CityKids (1993)

CityKids is an American live-action/puppet coming-of-age television series that aired on late Saturday mornings on ABC from 1993 to 1994. A co-production between the Jim Henson Company and Laurie Meadoff's CityKids Foundation, the show consists primarily of live action performances interspersed with Muppet segments, courtesy of Jim Henson Productions. These Muppets were original characters designed specifically for the show, and they often served as the Greek chorus for the show, commenting on the situations of the human characters, but not actually interacting with the cast. Similar to NBC's attempt of pushing the adolescent programming for late Saturday mornings with Saved By the Bell since 1989, CityKids was the first (and eventually the last) late Saturday morning series on ABC primarily targeted to a teenage audience, as well as one of the earliest shows produced by the Jim Henson Company at that time to be aimed at an older audience, along with Dinosaurs. However, the show failed to generate desirable ratings from any demographic, especially the teenage one, and the show was cancelled by ABC after one season, consequently airing strictly children's programs on the network the following year. Nevertheless, the series remains a cult classic and a one-season wonder, and was praised for tackling serious issues. The show's main theme song was composed by Malik Yoba & Raleigh J. Neal II, both of whom also composed other songs for the series and served as Musical Creative Supervisor for the show.