Like it or not, a retro television covers anything as recent as the year 2000. It’s scary, I know.

There are all kinds of retro, from the classic retro era of television in the 1960s, through modern retro shows of the 2000s that Gen Z, and to a certain extent Gen Alpha, is discovering for the first time.

Thanks to the popularity of streaming services, some of these retro shows are finding new popularity. With that in mind, we ran through the numbers and data to discover which retro shows have become popular streaming hits.

King of the Hill

King of the Hill has been a streaming mainstay for years.

Its popularity helped Hulu revive the series to rave reviews.

Beavis and Butt-Head

That’s not the only Mike Judge animated series to make its return.

Beavis and Butt-Head made its revival debut before King of the Hill on Paramount+, with a new season set to release later this year.

Friends

The recent popularity of Friends has been due to several reasons, with a notable one being Gen Z’s discovery of the show.

Its popularity helped it calculate over 25 billion minutes viewed on streaming services, according to Nielsen in 2023.

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Seinfeld

Not to be outdone in the Nielsen ratings, Seinfeld enjoyed its popularity boost when Netflix acquired the rights to the show in 2021.

With a 4K upgrade, the show has never looked better. It’s still pretty funny, too, after all these years.

Gilmore Girls

In 2018, Gilmore Girls was reportedly one of Netflix’s most-watched shows.

It accounted for 0.77% of Netflix views. Now, that doesn’t seem like a lot, but it had it ranked above notable shows like Frasier and Orange is the New Black.

The Golden Girls

The Golden Girls remains a timeless classic today, and with Hulu adding the entire series to its streaming library in 2017, a new audience has discovered the classic sitcom.

Unsurprisingly, the show received a huge bump in viewership following the death of Betty White in 2022, with over 40% of the streaming audience being between 35 and 49. It’s also incredibly popular in the LGBTQ community.

Twin Peaks

David Lynch’s mysterious drama developed a loyal cult following after its two seasons aired in the early 1990s.

It made a long-awaited return with the limited-run series Twin Peaks: The Return in 2017.

The Twilight Zone

The impact of The Twilight Zone is still felt today in several places.

First, there’s the obvious: CBS revived it for one of their CBS All Access patform in 2019 and 2020. Second, Netflix’s Black Mirror is heavily inspired by the classic anthology series. Still, sometimes, nothing beats the original.

The X-Files

Every year, more and more people discover The X-Files on streaming platforms, helping the cult classic slowly but surely reach the top tier of streaming shows.

Its popularity also helped spawn a revival in 2016. Given the show’s tendency to keep coming back, I wouldn’t be shocked if we see something pop up specifically for streaming services.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Speaking of cult classics, Buffy the Vampire Slayer remains an important part of television pop culture, thanks to the continued impact it has from streaming viewership.

It doesn’t come as a surprise that Hulu is currently developing a sequel series, with Sarah Michelle Gellar set to return.

Columbo

If you’re asking yourself why Columbo is seeing a surge in popularity in 2025, it’s the power of free streaming services like Tubi and Freevee.

As younger generations become increasingly frustrated with having to pay for multiple streaming services, they’re turning to free alternatives and finding out they’re packed with great content.

Murder, She Wrote

Speaking of Tubi, the free streaming service became the exclusive home to the classic Angela Lansbury crime drama series earlier this year.

Like Columbo, people are discovering the series for the first time and falling in love. Its popularity was undoubtedly boosted folowing Lansbury’s death in 2022.

The Nanny

One of the positives of streaming services adding or removing classic shows is that it sometimes forces you to find something new.

Younger audiences are doing that with The Nanny, as evidenced by its high streaming demand and availability on Peacock. Hey, it has more things than just The Office!

The Sopranos

It’s still a little weird calling The Sopranos retro, but it first aired in 1999. Before you know it, the show will be 30 years old.

People in their early 20s are now discovering the show, and in addition to making countless memes from the HBO classic, they’re discovering why it was so popular when it first aired.

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