Teenaged pains are a universal experience. Everyone has to go through the awkward stage of adolescence before transitioning to adulthood; the experience is pretty much universal. It’s embarrassing, often filled with impulsive decisions made under hormonal duress, and might make you regret a few things. So, it’s always nice to see it being represented with the nuance and care it deserves.
Whether it’s a light-hearted coming-of-age story or a serious commentary on how teenagehood is one of the most confusing times of our lives, there is some form of media showcasing it. So today, let’s take a look at some of the Netflix teen shows that will throw you back
1. Never Have I Ever
Battling through warring identities is practically a teenage tradition, but Never Have I Ever takes it one step further by focusing on a POC teen. Devi Vishwakumar is a 15-year-old Indian American who has just lost her father.
After a period of healing, she returned to her high school in California, just in time for her sophomore year to begin. And this time, she plans on becoming a social butterfly, no matter what it takes.
2. Heartstopper
Based on the graphic novel series by the same name, Heartstopper is a lovely tale of two teenagers slowly falling into the softest romance. Charlie Spring, a gay teen, didn’t expect the new transfer student, Nick Nelson, to become friends with him. But turns out, they share a lot of common interests and the spark is instantly there. From there, love was pretty much inevitable, even if it’s hard to navigate sometimes.
3. Derry Girls
Derry Girls deserves all the awards for somehow being the funniest show on this list. There is just nothing quite like this tale of a group of teenagers who are living their awkward but chaotic lives, even in the midst of a national conflict. While the threat of instability might have been everywhere during early 90s Ireland, the Derry Girls had much more pressing issues to deal with, like boys, parents, and the GCSEs.
4. Wednesday
While The Addams Family is already a popular IP, no one expected Wednesday to be as successful as it is. But turns out, that an adolescent Wednesday Addams goes through the same issues all teens do, albeit mixed with a little more murder, malice, and magic than most. It’s a murder mystery set in a school for the weird and zany, and Wednesday is our reluctant Nacy Drew. It also has gotten a Season 2 trailer recently!
5. Young Royals
Young Royals showcases that being the Prince Charming isn’t as easy as the fairytales make it out to be. And Prince Wilhelm Of Sweden is going through a rough time. Not only did his public image tank after a fight got leaked online but then he was forced to enroll in an upscale boarding school where he found it hard to adapt. Add in some mixed feelings about a certain scholarship student, and no wonder the drama follows Wilhelm wherever he goes.
6. Outer Banks
On the outside, Outer Banks seems like every romance action show ever. But there’s a lot more nuance than you’d expect. The Outer Banks is the name given to a settlement right outside of North Carolina, where the rich are known as ‘Kooks’ and the lesser ones are called ‘Pogues’. But one day, a group of Pogue teenagers decide they want to unravel the mystery of the leader’s dad, John B. And so, they end up embarking on a legendary treasure hunt.
7. True Beauty
True Beauty is one of the rare instances where the adaptation is better than the source material. A teen K-dara, True Beauty follows the story of Lim Ju-Kyung, a high school student who was bullied for her looks and decided to transfer to a new school. But now she has a secret tool in her arsenal: The Power Of Makeup! So, when she makes friends with the handsome Su-Ho, people think it’s her beauty. But turns out, that Su-Ho likes the real Ju–Kyung far more.
8. Trinkets
Trinkets is a severely underrated series about three teenage girls bonding after meeting at a Shoplifters Anonymous meeting. Elodie, Moe, and Tabitha all go to the same school, but they are from different families, with different styles and even different tax brackets. But they form an unlikely friendship that becomes a support system for the girls when they need it most.
9. Everything Sucks!
Who doesn’t love a little nostalgia bait? As millennials, the call of teenagehood back in the 90s is strong and that’s exactly what Everything Sucks! is here to deliver. Boring, Oregon is as interesting as it sounds but the students at its local high school are going through growing pains. An unlikely situation pits the A/V Club and Drama Club together, where they decide to make a movie about their extraordinarily ordinary lives.
10. Love Alarm
Love Alarm is the live-action adaptation of a popular webtoon and it’s peak teen drama. Imagine a world where an app can disclose to you if someone nearby has a crush on you. Well, that’s exactly what the Love Alarm is, and the world can’t get enough. But thanks to it, Kim Jo-Jo, a hard-working high schooler, gets caught in a love triangle between two friends. All the while she has her issues to deal with.
11. I Am Not Okay With This
A lesbian main character that has superpowers? Say less! I Am Not Okay With This is the story of Sydney Novak, a teenager who already has enough on her plate to deal with, thanks to her budding sexuality. Now, add in a new talent for literal telekinesis and a crush on her friend, and you can tell why Sydney would not be okay with any of this. A black comedy, I Am Not Okay With This is a fantastic adaptation of a popular graphic novel.
12. Meteor Garden
While Hana Yori Dango has many successful adaptations all across Asia, Meteor Garden was the most recent one. Dong Shancai is just your average girl next door who gets accepted into the very exclusive Ming De University, where she ends up meeting the famous and arrogant F4. Because of her headstrong personality, she butts heads with them constantly. But during it all, Daoming, the leader, falls for her, only to learn that she’s nursing a crush for his friend instead.
13. Sex Education
Sex Education is a great representation of how teenagehood can be messy but never something to be ashamed of. Otis is pretty nonchalant towards his classmates at Moordale Secondary and their puberty-laced problems, thanks to a mother who works as a sex therapist. But it can be a lot for everyone else, so he teams up with Maeve to open a sex clinic to guide them without embarrassment.
14. My Love Mix-Up
My Love Mix-Up is just plain cute. Based on the manga Kieta Hatsukoi, this Japanese series follows Sota Aoki, who has finally gathered the courage to confess his love to Mio, the girl he’s crushing on. However, a misunderstanding happens, and he ends up confessing to Ida, a cold classmate instead. And for some reason, Ida doesn’t shoot him down, leading Sota to play along to avoid more trouble. Except, Aoki just might be falling for Ida for real.
15. Julie And The Phantoms
If you’ve missed the era of Disney-style teenaged sitcoms, then Julie And The Phantoms is the series for you. Julie Molina was always a talented musician but seeing her mother die made it harder for her to pursue her passions. But everything changes when she ends up calling forth the spirits of a dead band from the 90s. And that’s what brings back the blaze of music for her.
16. First Kill
Vampires and an enemies-to-lovers trope all in a teenaged sapphic story? First Kill did it, they created the perfect show. Juliette Fairmont has finally come of age and to commemorate her transition into the vampire coven, she must kill her first hunter. But Juliette doesn’t want to drain humans, especially when she’s crushing on one of them. But turns out, that the girl she likes, Calliope, is also hankering around for a kill so she can become a Hunter herself.
17. My Life With The Walter Boys
If you grew up in the peak of Wattpad hype, then My Life With The Walter Boys will be a familiar title. Jackie Howard has gone through the most traumatic incident of her life, losing her parents, but she is soon taken in by the Walter family. And so, Jackie moves her entire life from Manhattan to Colorado, where the Walters live with their seven sons and one daughter. Though scared and anxious at first, Jackie soon learns to adapt and find happiness in this new life.
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