A yearning for gentler times is fueling a ’90s pop culture comeback in the zeitgeist that is not slowing down. The 1990s were a time free of iPhones and social media that demands constant attention, isolating us in an illusion of digital connection as algorithms feed us what we want to see. On the surface, the world seemed less ideologically divided and more hopeful under the Bill Clinton administration with all its well-documented flaws. Looking back, memories of the ‘90s feel like collective comfort food that media and marketing are referencing in order to profit.
This week, TV networks and streaming services trotted out their newest wares to entice the support of advertisers at Upfront Week in New York City. Among the highlights of the Fox Network’s presentation on May 11 was the cast of the much-publicized Baywatch reboot. The series, headed by Arrow star Stephen Amell, will debut in January of 2027 and puts a contemporary spin on the Baywatch formula by including influencers and reality TV celebrities Noah Beck, Brooks Nader, and Livvy Dunne in the cast. Nader, a Sports Illustrated cover model, is poised to be the reboot’s heir apparent to ‘90s bombshells Pamela Anderson and Carmen Electra, whom she praised as iconic in recent red-carpet interviews to promote the show.
Recreating the 1990s
Anderson, arguably the reigning sex symbol of the Baywatch era, which lasted from 1989 to 2003, is enjoying a career comeback thanks, ironically, to Pam & Tommy, Hulu’s 2022 unauthorized limited series that dramatized the theft of the private sex tape shot by Anderson with her then-husband Tommy Lee and how it was marketed to the public without their consent. Although Anderson spoke out against the show, accusing it of exploiting this traumatic incident in her life, there’s no denying that its success reignited media interest in her pop-culture heyday, especially her signature Baywatch style, which was uncannily recreated by star Lily James.
Anderson and her business-savvy sons capitalized on the renewed attention to orchestrate a career revival that included a Netflix documentary, the publication of her memoir and a cookbook, and the launch of a skincare line. The Pamela renaissance peaked with a career-best performance in The Last Showgirl which earned her nominations for Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards.
Anderson’s second act continues. After publicly going makeup-free at Paris Fashion Week in 2023, Anderson’s image overhaul drew endorsement deals seeking to tap into her new, fresh-faced, personal brand. In March, American Eagle Outfitters introduced a campaign for its Aerie intimate apparel brand starring Anderson as an advocate for promoting natural body images that eschew AI intervention.
At FX, mega producer Ryan Murphy struck ratings gold yet again with Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette. Set in the 1990s, the limited series drew high-profile criticism, notably from actress Daryl Hannah and Kennedy’s nephew Jack Schlossberg, for its fictionalized dramatizations of elements of the doomed couple’s lives, but it also dominated social media buzz thanks to its sentimental depiction of a glamorous era in New York City history that is sorely missed. Viewers praised the show’s ‘90s soundtrack and its minimalist fashions while leads Sarah Pidgeon and Paul Anthony Kelly became freshly minted stars thanks to Murphy’s Midas touch.
Revisiting Melrose Place
Another decade-defining series, Melrose Place, returned to the spotlight in People’s recent “World’s Most Beautiful” issue, which featured a reunion of original stars Courtney Thorne-Smith, Daphne Zuniga, and Heather Locklear, among others. In 2025, Thorne-Smith and Zuniga, along with Laura Leighton, co-hosted Still the Place, a podcast that revisits the series’ episodes with guest appearances by former cast members. The podcast was created to stoke interest in a possible Melrose revival, which notably failed when the now-defunct CW network tried it back in 2009 with a new cast supported by guest appearances from original cast members. But not even the return of Locklear as iconic villainous Amanda Woodward could save the project. If another reboot happens, its chances of success might be greatly enhanced if Marcia Cross were to return as Dr. Kimberly Shaw.
At movie theaters, Mortal Kombat, one of the biggest video game franchises of the ‘90s, proved the appeal of retro IP when Mortal Kombat 2, with a cast led by The Boys star Karl Urban, opened to $40 million domestically this past weekend. Although the opening was softer than industry estimates had projected, affected by competition from the Michael Jackson bio film Michael and The Devil Wears Prada 2, plans for a third installment of the rebooted series are in development according to Variety.
As in all things, success is predicated on execution and attention to detail. If marketers keep the expectations and needs of their target market in sight, they have the best chance of reaping the rewards, even if they tweak IP for modern times. Ryan Murphy, who consistently delivers for FX with highly commercial, larger-than-life retellings of historical events, is the one to watch.
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