As a proud millennial, I can confidently say that I grew up watching some of the very best kids real-life tv shows of all time. The mere thought of this made me want to recognize some of the most iconic shows of our era, however coming with a top 10 was probably one of the hardest things I've done recently, so if your favorite show didn't make it, I am sorry. You just gotta understand I am dealing with too much greatness here. But before getting to my top 10 here are some honorable mentions:
"That's So Raven", "Clarissa Explains It All", "Legends Of The Hidden Temple" and "The Amanda Show."
Now, here it is my top 10 kids TV shows that hold a special place in the hearts of all Millenials:
10. "iCarly"
Giphy"iCarly" at its peak was one of the best Nickelodeon shows at its time. It was Miranda Cosgrove's big break, after playing an amazing part in "Drake & Josh" as their evil little sister, Meghan. The plot and characters were pretty innovating and original for its time. The plot revolved around how a couple of teenage girls (Sam & Carly) and a nerdy guy (Freddy) teamed up to create a web page, sort of like a YouTube channel, in which they did all sorts of crazy things to get more viewers. This show was very funny and entertaining. I already miss watching Gibby taking his shirt off all the time and watching Spencer coming up with something crazy all the time.
9. "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air"
GiphyOne of the most iconic shows of the late 90s and early 2000s, the Prince of Bel-Air was one of the funniest, most entertaining shows Nick has ever done. This one, in case you don't know, was about how a kid from Philly that is unwillingly sent to the rich neighborhood of Bel-Air to live with his uncles in order to escape "the gangster life". I remember very fondly watching reruns of this show almost every night when I was 7. It never got old, and it never disappointed me whenever I was looking for a good laugh.
8. "Wizards Of Waverly Place"
GiphyTo be completely honest I did not watch this show as often as all of the other shows in this list because at ten to fifteen years old I was already a pretty busy kid. I had soccer practice and MMA lessons exactly at the time this show streamed in Mexico. However, when I got to watch it on the weekends or during special TV marathons, I would literally watch it non-stop. I loved Alex and I thought that Max was hilarious. Also, the fact I am a huge Harry Potter fan made me watch this show simply because it had something to do with magic. This show was so good that it got its own movie back in 2009 and it probably gave birth to Selena Gomez's singing career.
7. "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody"
GiphyFor many of y'all this might have been a top five or maybe even a top four due to its longevity and the fact that it got a movie and kind of a spin-off ("Zack & Cody: The Suite Life On Deck"). In reality, I think this show might have been a little overrated by many of you but regardless, I still thought it was a great show. I watched it with my sister every once in a while and I remember this one being one of the very last shows I watched before I quit watching kids TV shows (sad, I know). It was funny and fresh. Both Zack and Cody were great characters and even several secondary characters like Moseby and London were absolutely fantastic.
6. "Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide"
GiphyThis one could have easily been a bit higher on the list for me, but I just couldn't put in any higher because I felt like putting it lower than some other shows in this list would be utter blasphemy for some of y'all. Ned's show, however, was probably my favorite for quite sometime when I was about nine years old. I loved the adventures Ned, Jennifer, and Simon would go on. Above all, I loved all the valuable lessons Ned taught me about how to go through middle school and high school. I can't tell you how many times I actually used his advice, it saved me from countless situations and it actually taught me how to better relate with others. Also, let me add that this show was one of the few shows that my overprotective mother would actually be happy I watched.
5. "Kenan & Kel"
GiphyHere in the top five is where opinion, subjectivity, and preference all come into play even in a larger scale because honestly any of these shows could be the GOAT. Landing in my number five, I got "Kenan & Kel". This show was one of the sole reasons I began watching Nickelodeon religiously. The adventures of these two goofballs were unforgettable and hilarious. Almost everything about this show was absolutely fantastic, heck, even the theme song of this show was lit! The personality of the characters in this series is almost unmatched. Kel was by far my absolute favorite. I loved his noble but foolish nature and how open he was about his love for orange soda. This show is definitely one of the GOATs and it pretty much paved the way for "Drake & Josh" later on.
4. "Lizzie McGuire"
GiphyMan, WHAT A SHOW. "Lizzie McGuire" was easily one of the shows that marked the beginning of the greatest era for kids' tv shows. It had a great storyline and comedy. The characters were fantastic and very unique in their own ways. You could tell how unique they were just by looking at how Lizzie's friend Miranda would dress or by how crazy good of a prankster her little brother, Matt, was. I also thought it was really cool that all of Lizzie's thoughts were interpreted by her little cartoon self. This show was so popular that it became one of the first shows to ever get its own movie. In fact, the movie made 20 million dollars just in the opening weekend, which was pretty crazy for the time.
3. "Zoey 101"
GiphyAll right folks, I am sorry, but not sorry, I put this show so high. Even though some of you may disagree, I gotta say this one is definitely one of my all time favorites and it was definitely my go-to watch show every day from 8:00 to 8:30 pm. (Yes, I still remember at what time it showed) This show had probably one of the best, if not the best story line of any other show in this list. The place where this show was filmed PCA (Pacific Coast Academy), also known in the real world as Pepperdine University, was absolutely gorgeous. Fun fact, I applied for admission there solely for the fact that "Zoey 101" was filmed there and yes, I did get in. Coming back from the digression, I just want to say that still to this day, one of my biggest and deepest desires, even though it may sound cheesy, is to see Zoey and Chase finally being together. I waited so long to see what would happened after that teaser that came out not so long ago, but man, we've gotten no response yet… I just hope we get that last episode to finally see what happens.
2. "Hannah Montana"
GiphyOne of the shows I hold closest to my heart not only because of all the time I spent watching but also because two of my biggest celebrity crushes were in it, those being Emily Osment and Miley Cyrus (before her transformation). This show was really entertaining and had some solid cast members, featuring my two crushes (Emily & Miley) as well as, Jason Earles, Mitchel Musso, and Moises Arias. Watching how Miley's crazy life used to be, was very fun and refreshing to me. Plus, this was the only show that my sister and I would legit sit down and watch every day of the week together. On top of that, the soundtrack and the songs Miley created after her big debut in the series were absolute fire. This show also got its movie and even its own video game, which my little sister loved to play back in the day.
1. "Drake & Josh"
GiphyFor me, the GOAT of kids real-life TV shows. "Drake & Josh" was hilarious and even though it wasn't that original because "Kenan & Kel" kinda came up with the idea of the two-brother series first, it was still and an absolute masterpiece. Nickelodeon basically took everything that was right with "Kenan & Kel" and did it even better with "Drake & Josh". Drake was super cool and kinda dumb, whereas Josh was the complete opposite, dorky and nerdy. The adventures of these two were awesome and the storyline was in fact pretty solid. As the show went on, you could see how the relationship between the two (Drake and Josh) kept growing with each passing episode. What made the difference for me was that this show genuinely showed how two completely different people can put aside all of their differences in order to bond and learn from each other, thus forming a relationship that is truly one of a kind.