The Pop Culture Icon That Was TGIF

 September 22nd, 2024 marks 35 years of TGIF, the ABC Friday night block of sitcoms that ran originally for 11 years ending in 2000. It was so successful though it was revived on two different occasions first in 2005 and again in 2018, but neither was nowhere near as successful as the original run.

TGIF which most people know as "Thank God It's Friday" was instead known in this instance as "Thank Goodness It's Friday". The 2 hour block is well known for gracing our screens with sitcoms such as Full House, Perfect Strangers, Family Matters, Hangin' With Mr. Cooper, Step By Step, Boy Meets World and the list goes on and on.

While rival network NBC had it's Thursday night block of sitcoms called Must See TV for the adults, TGIF was the place to be for everyone else. Especially as a kid during the 90's where on demand wasn't a thing, and the internet was in its infancy. Sitting in front of the TV watching those sitcoms was the place to be.

Oh man if my mom had errands to run and I had no choice but to tag along. I always mentioned TGIF comes on tonight, like I had any real control of anything lol. For most people it was a routine, order takeout after a long week of school or work sometimes both, visit Blockbuster to get a newly released movie for the weekend and get home before 8:00 pm.

The night usually started of the catchy TGIF theme song to get the mood right. The block would have cast members from the sitcoms being "hosts" for the night. With interstitial between commercials commenting on the line up for the night. They even had occasional crossover episodes between the sitcoms. Looking back some of the storylines and acting were definitely on the cheesy side a very 90's staple, but we as audiences cared about the characters in the sitcoms and not just for one or two shows, but usually all that aired in that block. 

When a sitcom on a different night wasn't successful but the network had hopes for it, they found a way to get it on Fridays. When ABC cancelled Family Matters and Step By Step, CBS scooped them up and kickoff their own Friday block of sitcoms, hoping to replicate the success of TGIF.

It's really hard to quantify in words just how much TGIF ruled back in the 90's. Even in the late 90's and early 2000's when it was starting to fade, it still had it's loyalist who tuned in to whatever was associated with that block. The heavy hitter sitcoms that were known for being on TGIF are still heavily played on syndication and streaming, which is a testament to how successful those shows were and the legacy of the block. 

It truly was a special time in TV land, and with the way networks and streaming services are now will never be replicated. TGIF was a pop culture icon and you had to be there to truly appreciate it.