Top 10 Netflix Original Teen Shows
#10: “Outer Banks” (2020-)
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One of the latest shows in Netflix’s lineup is the teen drama “Outer Banks,” which feels like a mashup of “The O.C.” and your favorite mystery show. Set in North Carolina, it centers on a group of low income teenagers who are living the life out on the water and partying with little parental supervision. One of their fathers has gone missing however, and the band of kids finds themselves embroiled in a world of crime and drugs as they try to get to the bottom of what happened.
#9: “13 Reasons Why” (2017-)
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Based on the novel by Jay Asher, this show has been hugely popular, and also very controversial because of its sensitive subject matter. The first season focuses on a high schooler who chooses to end her life and looks back at all of the events that brought her to that decision. The drama looks at many of the difficult issues that teens are facing today through a dramatic lens, giving us characters that we can’t help but feel for as we watch them navigate the hell that high school can be.
#8: “Atypical” (2017-)
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Sam, the 18-year-old protagonist of “Atypical” has autism spectrum disorder, which is what brings this show outside the norm. While at first the coming-of-age series received criticism for not portraying the disorder accurately, they took people’s comments to heart in season two and improved by hiring more writers and actors with autism in the cast and crew. In many ways, Sam encounters all of the usual perils of a high school student, but his outlook on life makes it even more difficult for him than it is for your average teen.
#7: “I Am Not Okay with This” (2020-)
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Released in 2020, “I Am Not Okay With This” inevitably garnered comparisons to both “Stranger Things” and “The End of the F***ing World” because it focuses on a teenage girl who is grieving her father and also discovering that she has superpowers. It’s based on a comic book by Charles Forsman, who also created “The End of the F***ing World”. The show takes the difficult experience of growing up and facing adulthood with this unique angle, showing teenage anger in a way that is much more visceral that we’re used to seeing on TV.
#6: “The End of the F***ing World” (2017-19)
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Before “I Am Not Okay With This”, Channel 4 and Netflix adapted Charles Forsman’s “The End of the F***ing World”, whose dark concept was unlike anything we had seen before. Originally premiering in the UK with Netflix distributing the dark comedy-drama everywhere else soon after, the series centers on James, a teen who believes himself to be a psychopath and decides to kill one of his classmates. But he ends up bonding with his targeted victim, and the show shifts to focus on their friendship and the misadventures they find themselves on after they decide to run away together and travel on a road trip of sorts around England.
#5: “On My Block” (2018-)
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This comedy-drama has got to be one of the most underrated teen shows that Netflix has aired. Despite holding a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, many people haven’t heard of “On My Block”, which tells the story of four young people growing up in the diverse area of South Central Los Angeles. We see Monsé, Ruby, Jamal and Cesar starting their high school years off together and face all the difficulties that typical teens do, along with the added issues they encounter because of living in an underprivileged area.
#4: “American Vandal” (2017-18)
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If you like true crime shows but also want a good laugh every once in a while, then this show is for you. Poking fun at the trend of true crime documentaries, “American Vandal” takes a satirical look at an instance of high school vandalism and treats it with the seriousness that those shows would a murder case. Someone has vandalized 27 cars in the parking lot of Hanover High School with images that resemble male members, and a group of students decides to get to the bottom of it. In season two, the crime is different but the theme is the same, and it’s possibly even better.
#3: “Never Have I Ever” (2020-)
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This series seems to have arrived at exactly the right moment. Created and executive produced by none other than Mindy Kaling, “Never Have I Ever” is about Devi Vishwakumar, a young Indian American girl living in modern LA. Her father suddenly died shortly before the action of the show began, and in her grief she temporarily lost the use of her legs, leaving her wheelchair bound. The show is undeniably a comedy, but it also has a lot of heart, taking us through Devi’s grieving period, which she has to face whether she likes it or not.
#2: “Elite” (2018-)
Don’t let the fact that it’s a Spanish language production scare you off- there’s a reason this thriller teen drama is so high on our list. Focusing on an exclusive private school and three lower income teens who somehow find themselves attending, “Elite” is not just a typical high school show but also a murder mystery. Not only that, but it also deals with a lot of more political issues like diversity and xenophobia. While you can watch it with the Castilian Spanish dubbed over with English, we’d really recommend trying it with subtitles to be able to hear the original dialogue. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. “Everything Sucks!” (2018) An A/V Club in the ‘90s “The Society” (2019-) Everyone Except a Group of Teens Seemingly Disappears from the World “Daybreak” (2019-) Teenagers Living Through Post-Apocalypse with Zombie-Like Creatures & More “Alexa & Katie” (2018-) A Teen Undergoing Cancer Treatment While in High School
#1: “Sex Education” (2019-)
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Despite the fact that it’s set in a world where American high school customs seemingly exist in the idyllic English countryside, “Sex Education” may be the most realistic teen show ever made. Yes, it has an ambiguous ‘80s aesthetic, but it also confronts some of the diverse sexual issues that young people all face. There is plenty of representation on screen here, be it racial, sexual or class based. The characters on this British comedy-drama may not always make the right choices, but we can’t help but root for them anyway and hope that it all turns out okay in the end.
