Explore the top 100 television series that premiered in 1996. From viral hits to award-winning dramas.
Top 100 Best TV Series of 1996
Relive the greatest moments in television and cinema history. Our definitive guide ranks the top-rated and most influential titles released in television during this year.
Explore the live-updated list below to find the masterpieces that defined the era.
The Definitive Collection
Our proprietary algorithm analyzed thousands of titles to bring you this definitive, real-time updated ranking.
Dragon Ball GT
Ten years have passed since Goku left his friends and family to hone his skills. But Goku soon finds himself helpless against the mystical power of the Dragon Balls and an accidental wish made by the devious Emperor Pilaf. The wish; that Goku once again become a child! Goku, together with Trunks, and his own granddaughter Pan, blast off into the outer reaches of space in search of the mysterious Black Star Dragon Balls. But these Dragon Balls have a fatal secret: if not collected within one year Earth will be destroyed.
Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
On her sixteenth birthday, Sabrina Spellman discovers she has magical powers. She lives with her 600-year-old aunts Hilda and Zelda as well as talking cat Salem in the fictional town of Westbridge, Massachusetts.
Hey Arnold!
The daily life of Arnold--a fourth-grader with a wild imagination, street smarts and a head shaped like a football.
Dexter's Laboratory
Dexter, a boy-genius with a secret laboratory, constantly battles his sister Dee Dee, who always gains access despite his best efforts to keep her out, as well as his arch-rival and neighbor, Mandark.
Rurouni Kenshin
The Meiji Era was one of great renewal for Japan, where swords and killing were outlawed. However, many survivors from the time of Revolution still live, lurking in the shadows and waiting for a chance to use their killing blades again. Only Kenshin Himura, formerly one of the most brutal of killers, hopes to keep his swordsman's honor and still live in the new era.
Detective Conan
The son of a world famous mystery writer, Jimmy Kudo, has achieved his own notoriety by assisting the local police as a student detective. He has always been able to solve the most difficult of criminal cases using his wits and power of reason.
Everybody Loves Raymond
Ray Barone is a successful sportswriter living on Long Island with his wife Debra, daughter Ally, and twin sons, Geoffrey and Michael. Ray's meddling parents, Frank and Marie, and brother, Robert, live directly across the street.
The Daily Show
The World's Fakest News Team tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and pop culture.
3rd Rock from the Sun
The high commander of an alien expedition lands on Earth -- what he considers to be the least-important planet -- in human form as Dick Solomon. Along for the ride are his alien compatriots Harry, Sally and Tommy -- who is the eldest of the group but is now angrily trapped in a teen's body.




Kenan & Kel
Set in Chicago, the show follows the kid-friendly misadventures of two high-school friends who are always scheming and dreaming. Kenan, who works at a grocery store, constantly devises crazy plans to strike it rich, while orange-soda-loving buddy Kel is always dragged along for the ride despite his track record for messing things up.



Superman: The Animated Series
Superman, an incredibly powerful alien from the planet Krypton, defends Metropolis from supercriminals. Superman hides his identity behind the glasses of Clark Kent; a mild-mannered reporter for the newspaper the Daily Planet. At the Daily Planet Superman works with fellow reporter Lois Lane and photographer Jimmy Olsen.

Spin City
Workaholic Mike Flaherty is the Deputy Mayor of New York City, serving as Mayor Randall Winston's key strategist and much-needed handler. Mike runs the city with the help of his oddball staff: an anxious and insecure press secretary; a sexist, boorish chief of staff; an impeccably groomed gay activist running minority affairs; a sharp and efficient, man-crazy accountant; and an idealistic young speechwriter. Like Mike, they are all professionally capable but personally challenged.

Beast Wars: Transformers
Two spaceships, one manned by benevolent Maximals, the other by evil Predacons, crash-land on a pre-humanoid planet while en route to Earth. Their crews assume indigenous animal forms to protect themselves from an overabundance of natural energy, transforming into robots to do battle. Thus, the Beast Wars have begun...

Les Contes de la rue Broca

Millennium
A retired FBI serial-profiler joins the mysterious Millennium Group, a team of underground ex-law enforcement experts dedicated to fighting against the ever-growing forces of evil and darkness in the world.




Blue's Clues
Blue's Clues is a colorful and learning series that is targeted at the younger crowd, but can be enjoyed by all. The host, Steve Burns, invites viewers daily into the Blue's Clues house to help him out, learn and have fun. The show is based around the host looking for three clues that Blue provides by labelling them with a pawprint to figure something out and in the process, having an adventure.




7th Heaven
Reverend Eric Camden and his wife Annie have always had their hands full caring for seven children, not to mention the friends, sweethearts and spouses that continually come and go in the Camden household.

The Pretender
Raised in a secret facility built for experimenting on children, Jarod is a genius who can master any profession and become anyone he has to be. When he realizes as an adult that he's actually a prisoner and his captors are not as benevolent as he's been told, he breaks out. While trying to find his real identity, Jarod helps those he encounters and tries to avoid the woman sent to retrieve him.

The Vision of Escaflowne
High school student Hitomi is transported from Earth to the magical world of Gaea, where she meets boy prince Van Fanel, and is caught up in his quest to unite the countries of Gaea against the ominous Zaibach empire. On the way, she discovers an hidden ability and strives to unravel layers of mystery surrounding Van, his past, and the giant machine known as Escaflowne.


Arthur
The show revolves around the lives of 8-year-old Arthur Read, an anthropomorphic aardvark, his friends and family, and their daily interactions with each other.

Esmeralda
Esmeralda is a telenovela that was released by Televisa in 1997. It is a remake of a 1970 Venezuelan telenovela of that same name, and was itself remade in Brazil in 2004. Another version is Topacio from Venezuela in 1984. One of the most famous telenovela all the time.

Early Edition
Gary Hobson thinks he may even be losing his mind when tomorrow's newspaper mysteriously arrives today giving him a disconcerting look into the future. What will he do with tomorrow's news?

Xica da Silva

Gulliver's Travels
Dr. Gulliver has returned from his journey to his family after a long absence - and tells them the story of his travels.

Alarm for Cobra 11: The Motorway Police
A long-running German television series about a two-man team of highway police, originally set in Berlin and later in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Ultraman Tiga
A high-tech squadron protects Earth from evil monsters and aliens with the help of a giant super-being named Ultraman Tiga.

Te Sigo Amando

Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm
A group of warriors come together to defend Earthrealm from invaders who entered through portals from various other dimensions.

Nash Bridges
Fun-loving San Francisco Police Department investigator Nash Bridges is part of the elite Special Investigations Unit. He tackles crime using his keen sense of humor and charm. Joe Dominguez comes out of retirement to become Bridges' wisecracking yet more rule-abiding partner.

Titanic
Titanic is a made-for-TV dramatization that premiered as a 2-part miniseries on CBS in 1996. Titanic follows several characters on board the RMS Titanic when she sinks on her maiden voyage in 1912. The miniseries was directed by Robert Lieberman. The original music score was composed by Lennie Niehaus. This is the first Titanic movie to show the ship breaking in two.

Silent Witness
A team of exceptional forensic pathologists and scientists investigate heinous crimes and use their skills to catch the people responsible.

B'T X
After years of absence, Teppei’s joyous reunion with his brother is cut short when the two brothers are attacked. When his brother is kidnapped, Teppei gives chase only to find himself cornered in a junkyard when a miracle appears. His spilled blood awakens the legendary B’t X.

Judge Judy
Judge Judy is an American arbitration-based reality court show presided over by retired Manhattan Family Court Judge Judith Sheindlin. The show features Sheindlin adjudicating real-life small claims disputes within a simulated courtroom set. All parties involved must sign contracts, agreeing to arbitration under Sheindlin. The series is in first-run syndication and distributed by CBS Television Distribution. Judge Judy, which premiered on September 16, 1996, reportedly revitalized the court show genre. Only two other arbitration-based reality court shows preceded it, The People's Court and Jones and Jury. Sheindlin has been credited with introducing the "tough" adjudicating approach into the judicial genre, which has led to several imitators. The two court shows that outnumber Judge Judy's seasons, The People's Court and Divorce Court, have both lasted via multiple lives of production and shifting arbiters, making Sheindlin's span as a television arbiter the longest.

Jumanji
Judy and Peter Shepherd are two kids that found a board game called "Jumanji". With each turn, the two of them are given a "game clue" and then sucked into a dangerous jungle until they solve their clue. There they meet Alan Parrish, who was trapped in the Jumanji jungle because he had never seen his clue.

Pacific Blue
Filmed on location at Santa Monica and Venice Beach, this series focuses on an elite bike cop unit of the LAPD.

The Incredible Hulk
When research scientist Bruce Banner is blasted with a gamma ray bomb during an experiment gone wrong, he develops a dangerous alter ego -- a mean, green monster known as the Incredible Hulk -- who emerges when he gets angry.

E! True Hollywood Story
E! True Hollywood Story is an American documentary series on E! that deals with famous Hollywood celebrities, movies, TV shows and also well-known public figures. Among the topics covered on the program include salacious re-tellings of Hollywood secrets, show-biz scandals, celebrity murders and mysteries, porn-star biographies, and "where-are-they-now?" investigations of former child stars. It frequently features in-depth interviews, actual courtroom footage, and dramatic reenactments. When aired on the E! network, episodes will be updated to reflect the current life or status of the subject.

Forensic Files
Real crimes, disease outbreaks and accidents around the world are solved by experts using scientific laboratory analysis which helps them find previously undetectable evidence. Brilliant scientific work helps convict the guilty and free the innocent.

The Beast
Mysterious deaths and unexplained disappearances begin to occur in the small seaport village of Graves Point. When a large, strange claw is discovered on an empty raft washing up on the shore, marine biologist Dr. Herbert Talley identifies it as belonging to a rare giant squid.

Quack Pack
This cartoon follows on from the 1980’s cartoon “Ducktales”, continuing the adventures of Huey, Dewey and Louie. Now 12 year olds and living with their uncle Donald Duck, the three spend their time playing practical jokes on their hapless uncle and otherwise getting into trouble.

Profiler
Rachel Burke is a criminal profiler, one of the best, actually. She, along with a sophisticated team of specialists on the FBI's Violent Crimes Task Force in Atlanta, investigates crimes throughout the country. Together, they solve the toughest of cases while trying to live their lives as best they can.

The Sentinel
The Sentinel is a Canadian-produced television series. In the jungles of peru, the fight for survival heightened his senses. Now, Detective Jim Ellison is a sentinel in the fight for justice. Anthropologist Blair Sandburg works side by side with Jim, helping him develop these senses.

Hell Teacher Nube
Nueno Mesuke, better known as Nube, is a school teacher who does more than just teach. You see, Nube's left hand is a huge, nasty-looking demon's claw. He uses it to get rid of malicious demons, ghosts, spirits and other supernatural beings that are giving his students a hard time. Nube's left hand was normal, until one fateful day when he exorcised an extremely powerful demon from a child. He was outmatched and lost his left hand. The only way to fight it was to let it enter his body. As a result, Nube has a demonic left hand where his own hand used to be. To educate and protect — that is what Jigoku Sensei Nube does.

Never Mind the Buzzcocks
Never Mind the Buzzcocks is a comedy panel game show with a pop and rock music theme. The show is infamous for its dry, sarcastic humour and scathing, provocative attacks on the pop industry.

Neverwhere
Richard Mayhew leads an ordinary life in London when one day a girl named Door falls, injured, across his path. The next thing he knows, his life is gone and he's pulled into the fantastical world of London Below. Pursued by the murderous Messrs. Croup and Vandemar, Door and Richard with the help of Hunter and the Marquis de Carabas, attempt to find the Angel Islington, who knows the secret behind the murder of Door's family, and possibly a way for Richard to go home.

The Adventures of Sinbad
The Adventures of Sinbad is a Canadian television series which aired from 1996 to 1998. It follows on the story from the pilot of the same name, and revolves around the series' protagonist, Sinbad. The series is a re-telling of the adventures of Sinbad from The Arabian Nights.

Dark Skies
Dark Skies is an American UFO conspiracy theory-based sci-fi television series that aired from the 1996 to 1997 season for 18 episodes, plus a two-hour pilot episode. The success of The X-Files on Fox proved there was an audience for science fiction shows, resulting in NBC commissioning this proposed competitor following a pitch from producers Bryce Zabel and Brent Friedman. The series debuted September 21, 1996 on NBC, and was later rerun by the Sci-Fi Channel. Its tagline was "History as we know it is a lie."

The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest
The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest is an American animated action-adventure television series.

Moesha
The everyday life of Moesha Mitchell, a vivacious young woman juggling romance, school, ever-changing family dynamics, and friendships.

Bakusou Kyoudai Let's & Go!!
Mini 4WD racing is an interesting hobby in where kids and adults compete using customized motorized miniature cars. Every year, competitions revolving around the hobby circulated around the world, with both kids and adults test out their spirit and passion in racing and companies developing new technologies and innovations for Mini 4WD. The story revolves around the competitive Seiba Brothers: Go and Retsu, who were once constantly arguing on each other to see who's the best racer. However one day after a community-sponsored race, they both met Dr. Tsuchiya, the head of the Tsuchiya Racing Factory who gave them two Mini 4WD Cars of the prototype Saber Series: Sonic Saber and Magnum Saber. With his advice on telling the twins to customize them for the upcoming race, they are now determined to win and race to victory and set off to their wildest race of their lives. While meeting both friends and enemies in the Mini 4WD Racing world.

Long Vacation
Minami who is dumped by her ex-boyfriend, Asakura, on their wedding day. She later meets Sena, Asakura's ex-roommate and a pianist, and lives with him as she has no other place to stay. What will happen to her during this long vacation?

Muppets Tonight
Muppets Tonight is a live-action/puppet television series created by Jim Henson Productions and featuring The Muppets. Much like the "MuppeTelevision" segment of The Jim Henson Hour, Muppets Tonight was a continuation of The Muppet Show, set in a television studio, rather than a theater. It ran on ABC from 1996 to 1998 and reruns ran on Disney Channel from 1997 to 2002. As of 2013, it is the last television series to star The Muppets characters.

Clueless
CLUELESS is a television series spun off from the 1995 teen film of the same name. The series originally premiered on ABC on September 20, 1996 as a part of the TGIF lineup during its first season. The show then spent its last two seasons on UPN ending on May 25, 1999.

Mobile Suit Gundam: The 08th MS Team
Ensign Shiro Amada is transferred to Southeast Asia to take command of the 08th MS Team. In their first guerilla operation, Shiro's team is tasked with distracting the Zeon forces while Federation ground troops locate a mysterious new Zeon weapon.

Poltergeist: The Legacy
The adventures of the members of a secret society known as the Legacy and their efforts to protect humankind from occult dangers.

Mighty Ducks: The Animated Series
Puckworld is home to a race of hockey-loving humanoid ducks. When the sinister Dragaunus takes over the planet, a band of determined rebels, The Mighty Ducks, manage to chase him from the planet. During the fight, they are caught in a dimensional portal and end up stranded in Anaheim, CA. The Ducks form a hockey team and build a secret base under the Anaheim Pond so they can continue to fight Dragaunus and hopefully find a way home.

Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal
Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal is a Canadian science fiction television series that surrounds a scientific team that deals with all manner of paranormal phenomena around the world; from alien abductions to possessions. The organization depicted in the series is loosely inspired by a real-life scientific organization. While locations in the series took place worldwide, the series was primarily filmed in and around Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and aired 88 episodes over four seasons from 1996 to 2000.

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is a 1996 serial adaptation of Anne Brontë's novel of the same name, produced by the BBC. A mysterious young woman arrives at Wildfell Hall, an old house of the Elizabethan era, with a young son. She is determined to lead an independent existence, but her new neighbours do not want to leave her alone. Only one of them, a young farmer, succeeds in finding her secrets.

The Spooktacular New Adventures of Casper
Casper is a friendly ghost--the friendliest ghost you know! Unfortunately he lives with his three Hauntaholic uncles: Uncle Stretch, who's convinced he's smarter than anyone who ever died; Stinkie, who can put down any fleshie with one belch-blast; and Fatso, who's big, round and not too bright. Trying to cure these brothers is Dr. James Harvey and his spunky and worldly daughter Kat. Put them all under one roof and you have a house full of fun.

The Jamie Foxx Show
Texas native Jamie King is an aspiring actor who heads to Hollywood in hopes to find fame and fortune in the entertainment industry. To support himself, he works at his Aunt Helen and Uncle Junior's Los Angeles hotel, the King's Towers.

Cosby
Cosby is an American situation comedy television series broadcast on CBS from September 16, 1996 to April 28, 2000, loosely based on the British sitcom One Foot in the Grave. The program stars Bill Cosby and Phylicia Rashād, who previously worked with Cosby in the 1984–1992 NBC sitcom The Cosby Show. Madeline Kahn portrayed their neighbor, Pauline, until her death in 1999.

Suddenly Susan
Susan Keane is a glamorous San Francisco magazine writer beginning to adjust to being single, who learns to be independent-minded, after being taken care of all her life.

Kodocha
Sana Kurata has a charmed life. Not only is her mother is a famous, award-winning writer, but she's the star of the hit TV comedy "Child's Toy" while still in the fifth grade. But Sana's biggest concern is Akito Hayama, a pint-sized hellion who's organized the boys in their grade-school class into a mass of unending noise and violence. With the help of Rei, her manager, chauffeur and "pimp," Sana is determined to win back control of the classroom from her new arch-enemy. But as her crusade continues, Sana moves further into Akito's life, and finds that he might not be entirely bad...or entirely safe.

Once Upon a Time... The Explorers
Il était une fois... les Explorateurs is a French animated TV series from 1996. Directed by Albert Barillé.

Kindred: The Embraced
Kindred: The Embraced is an American television series produced by John Leekley Productions and Spelling Television. Loosely based on the role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade, the series premiered on Fox on April 2, 1996, and ran for eight episodes before it was canceled on May 9, 1996. The series focused on San Francisco Police Detective Frank Kohanek who discovers his city is home to numerous vampires while investigating alleged mobster, Julian Luna. Julian is the "prince" of the city, ruler of five groups of vampires in the city, collectively called "The Kindred". The vampires survive through the "masquerade", disguising themselves as humans, and Julian strictly enforces the laws that govern them to protect their anonymity. Julian and Frank form an uneasy bond as they work together to try to prevent a vampire war and Julian struggles with his romantic feelings for human reporter Caitlin Byrne. The eight episodes of the series have been released on VHS and DVD.

KaBlam!
KaBlam! is a sketch comedy television series that ran from 1996 to 2000. It features a collection of short films in several different styles of animation, bridged by the characters of Henry and June, who introduce the shorts, and have adventures of their own. The show ended its three-year run nine months short of four years on January 22, 2000.

Dalziel & Pascoe
British crime drama based on the "Dalziel and Pascoe" series of books by Reginald Hill, set in the fictional Yorkshire town of Wetherton. The unlikely duo of politically incorrect elephant-in-a-china-shop-copper Detective Superintendent Andrew Dalziel (pronounced Dee-ell) and his more sensitive and university educated sidekick Detective Sargent, later Detective Inspector, Peter Pascoe is always on hand to solve the classic murder mystery, while maintaining a down to earth wit and humour.

Big Bad BeetleBorgs
When three kids explore Charterville's haunted Hillhurst Mansion on a dare, they discover a lot more than they bargain for! The trio find a wild and wacky phasm named Flabber, who changes their lives forever when he grants their wish to become the superheroes they've read about in BeetleBorgs comics. However, not only does Flabber grant the kids' wish, but he also accidentally facilitates the escape of supervillains from the comic books as well! Now it's up to these three newly tapped superheroes - aided by a friendly neighborhood phasm and armed with fantastic powers and awesome vehicles - to save the world from the forces of darkness that threaten the peace and harmony of all mankind.

Dead Man's Walk
The final chapter of Larry McMurty's popular and critically acclaimed mini-series, 'Lonesome Dove', recounting the thrilling first adventure of Gus McCrae and Woodrow Call. Great Cast!

Sai de Baixo
It follows the lives of the members of a dysfunctional family, their maid and the doorman of the apartment building in which they lived.

The Steve Harvey Show
Down on his luck and out of money, former R&B star Steve Hightower lands a music teacher gig at an inner-city Chicago school. Showing who's in charge with his unorthodox approach, Steve discovers a new groove at Washington High School.

This Life
Five aspiring lawyers are aiming for the top - but behind the scenes they're a mess of love, drugs and excess.

The King of The Cattle
In the struggle for land a vicious feud erupts between two men, who commit their families to a war without truce. Over two generations they are moved by love and by hatred in this epic saga of love for the land.

Our Friends in the North
An epic tale of a changing Britain over four decades, seen through the eyes of four friends.

Profit
Jim Profit works for a multinational company, and isn't above using any means necessary to get ahead, and that includes bribery, blackmail, intimidation, extortion, and even murder. Now everyone at the company, including the president, Charles Gracen are oblivious to his dark side, as a matter of fact, Gracen thinks of him as a golden boy. But when Joanne Meltzer, the company's security chief looks into his eyes, she sees something sinister.

The Legend of Zorro
Diego Vega returns from his study trip to discover his homeland is under the army's dictatorship. Diego, refusing to watch idly, disguises himself as Zorro to protect the weak and oppressed. Diego is not a coward but he is unable to win the affections of his sweetheart, Lolita, who is attracted to other more noble men. Diego serenades Lolita as Zorro and fights the evils of his homeland, hoping to capture her heart.

Karaoke
Screenwriter Daniel Feeld experiences bizarre coincidences as his screenplay—about a karaoke bar, an employee named Sandra, and her murder by Arthur 'Pig' Mallion—seems to mirror reality, with a karaoke bar, an employee named Sandra, and a shady owner named Mallion.

Martian Successor Nadesico
Only one ship stands between earth and total annihilation! The High Mobile Battleship Nadesico is the most formidable fighting machine ever conceived, but due to a shortage of trained soldiers, the crew is a little unorthodox. The poor Jovians don't stand a chance against the largest contingent of geeks and misfits ever sent into orbit!

Cold Lazarus
Cold Lazarus is a four-part British television drama written by Dennis Potter with the knowledge that he was dying of pancreatic cancer. Forming the second half of a pair with the television serial Karaoke, it is Potter's sole science fiction work. In a bleak, synthetic 24th-century dystopian Britain, scientists work on reviving the mind of 20th-century writer Daniel Feeld, whose head was frozen after Feeld's death shortly after the events of 'Karaoke'. Progress has not been made, so discontinuation is considered, but media mogul David Siltz, who has been spying on the project, envisages a fortune from broadcasting Feeld's memories on TV.

Dennis the Menace and Gnasher
Dennis and Gnasher is an animated British TV series based on characters from The Beano comic, It features the daily adventures of the rebellious schoolboy Dennis the Menace and his dog Gnasher.

FX: The Series
Rollie Tyler, a special effects expert, helps his detective friend solve crimes by making criminals see what they want to see. But what is real and what is illusion?
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This list represents a fusion of massive scale TMDB audience data and expert editorial oversight. We track global engagement, critical reception, and historical significance across over 10,000 data points to ensure every entry is verified for accuracy.
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