26 Best Teen TV Shows of All Time That You Need to Watch ASAP
Teen TV shows have been a big deal since the start of television. Thanks to the power of streaming, now fans can get the chance to discover new high school series, while also learning about old ones that they might have missed over the years. From classic teen dramas to some hilarious comedies, there are plenty of picks on this list that you're bound to fall in love with one. So get ready to go down memory lane and reminisce on some of these classics or remember that brand new show that you always wanted to try.
Here are the best teen TV shows of all time.
Saved by the Bell
This 1980s hit show was the original teen series that captured the high school experience perfectly – and to this day, it's still the best. Don't @ me, these are facts. Zach, Kelly, Slater, Jessie, Lisa, and Screech make their way through high school (and then college) and get into tons of hilarious high jinks along the way.
Stranger Things
It's 2020. If you haven't watched Stranger Things by now, I am legally required to revoke your Netflix account. Even if you're not into sci-fi, you'll fall in love with Eleven, Mike, Will, Dustin, and Lucas. The teens tackle hard-core topics (like kidnapping, government conspiracies, and um saving the world) while hitting all the major milestones of a high school kid (first kiss, first school dance).
Hannah Montana
It's crazy to think that just a few years ago, Miley Cyrus was most famous for wearing a blonde wig on Disney Channel. Not for no reason, though, because this show is fire. In it, she plays a regular teen with a big secret: on the weekends, she's actually a famous pop star. Once she puts on that wig, southern sweetheart Miley Stewart becomes pop diva Hannah Montana.
Riverdale
This show has everything: mean cheerleaders, small-town murders, cults, black magic, and, of course, lots of relationship drama. It follows the students of Riverdale High as they try to survive the unpredictable, dangerous happenings of their hometown.
Life With Derek
Life With Derek gave us the most highly-shipped couple in teen tv show history: Derek and Casey. Did I mention they're step-siblings? Yep. When their parents get married, the two high schoolers must learn to live with their new blended family and each other.
Vampire Diaries
This is a love triangle for the ages. Elena falls in love two brothers and must try to decide between them. If that weren't complicated enough, they both just happen to be blood-thirsty vampires. You'll be *sucked* into this show for sure.
Boy Meets World
It's tough growing up and there's no better person to show us just how hard it is than Cory Matthews. Following his life as he grows up in Pennsylvania with his friends Shawn and Topanga, BMW is one of the few shows that lasted long enough to allow you to follow the characters as they become adults. The show also launched a spin-off on Disney Channel called Girl Meets World, which continues to follow Cory, Topanga, and Shawn as parents.
Smallville
Everyone has heard of Superman, but who really knows about Clark Kent? Luckily, fans get a really nice glimpse into the life of the most well-known superhero before he came onto his own. Starting with his life in high school, fans get to see Clark grow up and figure out his powers, while also trying to solve the mystery of who he is and where he came from.
American Vandal
This is one of those rare shows that truly left way too soon. Each season follows a brand new mystery at a high school in a mockumentary style that feels more like a true crime series than an actually teenage drama. Still, the show gives one of the most accurate portrayals of teens today and gives them a chance to actually become real characters themselves through their stories, while also serving plenty of laughs.
On My Block
This show is one of those rare gems that has a nice balance between comedy and drama. On My Block follows a group of friends as they try to survive living in a gang-filled area of Los Angeles. With each day possibly being their last thanks to a recent gang war, the series showcases a group of teens that are usually never seen on TV.
Veronica Mars
Move over Nancy Drew, there is a new detective in town. Thanks to her experience as an assistant as being her dad's assistant, Veronica decides to follow in his footsteps and become a private investigator. Other than the usual cheating scandal, Veronica tries to solve her friend's murder after discovering that the man who was accused of killing her is actually innocent.
Bunheads
Fans of Gilmore Girls would certainly love this show thanks to Amy Sherman-Palladino's signature style. The series follows a group of ballet dancers and their brand new dance teacher who comes into town after getting drunkly married one night. Her new husband suddenly passes away leaving her to stay with her new mother-in-law and help out by reaching at her dance studio. The show has tons of heart and is certainly a series that could've made it big if it was given the chance.
Switched at Birth
Not only is Switched at Birth a solid show from beginning to end, it also revolutionized TV. Many of the show's characters are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, making it one of the first shows to use sign language as one of its main languages. One of the episodes also made TV history by being done only in American Sign Language, showing that it's still not too late to do things differently on the small screen.
Gossip Girl
This show's concept about a group of privileged teens living on the Upper East Side of New York whose secrets are ruthlessly exposed by a blogger called Gossip Girl can come off a bit dated in 2017 — mostly because the phones they use to pass on their gossip range from flip phones to the ancient T-Mobile Sidekick. But trust me when I say the show is timeless! With endless drama, romance, and super hot characters, every episode is an emotional rollercoaster. Since it's all on Netflix, you'll be able to binge it in no time at all. Plus, with a new Gossip Girl reboot coming in 2020, now is the perfect time to start watching.
Pretty Little Liars
PLL is like Gossip Girl – but if Gossip Girl were a murderous stalker out for revenge. What's not to love?! The outfits, the plot, and the epic cast (Shay Mitchell, Ashley Benson, Lucy Hale, and Troian Bellisario) make this show worthy of your next binge.
13 Reasons Why
13 Reasons Why caused major controversy due to its graphic depictions of sexual assault and suicide, but it simultaneously struck a cord with teenagers everywhere for its authentic portrayal of high school bullying and the serious consequences it can have. However, even as it gets into its fourth season, fans still can't get enough. It was the most popular Netflix show on social media less than a month after it premiered. The story, which follows a boy named Clay as he listens to thirteen tapes left behind by his crush Hannah Baker explaining all the reasons she died by suicide, is an authentic look at of what being a high schooler in 2017 is like.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Before there was The Vampire Diaries, Twilight, or Teen Wolf, Buffy the Vampire Slayer was the TV show fans of the supernatural were obsessed with. The story follows Buffy Summers, a girl who's just trying desperately to live a normal life and is forced to fulfill her destiny of slaying vampires and demons when she moves to Sunnydale — a city that just happens to be a hotbed for vampires and demons. Along the way, she meets a group of ragtag friends and falls in love with a HOT vampire named Angel that would give Edward Cullen and Damon Salvatore a run for their money.
Gilmore Girls
Rory Gilmore is just a normal bookworm who has crushes, is hopelessly awkward, and has a seriously unique relationship with her mom. This show followers her through high school and college – break ups, first times, and getting into a ivy league school. It's a wholesome tv show that literally everyone should see.
Friday Night Lights
Even though Friday Night Lights takes place in a fictional town called Dillon, Texas where everyone is obsessed with football, it's far from a show about football. There are definitely a lot of scenes that take place at the Dillon High's football field, but the show is more about the relationships the boys on the team have with their fellow students and families, from misunderstood bad boy Tim Riggins who's hopelessly in love with his wheelchair-bound best friend's girlfriend to the quarterback who's an artist deep down, Matt Saracen. The show tackles serious issues like race relations in high school, as well as the idea that college isn't for everyone.
That's So Raven
Even though a show about a teenage psychic doesn't seem immediately relatable, trust me when I say That's So Raven will touch your soul. It's all about Raven Baxter, who, despite having visions of the future, can't seem to avoid getting herself into trouble. Even though the show is first and foremost a comedy, every once in a while, it humorously addresses serious issues like love, racial profiling, and body confidence.
Freaks and Geeks
It should be criminal that this classic show only got one season. The show was lauded for its exploration into the daily lives of two common groups found in every school — the freaks and the geeks. The show follows Lindsay Weir, a mathlete who starts hanging with the school bad boy Daniel Desario and her little brother Sam, a "geek" who is navigating his freshman year of high school. Touching on normal teenage experiences like acceptance, drugs, drinking, and bullying, the show is insanely relatable — not to mention, funny.
Secret Life of an American Teenager
What would happen if a good girl realizes she's pregnant by the school's resident bad boy right as she begins falling for a sweet new boy in her life? It's a dramatic concept, but this classic ABC Family (pre-Freeform) show tapped into real emotions and high school issues and that's why it struck a cord with so many teens.
Degrassi
Not every show about high schoolers needs a gimmick. This show is about a revolving door of regular students at Degrassi High School just living life. And by living life, I mean they're dealing with relatable teenaged things like peer pressure, LGBTQ acceptance, bullying, sex, having babies, and even things like school shootings. The show is simple, yet powerful. And that power isn't just displayed by the many superstar careers the show launched (like that of Nina Dobrev, Shenae Grimes, and, ummm, DRAKE?), but also in the sheer amount of reboots the show has had (like, FIVE).
You can watch MOST of Degrassi: The Next Generation on YouTube, starting with the first episode below. It's reboot, Degrassi: The Next Class, streams on Netflix.
Glee
Take all the amazing things about the shows already on this list and then add breaking out into song and dance to it. Now you understand why Glee was an instant classic. Somehow McKinley High's star football player goes from only singing in the shower to joining the school's misfits in the sinking ship that is the Glee club. Through their shared love of music, they save the glee club and lift each other up in the process.
Fresh Prince of Bel Air
"Now this is a story all about how / My life got flipped-turned upside down / And I'd like to take a minute / Just sit right there / I'll tell you how I became the prince of a town called Bel-Air."
With one of the most iconic theme songs known to man, this classic sitcom is recognized far and wide. The show follows a street smart teenager named Will who was born and raised in West Philadelphia that's sent to live with his rich aunt and uncle in Bel Air, Los Angeles after getting into a fight while playing basketball. The show is mainly a comedy all about how Will's working-class background clashes with the upper class world of his family, but it also shed light on serious issues live race relations and socioeconomic issues.
Lizzie McGuire
Lizzie McGuire is so amazing because it captures the awkward and glorious stage of a young girls life when she's growing from a kid into a teenager. While there are tons of shows about teenagers growing up, often the awkward transition into high school and all that entails is overlooked. Lizzie perfectly captured all of it, from first bras and first boyfriends to first heartbreaks!
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