How social media is driving television's 1990s revivals

The truth is out there ... and we may have social media to thank for its return.

The X-Filesis just one of manyTV shows from the 1990s set to make a return, with a six-episode run on Fox expected to start shooting in Vancouver this summer.

Last week, we learned the sitcom Full Houseis also coming back, with 13 episodes on Netflix. The cult drama Twin Peaks is alsobeing revived by Showtime,and the comedyCoachwill return onNBC.

• Twin Peaks revival slated for Showtime in 2016
• David Lynch quits Twin Peaks revival

Of all the revivals, the last has Scott Henderson scratching his head.He's the chair of the department of communication, popular culture and film at Brock University.

"Coach is probably the biggest surprise to me," said Henderson. "It seemed to be a well-liked show by people and well remembered, but it never ever had the cultural cachet that some of the other shows of its era did."

Culturalcachet

"But no surprise on Full House,"Hendersonsays.

He explains that the family-friendly sitcom maintains itscultural cachet because many of the sitcom's starshave remained in the public eye.

That includes the actingtwins turnedfashion designers, Mary Kate and AshleyOlsen, comedianBob Saget, and actor/producerJohn Stamos,

• Full House reunion and spinoff Fuller House confirmed by John Stamos, Netflix

Full House has also run heavily in syndication.

Active fans on social media offer valuable publicity

The secret to the success of these revivals is online, Henderson explains, because the shows' fans belong tothe same demographic that is most active on social media.

"You can look to social networks and you can see the popularity of something like Full House," he says.

"You know that if you re-release a cult show like the X-Files that the big fans of those shows are going to tweet that ...And all of a sudden you're getting all this kind of free publicity that's aimed at exactly the audience you need."

• X-Files returns to TV after 13 years off the air

He also suggests that this audience unique,which is why networks are attempting the revivals now.

Hendersonsays the children and young adults of the '90s were the final generation of viewers before the internet.

Theywere TV viewers during a time when many people watched the same shows, because there were fewer choices.

"For those who grew up in the '90s, there's still a sense ofit having been a simpler time," he says.

Comfort food

"Soit's comfort food in a way, andit's a shared sense of identity. Wecan all remember watching those shows as we grew up, and no matter where we were, there was sort of a shared mass culture."

Henderson says we don't have a shared mass culture in the same way now, because of a fractured entertainment market.Anyone can watch what they want when they want, and the children growing up today won't necessarily have watched the same things.

This iswhy he says he expects television executives will be keeping a close eye on the success of revivals such as Fuller House.