40 Best Teen TV Shows of All Time
Teen TV shows that’ll take you back
Whether you consider teen TV shows to be guilty pleasures or must-see TV, there’s no debating the fact that these comedies, dramas, and soaps shape our wonder years and pull us in long after we’ve graduated from school. The material hits on universal experiences—after all, every human on the planet is either going to be a teen (much to their parents’ discontent), is currently suffering the horrors of puberty, or has already survived school dances, first kisses, brutal breakups, crushed dreams, overbearing parents, peer pressure, college applications, and all the other life lessons that occur while you’re assigned a locker.
The teen genre has experienced a welcome resurgence of late, especially thanks to streaming services rerunning classics like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The O.C., and Beverly Hills, 90210. There’s plenty of fresh content, too, with networks airing shows like Reservation Dogs, Riverdale, and Euphoria with hopes of capturing the same audience devotion and making a similar pop culture impact. It’s the perfect time to look across the decades at the best adolescent adventures to hit the small screen.
To qualify, a show had to focus primarily on teen characters and teen issues, telling their stories in their voices—which is why you won’t find any reality TV shows or shows about doctors here. We even disqualified shows that centered on a family’s interactions with one another versus teens’ interactions with the world (think Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Growing Pains, and Blossom), though many are fantastic programs. Of the teen TV shows that made our list, many have won awards and earned critics’ praise. One debuted back when LBJ was president, while several came of age in the midst of a global pandemic. A couple are among the best shows on Netflix and the best sitcoms, and others are based on the best teen books. A chosen few, such as Friday Night Lights and Gilmore Girls, even rose above their genre to become some of the best TV shows of all time.
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