The Rembrandts will always be best remembered for performing the theme song to Friends, but it wasn’t supposed to be that way.

Mad that It’s Always Sunny in Philadephia and the updated Hawaii Five-0 theme songs didn’t make it? (Truth be told, they almost did.) Tell us all about it in the comments!Ĭomposers: Phil Sōlem, Danny Wilde, David Crane, Marta Kauffman, Michael Skloff, and Allee Willis Where do your favorites rank - and which ones failed to make the cut? Read on to find out! While narrowing the list was painful, the fun of reliving these classic opening credits more than made up for it. Focusing on shows that aired the majority of their runs between 1998 – the year Rotten Tomatoes was born! – and now, we rounded up the best the era had to offer. Sitcoms, heart-tugging dramas, gritty procedurals, even news shows and reality television - they’ve all used theme songs over the decades, and even though the shifting demands of a largely ad-supported medium have helped drive some significant changes to the form in recent years, it remains one of the most instantly and enduringly effective ways to get a new viewer’s attention… or trigger those sweet TV endorphins in someone who’s already a fan.Īll of which is to say that any celebration of Rotten Tomatoes’ 21st anniversary would be incomplete without a tribute to our favorite small-screen theme songs of the last 21 years. That’s where a great theme song comes in. Once you’ve done all that, you still need to set the stage for your show by letting audiences know what kind of viewing experience they can expect - and do it fast enough to hook viewers before they drift off to the ever-expanding array of other options. Of course, it’s also hard to overestimate the importance of finding the right cast - not only in terms of the qualities that each individual star brings to the series, but the chemistry they all share onscreen. What are the essential ingredients of a classic TV show? A sturdy premise is definitely necessary, and you really can’t get far without a team of talented people behind the scenes, from the showrunner to the writers and directors. In 2019, Rotten Tomatoes turns 21, and to mark the occasion we’re celebrating with a series of features that look back at the brightest moments on screen of the past two decades – and one year – and the things that have us excited for the future.

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