# Clarissa Explains It All (1991)

> A teen girl navigates school, boys, and an annoying little brother while speaking directly to the audience.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/tv/231

## Facts

- Seasons: 5
- Episodes: 65
- Episode runtime: 25 min
- Status: Ended
- Genres: comedy, family
- Created by: Mitchell Kriegman
- Network: Nickelodeon
- Cast: Melissa Joan Hart, Jason Zimbler, Elizabeth Hess, Joe O'Connor, Sean O'Neal, Heather MacRae, Nicole Leach, James Van Der Beek
- TMDB rating: 7.1/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101065/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: brisk
- Intensity: mild
- Complexity: simple
- Violence: none
- Tone: joyful, breezy, comforting, witty, satirical

## What critics say

Audiences received the series as a mixed but warmly remembered Nickelodeon teen sitcom, valued for its fourth-wall-breaking humor and relatable take on pre-teen life.

## Synopsis

Clarissa Explains It All (1991-1994) is an American Nickelodeon teen sitcom created by Mitchell Kriegman. Melissa Joan Hart plays Clarissa Darling, a wisecracking pre-teen who turns to the camera to explain her troubles with school, crushes, pimples and her first training bra. Her chief antagonist is her meddling little brother Ferguson, played by Jason Zimbler, and the household is rounded out by parents Janet (Elizabeth Hess) and Marshall Darling (Joe O'Connor), plus neighbor Sam Anders (Sean O'Neal). The engine of each episode is simple: Clarissa wants a normal social life and a little independence, and the everyday chaos of a suburban family keeps getting in the way. Stories unfold as self-contained half-hour comedies, with the direct-address confessionals doing much of the comic work and each episode closing on a neat, warm resolution. The show runs five seasons and sixty-five episodes in a classic multi-camera family format. Set in a contemporary suburban American home of the early 1990s, it has a joyful, breezy, satirical edge that suits viewers who loved Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Full House and the wider Nickelodeon sitcom tradition. Fans of Sabrina the Teenage Witch and Full House will find the same mix of sibling comedy and friendly family warmth here.

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