12 TV Shows to Watch With Your Kids That Feel Similar to Ones You Grew Up With

Don’t you just love when good TV vibes span generations? Sure, it’s great to re-watch some of the classic shows you grew up with–but something about catching a current one that has some of the same flavors really makes you feel seen as an adult. Not to mention their power to work as a bridge between you and your kids.

With this in mind, we flipped through some TV shows millennials grew up with that can pair very nicely with current shows your kids might watch today. Dust off your old video collections and queue up the DVRs!

‘Doug’ and ‘Craig of the Creek’

• Years aired: Doug (1991–1994), Craig of the Creek (2017–today)
• Shared vibes: Adventure, friendships, coming of age themes, family themes
• For parents who: grew up appreciating the value of friendship and loved getting into the best kind of trouble.

If you grew up rooting for affable Douglas (Doug) Funnie, who loves recording adventures in his journal just as much as he loves Patti Mayonnaise, you (and your kids) may feel a kinship with Craig and his creek crew. Both characters and shows highlight the middle-grade years when everything felt like an adventure–whether literal or figurative. There was also a tight group of friends who got you into trouble just as much as they got you out of it. I enjoy watching Craig of the Creek with my own son, who’s 11, and definitely get some Doug vibes from it.

Where to watch: You can catch up on seasons 1–3 of Doug on Disney+ and Season 4 on Paramount+. Craig of the Creek is currently airing on Cartoon Network with seasons 1-5 on Hulu.

‘Rugrats’ and ‘Superkitties’

• Years aired: Rugrats (1991–2003), Superkitties (2023–today)
• Shared vibes: Adventure, friendships, comedy, teamwork, mischief
• For parents who: often wonder what kind of mischief their kids (or pets) might be getting into when they aren’t looking.

We’ve all watched babies or pets interact with each other and were totally convinced they had their own shared language and histories, right? The classic Nickelodeon show Rugrats let us in on the secret, as we watched Tommy and his toddler friends go on extraordinary adventures just out of their parents’ sight. The new(ish) show Superkitties has many of those same vibes with superheroic talking cats saving the day right under our noses.

Where to watch: You can revisit Rugrats on Prime Video, Hulu, and Netflix. Superkitties is currently airing on Disney Junior and can be streamed on Disney+.

‘All That’ and ‘Just Roll With It’

• Years aired: All That (1994–2020), Just Roll With It (2019–2021)
• Shared vibes: Live performance, Sketch comedy, Family themes
• For parents who: grew up loving physical comedy and enjoy creative play and improvising with kids.

If you didn’t watch All That, particularly its mid-90s run, you should at least be aware of some of the iconic characters that turned child actors into household names. Kenan and Kel? Amanda Bynes? This “Saturday Night Live for kids” was a sketch comedy gem for young viewers. Just Roll With It didn’t have as long of a run, but it did put together a couple of solid seasons of live comedy improv mixed with a family sitcom. The best part is watching this family literally roll with anything the audience comes up with.

Where to watch: You can laugh at All That again on Prime Video and Paramount+. Just Roll With It can be found on Disney+.

‘DuckTales’ and ‘Gravity Falls’

• Years aired: DuckTales (1987–1990), Gravity Falls (2012–2016)
• Shared vibes: Adventure, mystery, sibling dynamics, fun uncle
• For parents who: had a reclusive but fun uncle or relative they weren’t quite sure wasn’t into shady stuff, but loved visiting them anyway.

DuckTales–along with similar anthropomorphized animal-focused adventures like Chip N Dale: Rescue Rangers, Darkwing Duck, and TaleSpin–was so memorable to me that I didn’t realize its initial run was only three seasons. Still, I was hooked on watching siblings Huey, Dewey, and Louie go on globe-trotting, and often weird adventures with their rich uncle Scrooge. Gravity Falls, which shares a similar premise of siblings going to live with their strange uncle, is full of mystery that harkens back to the ones with thrills around every corner.

Where to watch: You can watch the original DuckTales or its recent reboot on Disney+ and Prime Video. Gravity Falls can also be found on Disney+.

‘Mighty Morphin Power Rangers’ and ‘PJ Masks’

• Years aired: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (1993–1996), PJ Masks (2015–today)
• Shared vibes: Superheroes, action, adventure, urban fantasy
• For parents who: believed they could totally go to school while defending the city from magical threats without missing a beat.

Despite the many, many iterations of Power Rangers on the screen, I was always kind of partial to Mighty Morphin, due to it being my gateway to this type of teen action show. Viewers who grew up watching this one definitely had their favorite rangers and may or may not have yelled, “It’s Morphin time!” once or twice on the playground. PJ Masks, which centers on slightly younger kids who do their own version of morphing into superheroes, provides some nice nods to the high-flying action and cool vehicles you remember.

Where to watch: Mighty Morphin Power Rangers can be streamed on Prime Video and Netflix. PJ Masks airs on Disney Junior and can be streamed on Disney+.

‘The Magic School Bus’ and ‘The Magic School Bus Rides Again’

• Years aired: The Magic School Bus (1994–1997), The Magic School Bus Rides Again (2017–2021)
• Shared vibes: Adventure, learning, fun with classmates
• For parents who: had a favorite teacher growing up because they had an extra creative classroom and the field trips were epic.

Everyone remembers having an eccentric teacher who was really into using out-of-the-box methods. Sometimes they worked, sometimes they didn’t, but they were always entertaining. Ms. Frizzle’s class was the envy of many 90s elementary school kids. The magic (and danger) always enhanced the learning, which made the case for using more magic next time. The updated version features Ms. Frizzle’s sister as she takes over her own class, this time with a high-tech bus to rev up the adventure.

Where to watch: Both classes of The Magic School Bus can be streamed on Prime Video and Netflix.

‘Animaniacs’ and ‘Teen Titans Go!’

• Years aired: Animaniacs (1993–1998), Teen Titans Go! (2013–today)
• Shared vibes: Action, adventure, slapstick comedy, parody
• For parents who: love a good cultural reference used in comedy along with a good dose of zaniness.

Once the madcap characters Yakko, Wakko, and Dot broke out of the WB water tower, TV was never the same. This animated ensemble comedy was full of quick wit and even quicker animation, with a style that was extra expressive. Teen Titans Go! is in the same vein, with a young, super-powered ensemble who try to never traverse the comedic streets without leaving their mark.

Where to watch: Animaniacs can be streamed on Prime Video. Teen Titans Go! airs on Cartoon Network and can be streamed on Prime Video, Hulu, and Max.

‘Full House’ and ‘Raven’s Home’

• Years aired: Full House (1987–1995), Raven’s Home (2017–2023)
• Shared vibes: Comedy, drama, blended family, sitcom
• For parents who: grew up in or have a blended family.

Some of us may have fantasized about living with our childhood best friends, but Full House showed us that any family life has its highs and lows. The same is said for Raven’s Home, which features a divorced mom living with her friend and trying to raise their kids together. Whether it’s House Tanner or House Baxter, you should feel right at home with these blended family comedies.

Where to watch: Full House can be streamed on Prime Video, Hulu, and Max. Raven’s Home can be streamed on Disney+ as well as Prime Video.

‘Family Matters’ and ‘Big City Greens’

• Years aired: Family Matters (1989–1998), Big City Greens (2018–today)
• Shared vibes: Comedy, Drama, multigenerational family
• For parents who: know all about living in a multigenerational household and having really overenthusiastic neighbors.

While the shows’ commonalities may not be blatantly obvious, there are definitely similar vibes between Steve Urkel and Cricket Green. Both have distinct voices, both are destructive, and both eventually make you want to adopt them into your own family. Family Matters–part of the legendary TGIF family programming lineup from the 90s–showed how a lovable, hard-working family has to work even harder to find their place in a world of misadventures. Big City Greens carries the same message of using love as a foundation for your home and embracing your neighbors–no matter how different they may be.

Where to watch: You can catch up on Family Matters on Prime Video, Hulu, and Max. Big City Greens airs on the Disney Channel and can be streamed on Disney+.

‘Charmed’ and ‘Wednesday’

• Years aired: Charmed (1998–2006), Wednesday (2022–today)
• Shared vibes: Supernatural, drama, mystery
• For parents who: loved to dabble on the dark side growing up, but still had a heart of gold.

Charmed was definitely a hit for tweens and teens who found their crew of friends that felt a little “different”. The sisters of Charmed solved mysteries and used their powers to fight against evil. In Wednesday, the title character also uses her new-found powers (and her new crew) to solve supernatural mysteries and fight evil. If you’re watching either of these with a tween or teen, I also hear these are great for some top-notch fashion inspiration.

Where to watch: You can find Charmed on Peacock or Prime Video. The first season of Wednesday is available on Netflix.

‘Are You Afraid of the Dark?’ (1990) and ‘Are You Afraid of the Dark?’ (2019)

• Years aired: Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1990–2000), Are You Afraid of the Dark? (2019–2022)
• Shared vibes: Anthology, Supernatural, Horror, Mystery, Clubs
• For parents who: had their fair share of scary story sessions during sleepovers.

Many kids no doubt wanted to be a part of the Midnight Society–where you’d better come with a good scary story. Both the 90s version of this show and the 2019 reboot use the anthology storytelling method to creep out viewers and inspire kids to one-up each other’s narrative skills, while trying not to get scared themselves–or worse.

Where to watch: Both versions of Are You Afraid of the Dark? can be streamed on Prime Video and Fandango at Home.

‘Recess’ and ‘The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder’

• Years aired: Recess (1997–2001), The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder (2022–today)
• Shared vibes: Coming-of-age, friendship, family, comedy
• For parents who: remember fondly the epic, formative moments in school with friends.

Though it’s safe to say some of our memories of childhood may be a bit different than our actual experiences, it’s still fun to turn them into their own tall tales in our heads. Both of these shows play in that space of tweens-teens filtering their own coming-of-age experiences through their eyes. Whether it was on the playground, in the cafeteria, or at home, everything was delightfully way more serious than it needed to be.

Where to watch: Both Recess and The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder can be streamed on Disney+.