[3][5] In the series, Clarissa Darling (Melissa Joan Hart)[6][7][8] is a teenager who addresses the audience directly to explain the things that are happening in her life, dealing with typical adolescent concerns such as school, boys, pimples, wearing her first training bra, and an annoying younger brother.

[4] From August 1992 onwards, the series headlined the popular SNICK (Saturday Night Nickelodeon) lineup.

In 2015, Kriegman released a novel, Things I Can't Explain, which serves as a sequel to the series.

[13] The main characters in the show are Clarissa Darling, her family (consisting of her father Marshall, her mother Janet, and her younger brother Ferguson) and her best friend Sam, all living in a small, unnamed suburban town somewhere in Ohio.

Clarissa had a pet baby alligator, Elvis, which she kept in a kiddie-sandbox and appeared sporadically in early episodes.

[16][17] Clarissa dealt with normal adolescent issues such as first crushes, getting a driver's license and preparing for college and working.

These topics were dealt with far less dramatically than they were on other similar shows at the time (such as Full House and Blossom).

Although terms like "hell" and "sex drive" were occasionally uttered during the show's run, most dialogue was kept family-friendly.

One running gag involved her friend Sam often entering the scene by a ladder (accompanied by a characteristic chord of guitar music) through her bedroom window.

Unique to the show was Clarissa's tendency to tackle the episode's central theme through the creation of a fictional video game.

After debuting on Saturday, March 23, 1991, at 6 p.m, and repeating twice the next day, Clarissa Explains It All moved to Sundays at 12:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. starting on April 7, 1991.

[3] The following year the show moved to anchor the SNICK block of Saturday-night Nickelodeon programming, airing at 8 p.m. Saturdays starting on August 15, 1992.

[24] From 1994 to 95, a number of VHS tapes were released through Sony Wonder each containing 2 or 3 episodes alongside other Nickelodeon shows, usually centered around a certain theme such as school, dating, or sibling rivalry.

In May 2005, the show's first season was released on DVD as part of the Nickelodeon Rewind Collection by Viacom's corporate subsidiary, Paramount Pictures.

[27] In addition, Hart, O'Neal, and Zimbler also received multiple Young Artist Award nominations.