Vice
Hit docuseries “Dark Side of the 90s” is back for its second season, premiering Tuesday, June 14 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Vice.
If you don’t have cable, here are some different ways you can watch “Dark Side of the 90s” online for free:
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DirecTV Stream
DirecTV Stream has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” Vice is included in all of them, and you can pick any package and any add-on you want with your free five-day trial:
Once signed up for DirecTV Stream, you can watch “Dark Side of the 90s” live on the DirecTV Stream app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the DirecTV Stream website.
Philo TV
You can watch a live stream of Vice and 60+ other TV channels on Philo TV, which comes with a seven-day free trial:
Once signed up for Philo, you can watch “Dark Side of the 90s” live on the Philo app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast (compatible on Android mobile), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. You can also watch on your computer on the Philo website.
Hulu With Live TV
You can watch a live stream of Vice and 65+ other TV channels via Hulu With Live TV, which doesn’t come with a free trial but now includes access to both ESPN+ and Disney+:
Once signed up for Hulu With Live TV, you can watch “Dark Side of the 90s” live on the Hulu app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, PlayStation 4 or 5, Nintendo Switch, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the Hulu website.
‘Dark Side of the 90s’ Preview
The first season of “Dark Side of the 90s” aired in the summer of 2021 and tacked tabloid television, specifically “The Jerry Springer Show”; Johnny Depp’s Viper Room night club and the death of River Phoenix; teen TV shows like “Beverly Hills, 90210”; the rise and fall of collecting Beanie Babies’ the start of grunge music; “Baywatch,” especially Pamela Anderson’s sex tape with Tommy Lee; the Branch Davidian and Heaven’s Gate cults; the East Coast vs West Coast hip hop wars; the rise of supermodels; and the dot.com bubble when the internet was in its infancy.
Now the show returns with 10 new episodes looking at some of the biggest pop culture touchstones of the 90s and what was going on that the public might not have been aware of. The Vice press release teases that the show “takes a deep dive into the decade’s untold history, revealing secrets, and perspectives.”
It continues:
“Dark Side of the 90s” reveals the soul of the decade through the pop culture moments, trends and people that captivated us. From the famous to the infamous, each episode tells a story that cultivates the warm and fuzzy familiarity of nostalgia, but surprises with revelations of the dark truths that existed in the shadows of the glitz, the glamour and the headlines.
Trapped between boy bands and hip hop, silicone implants and Silicon Valley, the 90s were a decade of extremes. The economy was booming, the internet was teething and TV was getting better than ever before. But the 90s were also the evolution of the celebrity obsession, when only the most sordid and scandalous headlines could sate the public’s supersized appetites. All that fame, all that attention we slathered upon them took its toll — behind those bright lights was a world of shadows that concealed dark secrets.
The second season will examine such events and people as Arsenio Hall, Maury Povich, “COPS,” “The Real World,” MMA and UFC, and Amy Fisher shooting the wife of her lover, Joey Buttafuoco, who himself committed statutory rape when he began having an affair with the then-17-year-old Fisher.
Musician Mark McGrath of the band Sugar Ray returns as the narrator for the second season.
“The 90s was such a pivotal time for me and my career,“ said McGrath in a statement. “Pop culture as we know it was just starting to take off and things like the internet and celebrity scandals and reality tv were being brought right into people’s living rooms. I’m stoked to be a part of this series as we unearth some of that decade’s most precious secrets.”
The premiere episode is titled “Arseniooo Hall!” and its description reads, “Arsenio Hall carves out a niche in the white, late-night world by showcasing hip-hop artists and emerging talent; despite his success, he becomes a casualty in the late-night wars.”
Then on June 21 comes episode two, titled “MTV & The Real World.” Its description reads, “MTV’s ‘The Real World’ is television with something to say, with a soap opera twist; however, when MTV gets rich from reality TV, they trade in realness for fart jokes and hot tubs.”
“Dark Side of the 90s” premieres Tuesday, June 14 at 9 p.m. Eastern and Pacific times on Vice.