The Best Teen TV Dramas of All Time
The best teen tv shows & high school series to watch right now, including top shows such as 'Euphoria', 'Gossip Girl', 'Marvel's Runaways', 'Riverdale' & more.
Image via HBO/Eddy Chen
The best teen drama series capture at least one aspect of the high school experience enough to keep both adults and teenagers riveted. Shows like Gossip Girl, Friday Night Lights, and Veronica Mars had enough of the realism of the world at large to keep people of all ages entertained. And these days, everyone with an HBO subscription is hooked on Euphoria, which touches on teen drama themes past and present.
That’s not to say that every teen drama has to be realistic to be good. Sometimes, realism is the last thing you want out of a teen drama: just ask Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Riverdale. After all, if you can't fully relate to a 16-year-old or 17-year-old, you might as well take it one step further and add dark magic or spooky creatures into the mix, right?
No one wants to go back to real high school, but everyone wants to live in a teen drama version of it. Here are the best teen TV shows of all time.
Euphoria (HBO)
Network: HBO
Cast: Zendaya, Hunter Schafer, Jacob Elordi, Alexa Demie, Barbie Ferreira, Sydney Sweeney, Maude Apatow
Seasons Available: 1
Rotten Tomatoes: 82% (Critics) 85% (Audience)
Executive produced by Drake, Euphoria is HBO’s very first teen drama, an unusual move for the prestige network. As you might guess from HBO’s usual explicit programming, Euphoria also has a lot more adult content than other teen dramas (that aren’t on Netflix and called Skins or 13 Reasons Why, anyway). In typical teen drama fashion, Euphoria is refreshingly low concept, even if it comes in flashy packaging: it follows the lives of several high school students as they struggle with various issues. Our main character and narrator, Rue (Zendaya), struggles with drug addiction. Her new friend (and possibly girlfriend) Jules (Hunter Schaefer) is a young trans woman who finds herself in trouble after using dating apps, and Nate (Jacob Elordi) is a vicious jock who finds himself connected to Jules, amongst other characters with their own complicated issues. Euphoria is impressive in its storytelling, complete with dynamic camerawork, beautiful cinematography, and an effective soundtrack. All of these come together to make every episode of Euphoria incredibly dramatic which, let’s be real, perfectly matches what it felt like when you were a teenager and experiencing any type of hardship. Only one season in and Euphoria has already left an indelible mark upon the teen drama genre. —Andy Herrera
Riverdale (The CW)
Network: The CW
Cast: KJ Apa, Cole Sprouse, Camila Mendes, Lili Reinhart, Madelaine Petsch
Seasons Available: 4
Rotten Tomatoes: 86% (Critics) 58% (Audience)
When it was first announced, it seemed like a practical joke: the stories of Archie Andrews and friends imagined as a dark, gritty teen drama, equally influenced by Twin Peaks and Beverly Hills, 90210. While Riverdale is patently ridiculous, it is very much real, and its ridiculousness is what makes it so entertaining. Archie Andrews (KJ Apa), Jughead (Cole Sprouse), Betty (Lili Reinhart), and Veronica (Camila Mendes) live in Riverdale along with their assorted friends and deal with everyday high school life, as well as organized crime, serial killers, and uh, a Satanic board game. The Riverdale writers room seems to take bets on how ridiculous they can make the show (Betty once sang “Mad World” and did a striptease in front of Jughead and her mom), and the audience is better for it: Riverdale operates well at a certain lunacy, and is one of the most entertaining teen dramas of the past couple of years. —Andy Herrera
Marvel's Runaways (Hulu)
Starring: Rhenzy Feliz, Lyrica Okano, Virginia Gardner, Ariel Barer, Gregg Sulkin, Allegra Acosta
Marvel’s Runaways on Hulu, an adaptation of the comic series by Brian Michael Bendis, is not only a worthy addition to the MCU, but a very good teen drama, one of the best currently airing. The series follows six teenagers living in Los Angeles who discover that their parents are part of a criminal organization known as “The Pride.” In response, the six protagonists (who each have their own abilities) team up to become the superhero team “The Runaways.” Runaways has the superhero action Marvel fans love, as well as faithful adaptations of even the most weird elements of the comic (including a telepathic pet dinosaur) and the soapy elements that fans of teen dramas love. It’s no surprise Marvel’s Runaways is such a successful teen drama; it hails from creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, who also created The O.C. and Gossip Girl. Marvel’s Runaways is not only one of the best superhero shows on right now, it’s also one of the best teen dramas. —Andy Herrera
American Vandal (Netflix)
Starring: Tyler Alvarez, Griffin Gluck, Jimmy Tatro, Travis Tope, Melvin Gregg
American Vandal was too good for this world. The recently cancelled Netflix series is ostensibly a parody of true-crime series’ like Making A Murderer and The Jinx. The show follows two students, Peter and Sam (Tyler Alvarez and Griffin Gluck), as they attempt to exonerate class dunce Dylan Maxwell (Jimmy Tatro) when he’s accused of spray-painting penises on teachers’ cars. It’s as silly as it sounds and works wonders as satire, but halfway through, it unexpectedly revealed itself to also be a clear-eyed examination of modern high school and the pitfalls of being a teenager. Season two tackled similar topics, such as social media bullying and classism, while investigating a similarly crass crime (this time, lemonade tainted with industry grade laxatives). Both seasons of American Vandal are brilliant satires, and even better teen dramas. —Andy Herrera
Freaks and Geeks (NBC)
Starring: Linda Cardellini, John Francis Daley, James Franco, Samm Levine, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, Martin Starr, Busy Phillips
Despite being cancelled after exactly one season thanks to low viewership. Freaks and Geeks is regularly in conversation when talking about the best TV shows of all time, period. The show centers on Lindsay Weir (Linda Cardellini) as she attempts to transform from a straight-A student into one of the titular freaks, and her brother Sam Weir (John Francis Daley), as he and the rest of his geek friends navigate high school.
Literally every person in this cast has gone on to have great careers in television or movies or both, and it’s clear why, since every actor is so uniquely great here, and bolstered by strong writing that isn’t afraid to illustrate all of the complicated ups and downs of being a teenager and having to struggle with fitting in, relationships, and figuring out who you are. Freaks and Geeks is the pinnacle of the teen drama genre. —Andy Herrera
My So-Called Life (ABC)
Starring: Claire Danes, Jared Leto, A.J. Langer, Bess Armstrong, Wilson Cruz, Devon Gummersall, Devon Odessa, Lisa Wilhoit, Tom Irwin
Sometimes you'll come across shows that never really got a proper chance. They get one fantastic season and then they're cancelled because a fanbase hasn't had the chance to form yet. People always talk about what a travesty that is. But, when you think about it, one season shows are perfect because they never get the chance to disappoint us.
That said, My So-Called Life leaves us with only fond memories. Fronted by a famously red-haired Claire Danes and a pre-ombre-haired Jared Leto, My So-Called Life covers topics that were (and sometimes still are) too taboo to talk about at the dinner table, such as homophobia and teen homelessness. —Hope Schreiber
Degrassi (The N)
Starring: Various, depending on the season
The ultimate in the “Very Special Episode” genre of teen drama, since most of the episodes and storylines were “Very Special,” Degrassi: The Next Generation is a show dedicated to talking about the Issue of The Day, and that’s why people love it. It’s always been (and continues to be, with Degrassi: Next Class, a Netflix spinoff that follows from the series finale of The Next Generation) a show that specifically wants to tackle the big issues that teenagers are dealing with today.
Whether or not the show tackles those issues well is another story, but the writers usually do their best to shed light on what teenagers are going through, including storylines about sexuality, rape, pregnancy, disability, and gender identity. Degrassi: The Next Generation is probably the most popular teen drama of all time, due to its “anything goes” approach to storytelling and character writing: every type of teenager gets to be represented at one point or another on this show. —Andy Herrera
Gossip Girl (The CW)
Starring: Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Penn Badgley, Chace Crawford, Taylor Momsen, Ed Westwick, Kelly Rutherford, Matthew Settle, Jessica Szohr, Kaylee DeFer
The show that made The CW as successful as it is today, Gossip Girl was undeniably a phenomenon for the entirety of its runtime. This teen drama centered on the lives of the rich preppy teens in New York City: namely Blair, Serena, Chuck, Nate, and Dan.
This highly addictive series saw these teens deal with lawsuits, addiction, eating disorders, and an absurd number of relationship permutations between the main cast: Dan and Serena! Serena and Chuck! Chuck and Blair! Dan and Chuck! (just kidding with that last one, although maybe we’ll see it in a future reboot). And, however dated the technology may seem now, the series also foretold how the internet would essentially run the lives of teenagers, and how they’d end up using it to their own selfish ends. —Andy Herrera
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (The WB)
Starring: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Alyson Hannigan, Charisma Carpenter, Anthony Stewart Head, David Boreanaz, Seth Green, James Marsters, Marc Blucas, Emma Caulfield, Michelle Trachtenberg, Amber Benson
Buffy The Vampire Slayer is so iconic that there are several books and even college courses about it, but its influence on the teen drama truly cannot be overstated. Its premise is partially rooted in the idea of, “high school already feels like hell, but what if it actually was?”
While technically only taking place in high school during the first three seasons, Buffy explored many iconic aspects of high school through a supernatural lens, including puberty, prom, and popularity. Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter) is one of the greatest queen bee archetypes of all time, originally set up as “the mean popular girl” and eventually becoming one of the most nuanced characters in both Buffy and its spinoff, Angel. Buffy The Vampire Slayer holds up because high school will never stop feeling like hell to teenagers. —Andy Herrera
Friday Night Lights (NBC)
Starring: Kyle Chandler, Connie Britton, Taylor Kitsch, Zach Gilford, Adrianne Palicki, Minka Kelly
Friday Night Lights is so good you don’t even have to like sports to get into it, and that’s an achievement in itself. The series, based on the nonfiction book of the same name (which was also adapted into a movie of the same name in 2004), focuses on Coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) as he coaches a high school football team in Dillon, a close-knit town in rural Texas.
The emotions run high in this show, and are conveyed beautifully by Kyle Chandler, Connie Britton, and the teenagers on the team. The pilot alone is enough to get one hooked, thanks to its ultra-realistic feel, great performances, and dramatic cliffhanger ending that leave you rooting for these characters. —Andy Herrera
Dawson's Creek (The WB)
Starring: James Van Der Beek, Michelle Williams, Joshua Jackson, Katie Holmes, Kerr Smith, Meredith Monroe, Busy Philipps, Mary-Margaret Humes, John Wesley Shipp, Mary Beth Peil, Nina Repeta
At this point, Dawson's Creek has been reduced to James Van Der Beek's crying face. So we're here to remind you of the show's overall greatness. Among things like don't have an affair with a teacher, co-ed sleepovers are awkward after puberty, and don't hook up with your best friend's ex-girlfriend, the show teaches younger viewers the meaning of "big words." Its characters wax philosophical about Spielberg and speak in SAT vocabulary to describe simple things like high school crushes.
That is to say, the show doesn't dumb itself down for the sake of being a teen drama. It's still as captivating and relatable as any of its contemporaries. It gives hope to burnout kids, reprieve to reformed bad girls, and a good shake to whiny kids like Dawson who get too wrapped in their own misery. Joey chose Pacey, Dawson. Stop crying and deal with it. —Tara Aquino
Veronica Mars (The CW)
Starring: Kristen Bell, Percy Daggs III, Teddy Dunn, Jason Dohring, Sydney Tamiia Poitier, Francis Capra, Ryan Hansen, Kyle Gallner, Tessa Thompson, Julie Gonzalo, Chris Lowell, Tina Majorino, Michael Muhney, Enrico Colantoni
A 16-year-old pixie of a teenage girl spends her days and earns her money on an Encyclopedia Brown/Nancy Drew wave, while investigating her best friend's murder on the low? That sound ridiculous to you? It is, but that's not really an issue when the universe, with its realistic high school cliques and characters, and a powder keg of a class divide, is presented with such stark, neo-noir realism.
At times, Veronica Mars owns up to the silliness of a 16-year-old girl investigating mysteries for her classmates with decidedly light fare—like the case of the missing mascot—but these are ultimately just moments of levity amidst an exceedingly gloomy setting that included suicide, the mass murder of teenagers, pedophilia, rape, to name a few.
Beyond grim tales and season-long mystery arcs more expertly plotted than your favorite adult-driven drama though, Neptune High is a fully realized universe with a deep pool of supporting characters to flesh it out and draw you in. Why else would we willingly accept a movie premise that sees Veronica's reluctant return conveniently coincide with her ten year-reunion? —Frazier Tharpe
Faking It (MTV)
Starring: Rita Volk, Katie Stevens, Gregg Sulkin, Michael Willett, Bailey De Young
An MTV teen comedy drama that rightfully drew some criticism at first, Faking It follows Amy (Rita Volk) and Karma (Katie Stevens), two students who are confused for a lesbian couple and go with the lie in order to become popular at their liberal high school. While seemingly offensive at first, Faking It settles into its groove when it’s revealed that Amy might actually be queer and attracted to Karma. What follows from that premise is the most sexually diverse teen drama ever made, with gay, transgender, and intersex main characters (the latter of which is the first intersex main character on a television show). Faking It combined typical straight teen drama, with heartfelt exploration of sexuality with people of different genders. Faking It one of the most diverse teen dramas of all time, and one of MTV’s best teen dramas. —Andy Herrera
The O.C. (FOX)
Starring: Benjamin McKenzie, Mischa Barton, Rachel Bilson, Adam Brody, Peter Gallagher, Melinda Clarke, Tate Donovan, Kelly Rowan, Autumn Reeser, Willa Holland, Alan Dale, Chris Carmack
“Califooooooornia, here we cooooooome”
“California” by Phantom Planet is an important part of teen drama history because it welcomed you to, well, the O.C., bitch. The platonic ideal of a teen soap in its first two seasons, The O.C. follows Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie), a delinquent teenager, as he’s taken in by the family of Seth Cohen (Adam Brody) and is exposed to the rich lifestyle of Newport Beach, California in Orange County, of course.
The O.C. was creator Josh Schwartz’s first show (he would go on to create a little known teen show called Gossip Girl) and displayed many of the qualities that made his other shows so memorable: likeable nerd characters, epic girl-next-door romances, witty dialogue, and a hip indie rock soundtrack. The O.C. is especially notable for its soundtrack, which helped thrust Death Cab for Cutie and other indie rock bands into prominence. While only running for three seasons, The O.C. has amassed a huge fan base, and even had one of its more infamous scenes parodied in a very popular SNL sketch. —Andy Herrera
Skins (E4)
Starring: Various, depending on the season
Skins is a lot darker and raunchier than your average teen drama, and as a result caused a lot of controversy when it first came out in England in 2007. Storylines involving substance abuse, sexuality, mental illness, bullying, and death caused many parents both in England and the States to clutch their pearls and ask if someone, anyone, would please think of the children.
Skins is never exploitative for the sake of exploitation though, and there’s great character writing behind the adventures of these reckless teenagers. Skins changes casts every two seasons, constantly bringing new characters into the mix so the storylines never get stale. While there are seven seasons and three “generations” of characters, the most memorable cast might be the first generation, which proved to have the most future big actors (Nicolas Hoult, Dev Patel, Hannah Murray), and might just be the most heartbreaking (mentioning Chris to any Skins fans might just cause the waterworks immediately). —Andy Herrera
Sweet/Vicious (MTV)
Starring: Eliza Bennett, Taylor Dearden, Brandon Mychal Smith, Nick Fink
Another cancelled-too-soon show, Sweet/Vicious was ahead of its time. College students Jules (Eliza Bennett) and Ophelia (Taylor Dearden) take justice into their own hands and become vigilantes fighting against the sexual assailants on their campus. Sweet/Vicious is part teen drama, part superhero story, examining the gender politics of Jules’ and Ophelia’s everyday lives by day and their brutal attacks on rapists by night. The show nails a tricky balancing act between these two genres, and even manages to have a light and funny tone. A righteously cathartic and progressive show, Sweet/Vicious was tragically cancelled a few months before the #MeToo movement. It’s already a cult favorite, and hopefully more viewers will discover this underrated, gone too soon gem. —Andy Herrera
Beverly Hills, 90210 (FOX)
Starring: Jason Priestley, Shannen Doherty, Jennie Garth, Ian Ziering, Gabrielle Carteris, Luke Perry, Brian Austin Green, Tori Spelling, Douglas Emerson, Carol Potter, James Eckhouse, Mark Damon Espinoza, Tiffani Amber Thiessen, Joe E. Tata, Jamie Walters, Kathleen Robertson, Hilary Swank, Vincent Young, Vanessa Marcil, Lindsay Price
Beverly Hills, 90210 is really wonderful if you've ever wondered what it'd be like if you were a beautiful 30-year-old high schooler who's also filthy rich. During its ten year run, viewers learned how rich beautiful people coped with relationships, date rape, eating disorders, teen suicide, teen pregnancy, abortion, anti-Semitism, AIDS, and animal rights.
Basically, anything you could possibly think of in the vein of, "Jesus, I hope [insert issue here] never, ever happens to me!" there's a very special episode about it. —Hope Schreiber
The Wonder Years (ABC)
Starring: Fred Savage, Dan Lauria, Alley Mills, Olivia d'Abo, Jason Hervey, Danica McKellar, Josh Saviano
"What would you do, with that same...attitude?"
As crooned by Joe Cocker, those opening words to "With a Little Help From My Friends" set up every episode of ABC's timeless and singular sitcom/dramedy The Wonder Years, and it's tough not get chills. The Wonder Years makes it clear that, no matter the decade, teenagers all go through the same kinds of first loves, inevitable first heartbreaks, older sibling headaches, and efforts to help loved ones deal with losing friends and family in Vietnam.
OK, yes, that last part is exclusive to the 1968-1973 time frame in which The Wonder Years—on the air from January 1988 through May 1993—took place. Still, despite the show's period drama sensibilities, Kevin Arnold's world is relatable to all. Few TV shows have balanced tender drama and legitimate LOLs as well as The Wonder Years, a small-screen time capsule that will never feel stale. —Matt Barone
The Vampire Diaries (The CW)
Starring: Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder, Steven R. McQueen, Sara Canning, Kat Graham, Candice Accola, Zach Roerig, Kayla Ewell, Michael Trevino, Matthew Davis, Joseph Morgan
"Dear Diary, went to school today. My math teacher is a TOTAL pain. Seriously can't believe he asked me to stay after for extra help in front of the ENTIRE class. Great, now everyone knows that I'm an idiot. EXCEPT I'M NOT! Whatever. In other news LOL, fell in love with a 163-year-old-vampire today. I hope he asks me to prom. It's at night, and I'm his type (A negative) so he really has no excuse."
Wait, hold up. That's not what The Vampire Diaries is about? Kinda disappointed then. The real story of a mortal falling in love with someone who has a sordid past attached to the land—mors specifically, a vampire who has to deal with different supernatural families running his Virginia town—is surely a lot more interesting though. At least, to the millions of people who watch it. —Hope Schreiber
Smallville (The CW)
Starring: Tom Welling, Kristin Kreuk, Michael Rosenbaum, Allison Mack, Sam Jones III, Annette O'Toole, John Schneider, Eric Johnson, John Glover, Jensen Ackles, Erica Durance, Aaron Ashmore, Laura Vandervoort, Justin Hartley, Sam Witwer, Cassidy Freeman, Callum Blue
It's telling that everyone (who isn't a DC Comics superfan, at least) agrees Smallville fell off somewhere around season five. That also marks the point when the characters graduated high school, and while the struggle is real for any teen drama once the characters face commencement, Smallville in particular lost the spark that made it so appealing in the first place. Because the idea of exploring the most iconic American superhero during his teenage years, coming of age and experiencing puberty through powers, was just too brilliant.
Like a lesser Buffy, Smallville used Clark Kent's burgeoning powers and the kryptonite-infected (another genius concept) "meteor freaks" around him as a prism for atypical hormonal, high school drama. The result: amazing, unforgettably ridiculous storylines like Clark's heat vision emerging when the equally hot substitute teacher put him under pressure. Or how the baddest chick in school literally made him weak in the knees because she wore a Kryptonite necklace. Dwell not on the flavorless, borderline wack writing and arcs that followed. When Superman went to school, it was much-watch TV. —Frazier Tharpe