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1993 · 7 Seasons · ABC · Comedy

Boy Meets World is the rare coming-of-age sitcom that actually grew up with its audience, following Cory Matthews from middle school through college with a sincerity and emotional depth that most TGIF shows never attempted. Ben Savage and Rider Strong's friendship is the show's backbone, William Daniels' Mr. Feeny is one of television's great mentor figures, and the series handles the transition from childhood comedy to young-adult drama with more grace than it gets credit for. The college seasons are weaker than the high school years, and some dramatic turns in later seasons strain the sitcom format, but the emotional core holds across all seven seasons.

1989 · 9 Seasons · ABC · Comedy

Family Matters began as a grounded domestic comedy about a middle-class Black family in Chicago before Jaleel White's Steve Urkel took over the show and transformed it into something entirely different. The early seasons balance family warmth with genuine humor, and the Winslow family dynamics are strong enough to carry the show on their own. But as Urkel's popularity grew, the series increasingly abandoned its original identity in favor of slapstick, sci-fi gimmicks, and a character who went from charming nuisance to the center of every storyline. It's two shows in one, and opinions on which one is better depend entirely on what you came for.

1987 · 8 Seasons · ABC · Comedy

Full House is peak wholesome family television, a show where every problem has a solution, every conflict ends in a hug, and three men raising three girls in San Francisco became one of the most successful formulas in sitcom history. Bob Saget, John Stamos, and Dave Coulier have an easy chemistry, the Olsen twins became a cultural phenomenon, and the show's sincerity is its greatest strength and most significant limitation. It's a show that knows exactly what it is and never pretends to be anything more, which is either comforting or cloying depending on your tolerance for sentimentality.