The Best ’90s Nickelodeon Shows To Stream With Your Tween

Despite The Secret World of Alex Mack literally being about a shady chemical company accidentally dousing a teenage girl with some chemical that gives her superpowers, it is full of girl power moments. Alex has a sister she confides in for a lot of sweet sister convos; her mom goes back to school; I mean, even the CEO of the (terrible) chemical company is a woman. But it’s a great tween show, with a little bit of “I’m an outcast” vibes and lots of very normal kid bedrooms and problems — something newer shows meant for kids seem to be lacking.

The series also has some kooky, kid-friendly hijinks, but as the show progresses through all four seasons, some subplots get pretty dark. It’s great for tweens who want a bit of a sci-fi show but still love a sitcom format, and it really does hold up today. (I also still want some of Alex Mack’s powers.)

You can stream The Secret World of Alex Mack through Apple TV and Prime Video.

When was the last time you watched a game show with your tween? Jeopardy isn’t quite right for them, and some of the other shows on TV these days are more about the celebrity interactions. But Double Dare? It’s just so good and funny and wholesome — an excellent show to sit and enjoy with your tween. You know you could’ve gotten that ticket out of the slime from the nostrils faster than anyone if given the chance.

You can stream Double Dare through Paramount+.

I can still sing this theme song from memory, and I can’t believe I haven’t shown it to my 10-year-old yet. Hey Dude was basically a workplace sitcom for kids, with the setting being a ranch and the employees all being mostly teenage ranch hands. But there’s everything there for the perfect tween show, from family drama to romance and friendly competition. It’s a fun little introduction to the ‘90s for your kid.

You can stream Hey Dude through Paramount+, Prime Video, and Apple TV.

Don’t you dare for one minute think your tween can’t appreciate Rugrats. This show was a staple of Nickelodeon, and the jokes are absolutely meant for older kids and adults. Your tweens may find the parents of the babies even funnier than the hijinks the little ones get into anyway, and any way to feast more eyes on the artistry that is Charlotte Pickles or Betty DeVille, I’m into.

You can stream Rugrats through Netflix, Paramount+, Hulu, Disney+, Prime Video, and Apple TV.

If you thought the Olympics had a chokehold, maybe you don’t remember just how intense Nickelodeon’s Guts was. This competition show is a must for your kids for several reasons, but mostly so they can know exactly what an Aggro Crag is. It was always so fun to see kids your own age going out to represent their country and get all pumped up, and whether you were an athlete yourself or not, you loved it. (And the theme song truly didn’t need to go as hard as it did.)

You can stream Guts through Paramount+.

Like Rugrats, Doug may be an animated series, but oh my gosh, it was so good. It honestly gives off some Daria vibes now that I’m rewatching it as an adult, and it’s just the perfect little comfort show to share with your tween. Who couldn’t relate to Doug Funnie and his best puppy pal Porkchop? And don’t you want your kids to know the classic hit “Bangin’ on a Trash Can” by the Beets? Exactly.

You can stream Doug through Paramount+, Prime Video, and Apple TV.

Oh man, if you didn’t pine after Clarissa Darling’s room in Clarissa Explains it All, then what were you actually doing? This show was Melissa Joan Hart’s big jump into stardom, and it featured an incredible breaking-the-fourth-wall energy that made you feel like Clarissa was talking directly to you. She was a little weird, plenty unique, and so confident in herself that it gave me confidence just watching. A must-see for your tweens.

You can stream Clarissa Explains it All through Paramount+, Prime Video, and Apple TV.

Don’t let your love of nostalgia fool you — All That is good, even as a first-time watcher in 2024. I introduced my 10-year-old to the original sketch comedy series for kids, and she was super into it. The talent is unbelievable, and the jokes 100% still hold up — although I have had to explain some pop culture references to her, like Ross Perot.

You can stream All That on Prime Video, Apple TV, and BET+.

I was becoming a full-on tween when Rocket Power got its start — it wasn’t a show I grew up with as a little 6-year-old like some of the others on this list, but man, did I love it. Yes, also an animated show, but it was just cool. There was a bad*ss girl character, lots of extreme sports, and a fun coastal town full of characters for every episode. Just all-around wholesome and fun.

You can stream Rocket Power on Paramount+, Prime Video, and Apple TV.

It just wasn’t a Saturday Night without SNICK, and you couldn’t miss the end of SNICK, which was a full episode of the perfectly scary Are You Afraid of the Dark? You know your kid best, so if you suspect the little boy shivering “I’m… cold…” out in the woods is going to terrify them, or the one with the abandoned swimming pool or the fun house of mirrors, then maybe wait a bit longer. But for kids who like some spooky stuff and really good storytelling, this is the show. As you already know, some of these stories will stay with them forever.

You can stream Are You Afraid of the Dark? on Paramount+ and Prime Video.

Yep, another cartoon. But come on, Hey Arnold is an absolute classic, and like Clarissa, Arnold had a room to be fully envious of. He also lived in a great city setting (Was it supposed to be NYC? A combination of cities? I do not know.) and had some really great moments with his best buddy Gerald, his grandparents, and all his friends and boarding house residents.

You can stream Hey Arnold! through Paramount+, Prime Video, Apple TV, Disney+, and Hulu.

Did a memory just unlock for you? Kablam was so delightfully bizarre, full of little segments and funny moments that made it an anthology-sort-of series. From Action League Now to Life with Loopy and Prometheus and Bob, we all had our favorite segments of Kablam and the way the show was built made it so you never got bored for long. Tweens deserve this one for the humor… but also just for the absolute weirdness.

You can stream KaBlam! through Paramount+.

Talk about delightfully weird, Aaahh!!! Real Monsters was one of the best to ever do it. Before Sulley and Mike Wazowski were a thing, Ickis, Oblina, and Krumm were going to monster school to learn how to scare humans. They were gross, they were funny, and they were so perfectly strange. 10/10, still holds up.

You can stream Aaahh!!! Real Monsters through Paramount+, Apple TV, and Prime Video.

Another theme song you can probably recite from memory, Salute Your Shorts was just so darn good. Set at Camp Anawanna, the sitcom featured a group of colorful characters getting into all sorts of mischief. And who among us wasn’t traumatized by Zeke the Plumber? It’s time to show your own tweens.

You can stream Salute Your Shorts through Paramount+, Prime Video, and Apple TV.

You know when people start talking about the “nonsense” kids watch today? I can only assume it’s because they don’t remember us watching hours and hours of The Ren and Stimpy Show. It’s so gross and so kooky and just so funny, and tweens will 100% get this humor. (And then some jokes will still fly over their head, and you can laugh to yourself.) Happy, happy, joy, joy!

You can stream The Ren and Stimpy Showa on Paramount+.

Did I save the best for last? Maybe. Rocko’s Modern Life is another animated show chock full of gross, filthy humor and also a lot of very adult jokes that you will be shocked made it through the execs at Nickelodeon. But Rocko is still laugh-out-loud funny, and to this day, my brother and I still quote Heffer.

You can stream Rocko’s Modern Life on Paramount+, Apple TV, Prime Video, and BET+.

There are tons of great Nickelodeon shows you’ve forgotten about but your tweens deserve to see — and a lot of them are still incredibly hard to find. The amazing Space Cases about a school lost in space can only be found on YouTube, The Adventures of Pete & Pete (We miss you, Artie!) is only on Amazon Prime and not for the full episodes, and other shows that had limited runs, like Cousin Skeeter and 100 Deeds for Eddie McDowd are unavailable.

So Nickelodeon, if you’re reading this — bring it all back. We’ve got tweens now, and we need to show them our childhood in perfect orange and slime technicolor.