. This Canadian show was a fairly standard kids’ sitcom, featuring original songs that helped Wimzie solve her problems.

You might wonder if the characters are distantly related to *Sesame Street*‘s familiar Muppets; in fact, The Jim Henson Company wondered the same thing in 1999 and sued production company CINAR over characters and merchandise that looked a little too familiar. The suit was settled amicably. As for Wimzie, she never achieved the fame of her doppelgänger Muppets.

Ghostwriter (1992–1995)

The original ‘Ghostwriter’.

A group of Brooklyn kids solved mysteries with help from an entity that communicated only with written words. The opening credits laid it all out: “We don’t know where he came from. He just showed up one night… We think he might be a ghost. He wants to be friends with us. He can’t hear, and he can’t talk… He takes letters and he writes with them. We’re the only ones who can see him… We check out clues and solve mysteries. He’s a ghost, and he writes to us.”

Cool to a kid in the ’90s, terrifying in a world with ChatGPT psychosis.

Barney & Friends (1992–2010)

He loves them, they love him: Barney and friends on ‘Barney & Friends’.

The big purple dinosaur was never exactly popular with adults, and even a former *Barney* kid can easily see why. The songs are grating, the voice of the character is terrifying, and all dialogue is said in the same cadence. We thank the show for all the new methods it gave us for annoying our parents, and we are especially grateful for the careers of Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez, but this is not the kind of nostalgia we’re looking for. Bring back the puppets, honestly.

Shining Time Station (1989–1993)

Thomas in ‘Shining Time Station’.

There was only one show that starred Ringo Starr and then George Carlin as a train conductor, and it was *Shining Time Station*. Many kids may actually think of it as *Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends*, which was a British show repackaged for the U.S.

*Shining Time Station* expanded on Thomas’ world, and each episode incorporated episodes of *Thomas*. Thomas the Tank Engine has remained a cultural phenomenon no matter the title and no matter the format, so this particular series mostly lives on as trivia about Ringo’s acting exploits.

Lamb Chop’s Play-Along (1992–1995)

Shari Lewis and her iconic puppet pals.

Puppets were all the rage in the ’90s, and *Lamb Chop’s Play-Along* and its spinoff *Charlie Horse Music Pizza* were really showcases for one ventriloquist, Shari Lewis. Lewis was a beloved figure best known for the character Lamb Chop, a sheep sock puppet with whom she had been performing since 1956.

These days, Lamb Chop is strangely a popular toy for dogs, and a show that once inspired creativity now feels, to quote the youths, “cringe.” However, Lewis’ legacy lives on any time a new kid learns to sing the iconic “Song That Doesn’t End.”

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Teletubbies (1998–2008)

You wouldn’t know it from this photo, but the Teletubbies have a complicated social image.

This fever dream of a show explains a lot about the kids on the cusp between millennial and Gen Z who lived through the early 2000s. The colorful characters were designed for babies, but college kids decided the show was perfect for psychedelics, while conservatives hated that Tinky Winky, apparently male, carried a purse and was therefore gay. This resulted in one of the greatest statements of all time, courtesy of producer Ken Viselman: “Tinky Winky is simply a sweet, technological baby with a magic bag.”

Was *Teletubbies* a *good* show? Unclear, but it certainly left its mark on popular culture.

The Puzzle Place (1995–1998)

‘The Puzzle Place’.

*The Puzzle Place* was about a very diverse group of puppet children who hung out together in a kids’ club. Through its characters’ different ethnicities and cultural identities, the show explored racism, sexism, divorce, religious differences, and all kinds of other issues that kids need help understanding and dealing with. It was originally funded as a small part of the response to the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles.

*The Puzzle Place *never had the hype or staying power of the rest of PBS’ ’90s lineup, but a years-later rewatch will prove its worthiness.

Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? (1991–1995)

Lynn Thigpen as The Chief on ‘Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego’.

*Where in the World *was a rare children’s game show that was designed to help kids (and adults, let’s be honest) learn geography. But Carmen and her theme song far outlasted the show itself in the cultural zeitgeist.

Carmen, a criminal mastermind, led a gang of villains called V.I.L.E. Contestants answered geography questions to try and catch the lesser baddies of V.I.L.E. before going after the queen herself, all while an a capella group called Rockapella provided the soundtrack and comic relief. The troublesome thief has returned in multiple iterations since, but none measure up to the original.

Kratts’ Creatures (1996)

The Kratts, but with no creatures pictured.

For five days a week in the summer of 1996, ’90s legends Chris and Martin Kratt took kids on a worldwide adventure to meet different animals in their real habitats. The show was incredibly popular, turning the Kratts into childhood heroes akin to Steve Irwin, and its 50 episodes continued to pull in new viewers as reruns.

*Kratts’ Creatures*, however, soon became overshadowed by its quasi-spinoff about a leaping lemur…

Zoboomafoo (1999–2001)

The Kratts with their lemur pal on ‘Zoboomafoo’.

The Kratt brothers continued their quest to share animals from around the world with help from a lemur named Zoboomafoo. Sometimes, he was played by a real lemur named Jovian, and sometimes he was a clever puppet who told jokes and sang songs and got to know the other creatures who came to visit Animal Junction.

Suddenly, kids everywhere were obsessed with lemurs and knew more facts about the wild animals of the world than our parents had time to hear at bedtime.

The Big Comfy Couch (1993–2006)

‘The BIg Comfy Couch’.

Raise your hand if you still aspire to stretch like Loonette always did on that clock rug. She was a young clown living on a big couch with her favorite clown doll, and when she wasn’t stretching or doing a 10 Second Tidy, she was running a dance studio or taking trips to Clowntown to get mail from Major Bedhead.

It may have taken some of us a few years for the clownery of it all to really sink in, but bless Loonette and her can-do attitude for inspiring good cleaning habits and healthy exercise routines.

Bill Nye the Science Guy (1994–1999)

Bill Nye on ‘Bill Nye the Science Guy’.

Science was never more fun than when it was being taught by the Science Guy. With help from special guests, recurring characters, and parodies of TV, movies, and commercials, Nye took science out of school and into the real world. Instead of homework, it was a world of possibility and potentially a future career — or a way more interesting version of homework, at the very least.

In 2026, the show’s humor is kind of a tough watch; still, it’s easy to see Nye’s influences on the science YouTubers and TikTok stars of today, with his quick edits and bite-sized facts.

Zoom (1999–2005)

Choreographed dancing takes place on ‘Zoom’.

Chances are you know a millennial who’s deep into their 30s and still wants to be on *Zoom*. Long before that word was “video chat” shorthand, it was a show about kids and tweens playing games, performing sketches, doing crafts and science experiments, or speaking in a mysterious language called Ubbi Dubbi.

They seemed so cool, yet normal enough that their lives felt attainable. Maybe if you sent enough letters to their P.O. Box, you could be just like them. You could almost think of stars like Zoe, Keiko, Caroline, Mike, Kenny, and Elena as the first child influencers — or, more accurately, ubbinflubbuubbencubbers.

Reading Rainbow (1983–2006)

LeVar Burton introduces a classic on ‘Reading Rainbow’.

*Community*‘s Troy Barnes isn’t the only kid who grew up idolizing LeVar Burton. He was like a god to those of us who lived for Scholastic Book Fairs, and *Reading Rainbow* sometimes felt more like a state of mind than a show. If you were reading, that’s all that mattered, but if you wanted to go deeper into a book, Burton could take you there — with help from various celebrities.

Guests included Jane Goodall, Julia Child, Matthew Broderick, Jeff Bridges, Whoopi Goldberg, Maya Angelou, Eliza Dushku, James Earl Jones, Eartha Kitt, Gilda Radner, and so many more.

Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood (1968–2001)

Fred Rogers changes his shoes on ‘Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood’.

Mr. Rogers helped usher in the 1970s, so he was already 20 years into raising everyone’s kids by the time the ’90s rolled around. His quiet, kind, and patient nature was a comforting balm alongside so many other brighter and louder shows.

He offered something different and more nurturing. He was a grown-up with grown-up responsibilities who also still saw value in fantasy and using your imagination to its fullest extent, no matter your age.

The Magic School Bus (1994–1997)

Ms. Frizzle and her ‘Magic School Bus’.

Ms. Frizzle’s magical transforming bus went to places most children could never — and probably *should *never — dream of going, opening up a whole new world of imagination and possibility. Those kids went to space, a haunted house, Arnold’s digestive system, a baking cake, and even the past. Looking back as an adult, it’s actually the stuff of nightmares.

Imagine staying home sick and then finding out that all of your classmates took a field trip into your mucus. Sure, we learned a lot and had a lot of fun, but was it worth the trauma? (Yes.)

Wishbone (1995–1997)

What’s the story, ‘Wishbone’?.

If you still sometimes think of characters like Sherlock Holmes and Cyrano de Bergerac as a Jack Russell terrier, you are not alone. *Wishbone* — a live-action show about a dog who helped his owner with school via classic literature — gave kids a taste of books they couldn’t yet read and the lessons some adults have still failed to learn, all while fostering a love and appreciation for animals.

Soccer the dog, who played the titular terrier, died in 2001 and is buried at the Texas ranch where the show was filmed, just in case you feel like crying today.

Arthur (1996–2022)

Arthur and his kid sister D.W. on ‘Arthur’.

*Arthur* is a lot more than just memes. The animated show with a killer theme song followed a grade school aardvark and his animal friends for 25 seasons, helping kids understand their parents, teachers, friends, and even themselves. The characters were allowed to fail, learn, grow, and experience the changing world, despite spending two decades in the same grade.

It’s a testament to the show’s universal appeal that it has created so many internet jokes, even if most people have forgotten that Arthur was clenching that angry fist in order to punch his legendary little sister D.W.

Sesame Street (1969–present)

Snuffy and Big Bird on ‘Sesame Street’.

The 1990s were just the middle portion of *Sesame Street*’s 50+ year reign over children’s TV, so it feels almost unfair to consider it a ’90s show. It’s also no longer primarily on PBS after a stint on HBO and now a move to Netflix.

That said, *Sesame Street* remains the gold standard for comforting, educational programming that feels welcoming to all. It’s like the older brother of all the other kids’ shows that came to define PBS. In a world full of things that divide Gen X, millennials, and Gen Z, *Sesame Street* is the rare unifier. That’s something to be celebrated.

- Children’s Shows

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Children’s”