Dark Side of the 90s

3 seasons available

A look at the most captivating pop-culture moments, trends and personalities of the decade through interviews with people who studied the time period.
Tyson: The Rise and Fall of Kid Dynamite
S3 E1

Tyson reshaped boxing, becoming a pop culture sensation, feared for his violence and seeming invincibility; but in the end, he'll face the greatest opponent of his life: himself.

Friends: the One About the TV Show
S3 E2

Friends is must-see TV but some of the cast struggle under the weight of sudden and massive fame with painfully public addictions and at least one near-death experience.

NYPD Blue
S3 E3

NYPD Blue forever changes TV with its use of nudity, violence and profanity; heavy scrutiny from special interest groups will nearly get it cancelled before it ever even airs.

Robert Downey Jr.: The Comeback Kid
S3 E4

Robert Downey Jr. turns his troubled backstory into a superpower; while battling a string of addictions, Downey reinvents himself into one of the most celebrated actors today.

SNL
S3 E5

For almost 50 years, SNL has launched comedy careers, but if one's lucky enough to get in, one may never get out alive.

Infomercials: Shams and Scams
S3 E6

Infomercials mark the Golden Age of the Con Job. These shameless 90s scam artists vie to become top dog in a cutthroat industry--leaving a trail of misery in their wake.

Spice Girls
S3 E7

The Spice Girls are one of the biggest pop acts ever. But behind the glitz and glamour, they battle blackmail, eating disorders, death threats, abusive relationships and addiction.

Agassi & '90s Tennis Prodigies
S3 E8

Enfant terrible Andre Agassi leads a handful of prodigies to shake up the stodgy sport of tennis; athletes become international celebrities, but their fame comes at a cost.

Scores Strip Club: Girls & Gambinos
S3 E9

Scores becomes a celebrity hangout; but when the club attracts the costly protection of the Gambino crime family, getting out of bed with the mob means getting in with the FBI.

Rave Culture: Under the Influence
S3 E10

Rave culture is a euphoric cocktail of electronic dance music, synthetic party drugs, and optimism; where there are drugs there is also exploitation, violence, and moral panic.

Arseniooo Hall!
S2 E1

Arsenio Hall carves out a niche in the white, late-night world by showcasing hip-hop artists and emerging talent; despite his success, he becomes a casualty in the late-night wars.

MTV & The Real World
S2 E2

MTV's "The Real World" is television with something to say, with a soap opera twist; however, when MTV gets rich from reality TV, they trade in realness for fart jokes and hot tubs.

Cops: Bad Boys, Bad Boys
S2 E3

When "Cops" hits the airwaves, the gritty reality of police work becomes a phenomenon and, despite being the longest running prime-time live-action series, it is mired in controversy.

UFC Pt. 1: No Holds Barred
S2 E4

Ken Shamrock and the UFC are joined at the knuckle; dubbed human cockfighting, the UFC fights senators and scandals in a battle that almost ends the sport before it begins.

UFC Pt. 2: To Live or Die in the Octagon
S2 E5

Thirty-six states ban no-holds-barred fighting, and the UFC's future is grim; star fighter Ken Shamrock is also in trouble and needs a guardian angel to get him back on his feet.

Tabloid TV
S2 E6

With sex, attempted murder and betrayal, nothing personifies the tabloidization of 1990s America better than the story of how Amy Fisher shot Mary Jo Buttafuoco in the head.

Black Sitcoms' Last Laugh
S2 E7

Black comedies explode in the '90s, with sitcoms written and produced by Black creators and featuring Black casts; however, no culture is immune to the toxicity of fame and power.

The Rise of Rush Limbaugh
S2 E8

Rush Limbaugh is conservative radio's first megastar, claiming to have talent on loan from God.

Y2K: Paranoia Will Destroy Ya
S2 E9

At the end of the decade, the fear of an apocalypse looms; two men become the stars of the real-life action thriller known as the Y2K scare.

Morning Show Wars
S2 E10

Morning TV is the profit center of the news divisions that produce them; "Today" and "Good Morning America" battle for dominance where there's no room for failure.

Trash TV: Dirty and Deadly Talk
S1 E1

As 1990s talk TV evolves from the cerebral "Donahue" to the trashy "Jerry Springer," the new format fuses combustive relationships, shock and violence to entertain the masses.

The Viper Room: Hollywood's Sanctuary
S1 E2

The Viper Room was a refuge for young Hollywood to hide from the prying eyes of the press, until one fateful night when the death of a rising star instantly made it headline news.

TV for Teens
S1 E3

The story of how the upstart Fox Network forever changed television, and continues to have prevalence decades later.

Beanie Babies Go Bust
S1 E4

In the '90s, parents and kids bonded over collecting playful plush toys known as Beanie Babies until the toy's creator, Ty Warner, used the internet's power to create a frenzied market.

Grunge and the Seattle Sound
S1 E5

Sub Pop's classic '90s indie ethos was tested when they chased mainstream money; the story of grunge told through the eyes of the little label that started it all.

Baywatch: Sex Sells
S1 E6

The Southern California sun, action and laser-focus on beauty make "Baywatch" appeal to more than a billion people worldwide.

A Tale of Two Cults
S1 E7

Doomsday cults emerged in the 90s, seizing on Y2K fears; while we watched the Waco massacre on TV, Heaven's Gate leader, Marshall Applewhite, made his own plan.

Hip Hop: The East vs. West Media War
S1 E8

Hip-hop in the 1990s faces an uphill fight for airplay and recognition; when the media finally catches on, it tells a story that twists the narrative, sometimes with dangerous consequences.

Secrets of the Runway
S1 E9

Nineties supermodels were part rock stars and part royalty, but off the runway, many were abused by men using their power to conceal an ugly secret.

Internet 1.0: Don't Believe the Hype
S1 E10

In the 1990s, the surge of internet-exclusive companies captures the dreams and greed of American investors; in its wake, the beloved Pets.com puppet is killed.