10 Female Sitcom Characters From The ’90s That Would Never Fly Today

Female sitcom characters today are funny, witty, sarcastic, and sometimes empowered. They share qualities with some of the best female sitcom characters from the ’90s, like Topanga Lawrence from Boy Meets World and Khadijah James from Living Single.

But while those aforementioned ladies would totally fit in with today’s sitcom world, there are other popular female sitcom characters from the ’90s who wouldn’t really be the right fit for a sitcom in our more politically correct and sensitive culture.

Which female sitcom stars from the ’90s are better left in that decade? Here’s a list.

10 Blossom Russo (Blossom)

Blossom was a very opinionated and smart teenage girl who lived with her father, stepmother, and two older brothers, so she knew how to deal with men.  And while she would technically fit right in with today’s sitcom world, characters like her are now a dime a dozen.

It really isn’t as unusual nowadays to see a teenage girl who speaks her mind, isn’t afraid to go against the grain, and celebrates her own unique style. Perhaps, in that respect, Blossom was a trailblazer. But she has blazed the trail and many have come along since to take her place. So she wouldn’t be as exciting as she was back then.

9 Peggy Bundy (Married…With Children)

For obvious reasons, Peggy personifies everything that we don’t want to promote in a TV mom. She was lazy, didn’t do any housework, didn’t cook or clean. She didn’t want to get a job even though her kids were grown and they lived a lower-middle-class life.

She made fun of her husband, gossiped about everyone, and famously sat on the couch watching TV and eating bon bons. She is a stereotypical housewife that just wouldn’t hack in in today’s TV land.

8 Stephanie Tanner (Full House)

OK so Stephanie technically does still exist in today’s sitcom world on the sequel series Fuller House, which sees an adult Stephanie living with her older sister D.J. and helping her raise her children.

But back then, Stephanie was an adorable kid with a catchphrase (“how rude!”) who would sometimes do ridiculous things like drive a car through the kitchen. No way would a child get away with such ridiculous behavior these days! And the whole catchphrase thing is so ’90s at this point.

7 Jessie Spano (Saved By The Bell)

She might seem like an odd inclusion here. Jessie fits perfectly with the type of sitcom character we do see today. She’s smart, doesn’t submit to peer pressure, is focused and determined. She always wanted to do well in school while also being part of the popular crowd.

That said, there is one small detail that doesn’t jibe well with our culture today: she constantly belittled her boyfriend A.C. Slater. Sure, he did it right back to her. And this was apparently endearing. No way would we want to see a couple constantly insult one another and call that love, especially teenagers.

6 Laura Winslow (Family Matters)

There’s really nothing wrong with Laura. She was your average smart aleck, know-it-all child with a strong sense of herself. She got straight As and dreamed of going to Harvard to study law.

But this is precisely the issue: the character would just be too boring by today’s TV standards. There was nothing particularly compelling about her which might be partly why the sitcom that was supposed to center around the Winslow family ended up shifting focus to the geeky next door neighbor Steve Urkel.

5 Fran Fine (The Nanny)

This My Fair Lady-like sitcom was about a sexy woman who ended up working as a nanny for a millionaire Broadway producer after she was dumped by her fiancé and was trying to sell make-up door-to-door.

The idea that she couldn’t hack it on her own after being dumped by a man wouldn’t be accepted today. And the idea of her as an unrefined woman being trained by this uppity, wealthy man who eventually fell in love with her is played out.

4 Nicole Bradford (My Two Dads)

Having two dads is not a strange concept today in times that are far more accepting and open about the LGBTQ community. So, a girl who is considered to be in a strange circumstance because she is being raised by two men is not odd in the slightest.

What is odd is the reason – they aren’t a gay couple but rather two former friends who both could be her biological father. Since no one knows which one is actually the father (where’s Maury when you need him?) they are awarded joint custody of her.

3 Ellen (Ellen)

Aside from the fact that Ellen DeGeneres is now a massive star and would never reprise a role in a TV sitcom, the series and character itself has run its course. The biggest deal about this long-running and successful sitcom was the backlash when DeGeneres decided to have her character come out as gay. DeGeneres herself is a gay woman.

While coming out in a show was a big deal back then, it isn’t so much today. And while the show itself was great, lasting a solid four seasons, the character’s story has played out already.

2 Angela Bower (Who’s The Boss?)

It was one of the most popular sitcoms of the decade about a powerful female advertising executive who hires a handsome man as her housekeeper while she navigates having a career and raising her son.

It was unusual at the time to show a divorced career woman and a man as a housekeeper. But now, that’s not strange at all. And the portrayal of Angela as being uptight and rigid would not be considered progressive enough when it comes to today’s standards of who an independent woman is.

1 Rachel Greene (FRIENDS)

Everyone loves Rachel, of course. I mean, she invented a hairstyle, after all! But the Rachel of then would not be a Rachel that could hack it today. Aside from her on-again, off-again relationship with a man she was clearly too good for, she seemed flighty and always had to have a man by her side.

She finally found her footing with a career in fashion and a daughter. Yet it seemed her only appropriate ending saw her going back to Ross. Today, viewers would much rather see a strong, single Rachel. Maybe.

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