Clarissa Explains It All is an American teen sitcom created by Mitchell Kriegman for Nickelodeon. In the series, Clarissa Darling (Melissa Joan Hart) is a teenager who addresses the audience directly to explain the things that are happening in her life, dealing with typical adolescent concerns such as school, boys, pimples, wearing her first training bra, and an annoying younger brother.

A total of 65 episodes were produced and aired from March 23, 1991, From August 1992 onwards, the series headlined the popular SNICK (Saturday Night Nickelodeon) lineup. Reruns of the show have appeared intermittently on TeenNick's channel block The '90s Are All That, eventually NickRewind, from 2011 to 2020.

A pilot for a spin-off series was filmed titled "Clarissa Now". It featured Clarissa as an intern at a newspaper in New York City. The pilot was not picked up, and aired once as a special on Nickelodeon.

In 2015, Kriegman released a novel, Things I Can't Explain, which serves as a sequel to the series. In the novel, Clarissa is now in her late 20s and trying to navigate life as an adult. In March 2018, it was reported that a sequel to the series was in development at Nickelodeon, with Clarissa now as a mother. In March 2022, Hart revealed the reboot was not moving forward at Nickelodeon. Its popularity among both boys and girls also helped to debunk a myth that a children's series with a female lead would not appeal to boys.

Clarissa dealt with normal adolescent issues such as first crushes, getting a driver's license and preparing for college and working. These topics were dealt with far less dramatically than they were on other similar shows at the time (such as Full House and Blossom).

Clarissa Explains It All was the second sitcom to premiere on Nickelodeon in 1991, after Hey Dude ended its run. It consisted entirely of a melody sung on the syllable "Na," punctuated with the occasional "Way cool!" or "All right! All right!" and underscored by rhythmic instrumentation, ending with a resounding "Just do it!"

A pilot for a follow-up series, Clarissa, was shot for CBS in 1995, but was not picked up by the network. The pilot was shown on two occasions on Nickelodeon after the original series had ended production. The new series would have involved Clarissa's internship at a New York City newspaper. Comedian Robert Klein costarred in the pilot as the newspaper's editor. Supporting roles were played by Marian Seldes and Lisa Gay Hamilton. In 2002, Hart said that she would not be interested in a cast reunion project: "No. Shirley Temple taught me one thing. And that was once you finish a career, you move on." In her next television series, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, her character actually did become a journalist.

Broadcast

After debuting on Saturday, March 23, 1991, at 6 p.m, and repeating twice the next day, Clarissa Explains It All moved to Sundays at 12:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. starting on April 7, 1991. The show aired in reruns on the NickRewind block from March 23, 2020, to April 19, 2020.

Home video releases

From 1994 to 95, a number of VHS tapes were released through Sony Wonder each containing 2 or 3 episodes alongside other Nickelodeon shows, usually centered around a certain theme such as school, dating, or sibling rivalry. The final VHS release released on March 21, 1995 was the final time that Hart and Zimbler portrayed their respective characters, Clarissa and Ferguson, on screen together.

In May 2005, the show's first season was released on DVD as part of the Nickelodeon Rewind Collection by Viacom's corporate subsidiary, Paramount Pictures. The second season was scheduled to be released a few months later, but it was pulled from Paramount Pictures' release schedule. To this date, there are no plans to release the series further on DVD.

Season one is also available on iTunes, Xbox Live, and the PlayStation Store. Various episodes from the five seasons of the series are also available on Paramount+.

Awards

In 1994, the series was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program. In addition, Hart, O'Neal, and Zimbler also received multiple Young Artist Award nominations. Hart won three competitive Young Artist Awards during the show's original run, as well as receiving the association's honorary Former Child Star Award in 2013 for her role as Clarissa.

Reboot

In March 2018, The Hollywood Reporter said a reboot of the show was "in early development" at Nickelodeon. Hart was reportedly to reprise her role as the title character, who would now be a mother. Hart was also to serve as executive producer on the series alongside original series creator Kriegman, who was in talks to return as a writer. The reports were not confirmed by any of the participants.

  • The New York electropunk group Mindless Self Indulgence referred to the show in the song "Clarissa" from their 2000 album Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy.
  • In the TV show Melissa & Joey, which also stars Melissa Joan Hart, the character Lennox has a blog titled "Lennox Explains It All", a nod to the show.
  • The show has been featured in an online meme-based campaign to bring attention to racism, called "Clarissa Explains White Supremacy".
  • In 2015, show creator Mitchell Kriegman wrote a novel, Things I Can't Explain: A Clarissa Novel, described as a "re-imagining" of the show.

References

Further reading

  • Clarissa Explains It All at Paramount Plus