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We’re quite partial to kids’ TV from the nineties, but as much as we like exposing our rugrats to Rugrats, sometimes it’s good to meet them on their level and watch what they’re watching. So here’s some of the best current family and kids’ TV going.
Good Witch
Cassie Nightingale is the titular good witch, a recently widowed witch living in the town of Middleton with her teenage daughter. Together they must avoid the prying of their new neighbours, who are convinced that something strange is afoot. Low-stakes hijinks and some romance ensues for seven seasons. This is a Hallmark show, after all.
Little Big Shots
Little Big Shots is a talent show but it only features kids. Imagine the stuff that happens on America’s Got Talent—singing, acrobatics, magic, ventriloquism, and other talents you wouldn’t expect—except that the people performing are kids. Sometimes they’re very little kids. The pre- and/or post-interviews are pretty great too. And this show has been redone in 21 additional countries, so if you want your kids practicing another language, this show is one way to do that.
Fuller House
We’ve seen Full House maybe a half dozen times over the years thanks to its extended life in syndication, and now, thanks to Netflix, we got to have even more of the story. DJ needs help raising her kids, so Stephanie and Kimmy Gibbler move in to help. Hijinks ensue and everyone learns a lesson at the end of each episode.
A Series of Unfortunate Events
If you’re of the opinion that children’s media can be dark, scary, and thrilling, then go ahead and watch Netflix’s adaptation of A Series of Unfortunate Events. Neil Patrick Harris shines as the evil Count Olaf, and the sombre and mysterious mood of the novels is well captured.
Anne with an E
There are plenty of adaptations of Anne of Green Gables, but for our time, this is one of the best. The cast and crew tackled tough subjects such as racism, gender inequality, and bullying with a lot of age-appropriate knowledge and wisdom. And if you’re still smarting over the cancellation, you could always read all six books in the series, plus other related works by Lucy Maud Montgomery.
One Day at a Time
A remake of the 1970s sitcom, this modern-day iteration follows a Cuban American family struggling to make the lives they want and be true to themselves. What’s interesting about this show is it’s a very old-school sitcom in terms of the format and how the story beats fall, but it’s very modern in that the Alvarez family deal with things that any 21st-century Latin family would. Also, this new version isn’t as schmaltzy as the ’70s one, and that’s a big plus.
DuckTales
They didn’t change the theme song (how could they?), but everything else in this new series is updated. The animation is fresh, the storylines stretch whole seasons, and the voice cast is stacked—they even have David Tennant as Scrooge McDuck.
