“My So-Called Life” Creator Reveals How Barbra Streisand Inspired the Beloved High School Show (Exclusive)

Writer Winnie Holzman reflects on the iconic TV show's decades-long legacy and its powerful impact on viewers on the 30th anniversary of the premiere

When Winnie Holzman looks back on My So-Called Life, it’s with fondness and gratitude. Only 19 episodes aired before the show was canceled in 1995, but its effect on viewers and pop culture runs deep.

The show centered around high schooler Angela Chase, played by Claire Danes, and her social circle as they navigated life in suburban Pittsburgh. Unlike other shows at the time, episodes tackled challenging subjects including teen sex, guns in school and drugs and alcohol.

Holzman's writing resonated with fans who identified with the Liberty High School students thanks to each character's depth and complexity. "I was interested in the idea that there are these stereotypes that one takes on, these personas that one often is labeled in high school," Holzman tells PEOPLE exclusively on the 30th anniversary of the premiere. "Like the good girl, the slutty girl, the bad boy, the smart kid, the nerdy kid. What I was playing with and exploring was the idea that people are a stereotype, but there's so much more."

Related: My So-Called Life Cast: Where Are They Now?

That idea was partially inspired by the 1973 Barbra Streisand movie The Way We Were. "As a Jewish woman, a lot of times the way Jewish women have been depicted on TV has been in a very stereotyped way, and historically not with a lot of complexity or depth. And when I saw a movie like Barbra Streisand in The Way We Were, here's a Jewish woman, she's in a romance, she's considered beautiful by Robert Redford, who was the hunk of the day She's being treated with respect and being shown to be beautiful, being shown to be worthy of admiration, and still be intelligent and express herself. That blew my mind when I was a young woman."

She continues, "It's always stayed with me, the power of putting people on screen who maybe haven't been depicted — or haven't been depicted fairly — with respect," she says. "I was doing that in general with teenagers. I'm not saying I'm the only person who ever did that, but I wanted to show respect for these people who were that age."

Despite only lasting one season, the show lived on in syndication and is now streaming, earning a new generation of fans. Holzman says she's "grateful” that people "still feel connected" to the show.

“You want to feel that you moved people, that they felt connected to the characters, that they maybe even loved the characters. ... I love that it's resonated for people, that it stayed with people. That makes me very happy.”

One character many fans feel connected to is Rickie Vasquez (played by Wilson Cruz, 50), Angela's big-hearted half-Puerto Rican, half-Black gay best friend — and the first openly gay teen on primetime TV.

Rickie faced hardships, including homophobia and homeless, but remained positive. For Holzman, Cruz was a “beacon of light” who instantly snagged the part. “You just felt his goodness and kindness,” she shares.

Related: Wilson Cruz Reflects on How 'My So-Called Life' Helped Heal His Relationship with His Father

Thirty years later, Holzman admits she often hears from fans of the show — many being members of the LGBTQ+ community — who have thanked her for her work.

“It's people who've come up to me and said, ‘I used to watch the show with my mom, and that was how I was able to come out to my mom,’” she adds. “Something like that makes you feel so, so good that you could have played a small part in helping that conversation to happen, or just people who imparted to me that they felt less alone, that they could see [themselves in] Rickie.”

For more on Winnie Holzman and My So-Called Life, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribe here. 

Related: Claire Danes, Wilson Cruz and 'My So-Called Life' Cast Have 'Heartfelt and Overdue' Virtual Reunion

The show unequivocally had an enormous impact on viewers, but it also helped launch the careers of cast members including Golden Globe winner Danes, 45, and Oscar winner Jared Leto, 52. Cruz has continued starring in prominent roles on TV and uses his visibility to champion LGBTQ+ rights. He now serves as Chair of GLSEN's board, an organization that ensures LGBTQ students are able to learn and grow in a school environment free from bullying and harassment.

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For Holzman, success boiled down to one thing: "This is really the big lesson of My So-Called Life — it didn't need to be a huge hit. It didn't need to be a ratings juggernaut. It didn't need to have more than 19 episodes to affect people. It just was what it was. And in its own small way, it did make this positive effect. So that became something that really taught me what success looks like."

Adding, "I think My So-Called Life taught me that it's all about being true to myself, knowing that I put 100% of myself into it, and so did all of us together. It was such a group effort. Nobody was phoning that in. Nobody. We cared about every moment of that show. If you do that, that's success."

All 19 episodes of My So-Called Life are available to stream on Hulu.

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