Teen shows have a legacy of being over stylised and completely unrealistic, just look at shows like the CW’s Gossip Girl or Riverdale. Whether it’s teenagers engaging in ridiculously contrived murder plot lines, inappropriate relationships with MUCH older adults or even being played by actors who are 5 years older than the age they’re meant to be playing – teen shows have a lot to answer for.
That being said, there are also some really good teen shows that have been released in recent years. So in honour of those, let me tell you about some of the most brilliantly realistic teen shows that you can stream right now.
My Mad Fat Diary
This show follows the life of Rae Earl, a clinically obese 16-year-old who’s just been released from a psychiatric hospital. Given that headline, you might think this show wouldn’t be the most pleasant to watch, but you’d be completely wrong.
My Mad Fat diary is about Rae’s coming of age in a small town in Lincolnshire and the experiences she has along the way. She does struggle with her weight and her mental health, but also worries about friends, boyfriends and what to wear. The show doesn’t overly fixate on Rae’s health issues, she is allowed to be a teenager. The characters are all very loveable – especially Fin whose scenes you might have seen on TikTok.
It’s also one of the most accurate depictions of fatphobia I’ve ever seen, with Rae’s conflict between her sexual desire and shame over how she looks being something I can imagine every teenager (especially girls) could relate to.
Most importantly, every single person playing a teenager actually looks like one! The cast have spots and crooked teeth and they don’t all rock up looking like they’ve been professionally styled. They also do things that normal teenagers do, like go to the same pub to try to get served or hang out in their local park.
Where to watch: Netflix or All4
Euphoria
Okay, I know I just spoke against teen shows that are over stylized and have contrived plotlines (the 11-year-old drug dealer with face tattoos, anyone?) but, there are some aspects of Euphoria that are very reflective of the real teen experience, specifically a lot of Jules’s plotlines. It’s been said that a queer persons coming of age is radically different from the heterosexual coming of age that we see depicted in the majority of our film and TV, especially in regards to their sexual experiences. The first sexual experiences of queer youths are often not healthy or wholesome, given the fact that the pathway into their sexuality is very rarely without trauma. This is well reflected in Jules character, specifically when she seeks out sexual encounters with anonymous older men who fetishise her and treat her poorly.
An aspect Euphoria does very well is teen sexuality. Lots of the female character do not have good or fulfilling sex, which is far more representative of the sex that – in hindsight – me and friends were having as younger teens than shows like Riverdale where two 16/17-year-olds are appearing like seasoned professionals.
Where to watch: Apple TV, Amazon Prime, YouTube (not included in any subscription packages, sorry!)
Sex Education
Again, like Euphoria there are parts of Sex Education that are over stylised (what English Sixth Form has letterman jackets?) but it’s also very good at pointing out that when it came to sex, none of us knew what we were doing when we were younger. This show honestly depicts so many of the insecurities a lot of teenagers feel at that age, as well as some worries about sex and our bodies that a lot of us will harbour well into adulthood. If you won’t watch it for the lovable characters, heart-warming yet funny plot lines or killer soundtrack, watch it for Gillian Anderson.
Where to watch: Netflix
The Society
I am devastated to tell you that there’s only one season of this show, as Netflix cancelled it, but is it still well worth the watch. The plot revolves around group of Connecticut teenagers who wake up to find that their whole town -and the surrounding towns as far as they’re able to see – are empty all people apart from them. What follows is a sort of Lord of the Flies inspired plot where the teenagers must govern themselves while trying to work out what happened to the world they knew. Although the plot is fantastical, the individual characters are very relatable. Their wardrobes are very reflective of normal teenage clothes, and you can really see each character struggling between childhood and adulthood: something I believe a lot of teens and young adults can relate to. On one hand, these teens have learned to govern themselves with limited resources, but on the other they long for to see their family again, most of all their parents.
Where to watch: Netflix
Big Mouth
The characters of Big Mouth run a bit younger than that of the previously mentioned shows, but that doesn’t stop them from being any less relatable. From the mind of Nick Kroll, Big Mouth follows a group of preteens/teens as they journey through puberty. There’s a lot about this show that’s deliberately unrealistic, but it works as it acts either great comic relief or a metaphor for more realistic issues. Big Mouth covers a bunch of issues that younger teenagers face, such as periods, random boners popping up out of nowhere, fighting with friends and divorcing parents. Of all of these, mental health issues are probably depicted in a way that I found so realistic it was startling. Depression particularly is shown in a very realistic – yet funny – way.
Where to watch: Netflix