The Top 25 Coolest Teen Dramas of the Last 20 Years
by tbell1826 | created - 13 Aug 2011 | updated - 13 Aug 2011 | PublicThis is my top 20 list of TV's coolest teen dramas of the last 2 decades.
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1. Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990–2000)
TV-PG | 44 min | Drama, Romance
A group of friends living in Beverly Hills, California make their way through life from their school days into adulthood.
Stars: Jason Priestley, Shannen Doherty, Luke Perry, Jennie Garth
Votes: 37,560
2. Gossip Girl (2007–2012)
TV-14 | 42 min | Drama, Romance
Privileged teens living on the Upper East Side of New York can hide no secret from the ruthless blogger who is always watching.
Stars: Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Penn Badgley, Ed Westwick
Votes: 193,262
3. The O.C. (2003–2007)
TV-PG | 44 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A troubled youth becomes embroiled in the lives of a close-knit group of people in the wealthy, upper-class neighborhood of Newport Beach, Orange County, California.
Stars: Mischa Barton, Adam Brody, Peter Gallagher, Kelly Rowan
Votes: 96,142
4. Dawson's Creek (1998–2003)
TV-14 | 60 min | Drama, Romance
Two childhood best friends, Dawson and Joey, go through different stages of adolescence together. Their friendship is later tested when they both start a relationship with different people.
Stars: James Van Der Beek, Katie Holmes, Michelle Williams, Joshua Jackson
Votes: 44,633
5. Glee (2009–2015)
TV-PG | 44 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
A group of ambitious misfits try to escape the harsh realities of high school by joining a glee club headed by a passionate Spanish teacher.
Stars: Lea Michele, Jane Lynch, Matthew Morrison, Cory Monteith
Votes: 155,433
6. My So-Called Life (1994–1995)
TV-14 | 912 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A 15-year-old girl and her trials and tribulations of being a teenager and dealing with friends, guys, parents, and school.
Stars: Bess Armstrong, Wilson Cruz, Claire Danes, Devon Gummersall
Votes: 21,971
7. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003)
TV-14 | 44 min | Action, Drama, Fantasy
A young woman, destined to slay vampires, demons and other infernal creatures, deals with her life fighting evil, with the help of her friends.
Stars: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Alyson Hannigan, Anthony Head
Votes: 159,647
8. The Vampire Diaries (2009–2017)
TV-14 | 43 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
The lives, loves, dangers and disasters in the town, Mystic Falls, Virginia. Creatures of unspeakable horror lurk beneath this town as a teenage girl is suddenly torn between two vampire brothers.
Stars: Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder, Kat Graham
Votes: 349,606
9. Party of Five (1994–2000)
TV-PG | 60 min | Drama, Family
Five siblings raise each other following their parents' untimely deaths.
Stars: Matthew Fox, Scott Wolf, Neve Campbell, Lacey Chabert
Votes: 11,279
10. Felicity (1998–2002)
TV-14 | 60 min | Drama, Romance
A young girl, fresh out of high school, follows her high school crush to college to be near him.
Stars: Keri Russell, Scott Speedman, Scott Foley, Tangi Miller
Votes: 12,947
11. Pretty Little Liars (2010–2017)
TV-14 | 44 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
Four friends band together against an anonymous foe who threatens to reveal their darkest secrets, while also investigating the disappearance of their best friend.
Stars: Troian Bellisario, Ashley Benson, Lucy Hale, Shay Mitchell
Votes: 178,293
12. Freaks and Geeks (1999–2000)
TV-14 | 45 min | Comedy, Drama
A high school mathlete starts hanging out with a group of burnouts while her younger brother navigates his freshman year.
Stars: Linda Cardellini, John Francis Daley, James Franco, Samm Levine
Votes: 153,200
13. One Tree Hill (2003–2012)
TV-14 | 60 min | Drama, Romance, Sport
Half-brothers Lucas and Nathan Scott trade between kinship and rivalry both on the basketball court and in the hearts of their friends in the small, but not so quiet town of Tree Hill, North Carolina.
Stars: Chad Michael Murray, James Lafferty, Hilarie Burton Morgan, Bethany Joy Lenz
Votes: 87,116
14. Smallville (2001–2017)
TV-PG | 60 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A young Clark Kent struggles to find his place in the world as he learns to harness his alien powers for good and deals with the typical troubles of teenage life in Smallville, Kansas.
Stars: Tom Welling, Michael Rosenbaum, Allison Mack, Kristin Kreuk
Votes: 138,019
15. Friday Night Lights (2006–2011)
TV-14 | 45 min | Drama, Sport
A drama that follows the lives of the Dillon Panthers, one of the nation's best high school football teams, and their head coach Eric Taylor.
Stars: Kyle Chandler, Connie Britton, Zach Gilford, Aimee Teegarden
Votes: 72,447
16. Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001–2015)
TV-PG | 30 min | Drama, Romance
The lives of the kids at Degrassi Community School dealing with the serious and sometimes taboo issues that plague teenagers.
Stars: Stefan Brogren, Aislinn Paul, Melinda Shankar, A.J. Saudin
Votes: 14,643
17. The Secret Life of the American Teenager (2008–2013)
TV-14 | 43 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
15 year old Amy ends up pregnant after one night at band camp, throwing her whole life upside down. It doesn't help that she's now going to school with that guy.
Stars: Shailene Woodley, Molly Ringwald, India Eisley, Mark Derwin
Votes: 20,913
18. Roswell (1999–2002)
TV-14 | 42 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
The lives of three young alien/human hybrids with extraordinary gifts in Roswell.
Stars: Shiri Appleby, Jason Behr, Katherine Heigl, Majandra Delfino
Votes: 30,704
19. Teen Wolf (2011–2017)
TV-14 | 41 min | Action, Drama, Fantasy
An average high school student and his best friend get caught up in some trouble causing him to receive a werewolf bite. As a result they find themselves in the middle of all sorts of dramas in Beacon Hills.
Stars: Tyler Posey, Holland Roden, Dylan O'Brien, Linden Ashby
Votes: 163,165
20. Greek (2007–2011)
TV-14 | 60 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
Freshman Rusty Cartwright arrives at college and decides he no longer wants to be the boring geek from high school. He decides to pledge a fraternity. He is offered 2 bids; one from his sister's boyfriend Evan's fraternity and one from Cappie, his sister's ex-boyfriend's fraternity. Rusty must learn to handle his new life, and his new relationship with his sister. His sister must decide if she ... See full summary »
Stars: Clark Duke, Scott Michael Foster, Spencer Grammer, Paul James
Votes: 25,148
21. Popular (1999–2001)
TV-14 | 60 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Two girls who despise each other because they're on opposite sides of the "popularity fence" are forced together when the father of one of them marries the other's mother.
Stars: Leslie Bibb, Carly Pope, Tamara Mello, Christopher Gorham
Votes: 6,847
22. 90210 (2008–2013)
TV-14 | 60 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A Kansas family relocates to Beverly Hills, where their two children adapt to the infamous social drama of West Beverly Hills High.
Stars: Shenae Grimes-Beech, Tristan Mack Wilds, AnnaLynne McCord, Jessica Stroup
Votes: 46,162
23. Veronica Mars (2004–2019)
TV-14 | 44 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
After her best friend is murdered, and her father is removed as county Sheriff, Veronica Mars dedicates her life to cracking the toughest mysteries in the affluent town of Neptune.
Stars: Kristen Bell, Jason Dohring, Enrico Colantoni, Percy Daggs III
Votes: 78,056
24. Make It or Break It (2009–2012)
TV-14 | 45 min | Drama, Sport
A group of elite teenage gymnasts deals with parents, boyfriends, coaches, rivalry and betrayal while training at a top-notch facility known as The Rock.
Stars: Ayla Kell, Josie Loren, Cassandra Scerbo, Candace Cameron Bure
Votes: 10,469
25. Switched at Birth (2011–2017)
TV-14 | 60 min | Drama, Family, Romance
Two teenage girls' lives are turned upside down when they find out they were switched at birth.
Stars: Katie Leclerc, Vanessa Marano, Constance Marie, D.W. Moffett
Votes: 26,131
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