Punky Brewster (Seasons 1–4)

Punky Brewster (1984) is a family sitcom you can watch online on iFILM. It's the story of an abandoned little girl and her dog who are taken in by a grumpy apartment-building manager. Soleil Moon Frye stars as Punky, with George Gaynes as the reluctant guardian who ends up raising her.

Punky's mother left her behind, and she's on her own in big-city Chicago with only her dog Brandon for company. She's discovered by Henry, an aging, cranky, lonely man who runs the building and wants nothing to do with a kid at first. Bit by bit, two strangers turn into a family. Episodes are short and self-contained: school, friendship, small first heartbreaks, and the occasional heavier subject handled gently.

The show became a fixture of 1980s American TV — Punky's loud mismatched outfits and sunny stubbornness seeped into pop culture, and her name even attached itself to the so-called "Punky Brewster effect." Sentimental, kid-friendly comfort viewing for anyone who misses the sitcoms of that decade. Stream Punky Brewster (1984) online on iFILM.