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How Rickie from My So-Called Life Changed TV Forever

Matt Baume | June 20, 2026



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My So Called Life is one of the most influential TV shows that nobody watched. Airing from 1994 to 95, it broke the mold of how teen dramas were made. Especially with Rickie, a gay kid who struggled with bullying, finding love, and getting kicked out of his home. Rickie was a lifeline for queer kids of the 90s who felt like they were all alone. And even though ABC executives killed My So Called Life after just one season, veterans of the show went on to leave their mark with shows like Buffy, Glee, Gilmore Girls, Heartstopper, Love Victor, and lots more. So why is a one-season wonder from 30 years ago still having such a huge impact on TV today? This is the story of My So-Called Life, Rickie Vasquez — and how gay teens went from being TV outcasts to taking charge of their own stories.

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Written by Matt Baume

Comments

This post currently has 31 comments.

  1. @evahessse

    June 20, 2026 at 7:19 am

    "Nobody watched"!? It was my life!!! I recorded every episode on VSH. I grew up at a farm in the Norwegian woods – I think they aired it on Swedish TV or NRK. But yeah I had red hair and Angela was my Queen!!

  2. @Nipponsuki

    June 20, 2026 at 7:19 am

    My middle school self and classmates were all about this show . There is no Xennial that did not know about this show lol. This is such a well written piece thanks for all the thoughtful effort. This is the first I've seen this channel but definitly subscribing.

  3. @inkythinky

    June 20, 2026 at 7:19 am

    The idea that in the 1990s “Advertisers didn’t know you could sell to teenage girls” is quite possibly the most insane thing I have ever heard.

  4. @inkythinky

    June 20, 2026 at 7:19 am

    Oh my god the quick cut costume change just as Angela dyes her hair! Just when I think your videos couldn’t get more delightful. And then casually tossing off the “opinionation” Blossom joke 😭

  5. @judith.berkheimer.5960

    June 20, 2026 at 7:19 am

    I was in my 40’s and because a part of me never left my teen years, I identified with all these kids. I was madly in love in my senior year and that relationship lasted all through college….i understood every glance, every thought behind a silence and loved the honest performances. In fact, I’m 79 and still a romantic and still part teenager…I’m going to watch it again….and look again behind the smiles and the eyes.

  6. @hotarugirl16

    June 20, 2026 at 7:19 am

    I cannot tell you how much this episode affirmed my life and experiences in my teens and early 20s. First I was the confusing kid and then I was the teacher stuck between kids like me and a system that could ruin my life.
    It was so long ago, and so far from my very out life now that it didn't feel real anymore.
    I love all your videos but this one has made me need to do a lot of shadow work and I appreciate it. ❤

  7. @analog9chaos

    June 20, 2026 at 7:19 am

    I love Rickie so very much ❤ Gay men have been my allies since I can remember, and (as a usually het-passing woman) I have always been theirs. Maybe it was because my favorite uncle was gay, or my mom is basically nonbinary, but I wouldn’t hesitate to go to bat for someone like Rickie. We’d have been best friends.

  8. @sherry2641

    June 20, 2026 at 7:19 am

    I was so in love with my gay best friend. He never said he was gay but I knew and for him. I think it was comforting. He ended up moving across the country and broke my heart, but he's the most amazing and kind person I know and is living as his authentic self ❤

  9. @janejtaylor

    June 20, 2026 at 7:19 am

    18:33 one of the greatest moments I’ve had on YouTube
    Matt, you scamp, I love you

    30:51 Why aren’t we talking about the EPIC song choice in this scene? That was my first time hearing Haddaway! One of many many reasons I LOVED this episode

    54:16 “Networks and advertisers did not understand you could sell to adolescent girls“? What! How could that possibly have been true in the 90s?

  10. @flexiblenerd

    June 20, 2026 at 7:19 am

    I sometimes feel almost sort of guilty because I didn't realize I'm "flexible" until I was in my 20s, and I didn't have any of the horrible experiences that so many lgbtq people have; it's hard for me to relate. People ask "who was your queer awakening" but if someone was to ask me who was my bi awakening…I dunno, honestly. I…kinda got into it through…ahem. Adult entertainment. And then I found androgynous models online and started realizing that yeah, I'm really into these guys whose gender you can't immediately tell, the more effeminate the better. And then it sort of went from there. My dad found some stuff on an old computer of mine and took me to a coffee shop, and…well, that's how he found out what I was still exploring. That's been…what, 15 years ago now? Roughly?

    And I don't really get out much, but I hear so many stories about people whose experiences have been so horrific because people suck. It's all over the lgbtq communities out there, and we're the only support we have. Honestly feel more like an ally sometimes than a bi guy who wishes so many things about my life were different, including that I had more freedom to explore certain sides of myself. There's fear there even though I don't usually face the kind of prejudice that so many people do, and my heart aches for real people who have experiences like the character this guy played.

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