25 TV Cast Reunions I Need in My Life

It was great to see faves from Cheers, Ally McBeal, Martin + others at the Emmys—but let us not forget these iconic (to me) programs.

Hi hi.

Happy Wednesday eve, my friends.

ICYMI, the 2023 Emmys finally happened on Monday night after being massively delayed because of the strikes. There’s been a more serious clusterfuck of awards shows this season than most and I truly feel for everyone who must cover them in detail for their day jobs.

I had the pleasure of not even watching a single second of the broadcast itself (opting for football) and just letting the fashion and clips roll through my feed to peruse and comment on (or not) at will. I spent many, many years doing slideshows and social and all that so it’s very liberating to even have a choice in the matter.

But I thank everyone else for their service. And it sounds like the show did a pretty nice job, as far as these things go.

I did watch all the TV show reunion moments and loved them loads. The Ally McBeal of it all really delighted me.

Going back to Cheers? Wonderful.

We also got moments for Martin, my beloved Grey’s, The Sopranos, Amy + Tina on Update, It’s Always Sunny, and All in the Family. Love it. Do that more. We are meant to be celebrating television at these awards.

But it got me thinking about my wishlist of randomness—with a couple solid, normal choices thrown into the mix. Here’s what I need, want, desire, would die for…lesser known by many, v. important to some.¹

Buckle up.

• Alias

As one of my top five shows of life, I cannot make a list that doesn’t include Syd, Vaughn, SpyDaddy, SpyMommy, Francie/Faux Francie, Sloane, Marshall, Dixon, Weiss, Sark et al. I would even remove Bradley Cooper’s ick moniker to allow for Will Tippin, as he was beloved to me in this era.

I am a girl whose sister made her a Sloane piñata—complete with page 47 from The Rambaldi Manuscript—for a birthday, after all.

Do I need to do a full Alias essay here at some point? I think I might.

• Small Wonder

I apologize in advance to my lifelong friend Robyn who will not enjoy this mention. But I bet many of you can also sing this entire theme song and once wondered what it would be like to have a robot sister.

• Kate & Allie

I reference this show all the time, like I’d so live in a brownstone with one of my divorced besties and help raise her kids. I just wouldn’t bring any of my own to the table. Who else wanted to be Emma/Ari Meyers (and Susan St. James, for that matter), but was also jealous of Jennie/Allison Smith² when she dated Brian Bloom IRL?

• Out of This World

I thought Evie was soooooo pretty and, of course, wished I could also freeze time. I’m glad I didn’t have to talk to my alien dad through a glowing box though. Kids today truly do not understand how insane our TV diet was growing up.

• My So-Called Life

Obviously this show has not been forgotten by my people (or critics). It stands as one of the most definitive texts of our youth. And Claire Danes and Jared Leto³ are now huge stars, but it only had that one perfect season…so in some ways it has been lost to time.

Then there are those of us who think about it pretty much every day.

I need to get back to making my silly TikToks again.

@wehavenotesLet’s play some #BuffaloTom + get into it. #mysocalledlife #jordancatalano #angelachase #lateatnight #genx #jaredleto #clairedanes #genxtiktok

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• Sisters

And they will use the reunion moment to announce that the show about the Reed girls is finally on goddamn streaming. PLEASE. Clooney can introduce them. RIP Falconer. That was one tough TV death for your girl.

• Once and Again

While we’re on shows co-starring the great Sela Ward, I’d love to see this crew together again.

• Jem & the Holograms

Who says we can’t draw a reunion?!? Showtime Synergy! Let’s do a new battle of the bands.

• The Bloodhound Gang from 3-2-1 Contact

Niche? You bet. But I don’t know if I can express how important these show-within-the-show eps were to me and how often they (and the theme song) cross my mind. Some might even find it troubling, but I’ll be on my deathbed and likely thinking about this clock case.

Also, here’s the main theme song for a burst of Gen X serotonin.

• Brothers & Sisters

I would have loved to see Matthew Rhys jump on stage with Calista post-the Ally reunion and transport us to Ojai…where they’d be joined by the rest of the good-looking, dysfunctional Walkers.

• Rags to Riches

Hologram Joseph Bologna, perhaps?!? I loved this show with my entire being for its brief two seasons.

• Just the Ten of Us

I know I’m not the only one who went hard for this Growing Pains spinoff. Is that why I ended up dating someone who was the youngest of 10 in my 20s?!? Was I incepted by the Lubbock family? (Yes, I know there were eight children in the fictional fam. But you get my drift.)

• Living Dolls

An all-timer spinoff (from Who’s the Boss?) for girlies my age who dreamed of being models and living in a model house.

• Summerland

I was having a conversation the other day wherein I amazed even myself by pulling the name of this show out of my ass after going, “You know that one with Aunt Becky. But this time she’s a fashion designer aunt who has to take in her nieces and nephew after their parents die in a car accident and one of them is Jesse McCartney.”

Yes, it was right in that “Beautiful Soul” moment.

• Parker Lewis Can’t Lose

I thought it was very cool that my friend’s dad went to high school with Abraham Benrubi’s dad and that Abraham⁴ had gone to Broad Ripple High School in Indy. This felt major around these parts in 1990. We all enjoyed his Larry Kubiac on the show, but it was all about Corky⁵ Nemec as the titular character. Oh how I loved him.

Sidebar: Of course, our lead was also the star of a formative TV miniseries, I Know My First Name Is Steven⁶, about the Steven Staynor kidnapping. Then that story took even more twists and turns and he participated in the documentary about the Staynors that I wrote about here back in April 2022 when it debuted on Hulu.

• Everwood

Ah, the olden days when Chris Pratt didn’t give me constant ick. They could do a beautiful tribute to Treat Williams, too.

• Jericho

I’m pretty much a Skeet Ulrich ride or die and I feel great about that. I also love an apocalypse story.

• The Ashlee Simpson Show

Let’s get Ash and Ryan Cabrera back together for a chat and a performance or two.

• Jack & Bobby

I’m still pissed that this show didn’t get the love it deserved and was only on for a singular season. I have so many questions for the creators about what they had planned.

• Greek

This show was legit fun and good and I feel bad for people who wrote it off because it was on ABC Family. But you could always rediscover it now.

• Models Inc.

It will not be surprising that this show was important to me. See the aforementioned modeling dreams.

• Cashmere Mafia and Lipstick Jungle

I love when two shows that are pretty much the same premiere simultaneously. So let’s reunite together, too.

• American Dreams

The way I religiously watched and invested myself in this show was really something.

• Jack & Jill

Just think of how delightful besties Amanda Peet and Sarah Paulson would be when back together with the rest of the cast…

• Wasteland

What…you think it’s weird to want a reunion for a show that ABC axed after three episodes? I don’t. 1999 me was ALL IN.

Thank you for coming on this journey through (some) of my TV shows past. Please feel free to share your most random hopes and dreams in the comments.

Talk soon.

xA

1. I realize EW and other outlets may have made some moments with these casts over the years, but I’m not yet satisfied.

2. She also played Leo McGarry’s daughter Mallory on The West Wing. No, I did not have to look that up. I’ve seen every ep of that show about 15+ times.

3. I know it must be exhausting for anyone to spend time with Jared Leto, but I hope the cast could do it for us.

4. I’m sure you remember him as Jerry from ER as well.

5. He later started going by his proper name, Corin, and I get that. But he’s forever Corky to me.

6. Like 40 million people tuned into this thing.