100 Best Teen Drama Shows Ranked (The Summer I Turned Pretty)
(Photo by Amazon/Courtesy Everett Collection. THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY.)
The latest: The Summer I Turned Pretty is back for its third and final season! All episodes drop on Amazon Prime.
Teen dramas, like the very audience they’re reaching, have always had an uphill climb to be taken seriously. They are beloved, but do critics actually think they’re any good? While Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Veronica Mars are often cited as series that impacted critics’ formative years and have high Tomatometer ratings, others are dismissed as nothing but guilty pleasures.
Rotten Tomatoes has gathered the scores of these and many others in the genre to determine which show wins the title of best-reviewed teen drama. For our latest major update, we’ve added influential shows like Wednesday, The Sex Lives of College Girls, The Summer I Turned Pretty, Reservation Dogs, Dickinson, and Heartstopper!
#1
100%
96%
Synopsis: Growing up circa 1980, a misfit high-school student and his pals are probably destined to become new media millionaires, but
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#2
100%
81%
Synopsis: A group of friends launch a babysitting business.
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#3
100%
71%
Synopsis: A whirlwind Christmas romance builds as cynical Dash and optimistic Lily trade dares, dreams and desires in the notebook they
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#4
100%
94%
Synopsis: “Bunheads” tells the fish-out-of-water story of Michelle Simms, a once-promising classically trained professional dancer who was drawn to the lights
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#5
100%
72%
Synopsis: “David Makes Man” is a drama series created by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Tarell Alvin McCraney (“Moonlight”). Set in South Florida,
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#6
100%
83%
Synopsis: MTV describes “Sweet/Vicious” as an offbeat superhero story for the millennial generation. It’s about unlikely friends Jules and Ophelia taking
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#7
100%
71%
Synopsis: When Belgrave University student Jack Morton joins a fabled secret society, the Hermetic Order of the Blue Rose, he is
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#8
100%
83%
Synopsis: Set a few years after the events of “Pretty Little Liars,” three college friends struggle with the stress of being
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#9
99%
91%
Synopsis: Following the exploits of four Indigenous teenagers in rural Oklahoma who steal, rob and save in order to get to
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#10
98%
95%
Synopsis: Teens Charlie and Nick discover their unlikely friendship might be something more as they navigate school and young love.
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#11
97%
93%
Synopsis: “Friday Night Lights” centers on the rural town of Dillon, Texas, where winning the state football championship is prized above
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#12
97%
85%
Synopsis: Stef, a dedicated police officer, is in a relationship with Lena. The two have built a close-knit family with Stef’s
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#13
97%
58%
Synopsis: Five children suddenly find themselves without their parents in this remake of the ’90s Fox drama. When their parents are
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#14
96%
73%
Synopsis: A drama about a typical family facing atypical situations — not the least of which is their teen daughter’s sudden,
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#15
94%
86%
Synopsis: The complicated life of a first-generation Indian-American teenager.
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#16
94%
92%
Synopsis: Based on the comic book series by Charles Forsman, “The End of the F…ing World” sees two 17-year-old outsiders, James
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#17
94%
91%
Synopsis: “My So-Called Life” is a bastion of teen angst. Angela is a high schooler in constant turmoil over her exposure
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#18
94%
74%
Synopsis: High school student Courtney Whitmore inspires an unlikely group of young heroes to stop the villains of the past.
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#19
93%
67%
Synopsis: When nuclear Armageddon destroys civilization on Earth, the only survivors are those on the 12 international space stations in orbit
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#20
93%
81%
Synopsis: “On My Block” follows a quartet of bright, street-savvy friends who are navigating their way through high school, including all
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#21
93%
– –
Synopsis: World-renowned brain surgeon Dr. Andrew Brown finds his life changed forever after his wife dies. He leaves glamorous Manhattan and
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#22
93%
98%
Synopsis: Teenager Julie finds her passion for music and life while helping the Phantoms, a trio of ghostly guys, become the
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#23
93%
79%
Synopsis: Chloe King is a smart, slightly offbeat teenager who lives a normal life (or as close to normal as a
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#24
92%
90%
Synopsis: Mysteries unravel in a small Midwestern town in the 1980s, involving supernatural forces, secret experiments and one strange girl.
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#25
92%
79%
Synopsis: Veronica Mars used to be the popular girl with the cool friends and the jock boyfriend. A series of personal
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#26
92%
92%
Synopsis: Emily Dickinson, poet, daughter, and total rebel; in this coming-of-age story, Emily is determined to become the world’s greatest poet.
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#27
92%
85%
Synopsis: “Love, Victor” is set in the world of the groundbreaking movie, “Love, Simon,” which was inspired by Becky Albertalli’s acclaimed
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#28
92%
91%
Synopsis: Miles “Pudge” Halter wants to gain a deeper perspective on life, so he enrolls in boarding school. While he’s there,
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#29
91%
92%
Synopsis: Marianne and Connell come from different backgrounds but the same small town in Ireland, weaving in and out of each
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#30
91%
93%
Synopsis: Maddie is a teen girl stuck in the afterlife investigating her own mysterious disappearance; she goes on a crime-solving journey
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#31
91%
– –
Synopsis: There’s more to a person than what can be seen on the outside, as a group of teens and staffers
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#32
90%
92%
Synopsis: This heartfelt comedy follows Sam, a teenager on the autism spectrum, who has decided he is ready for romance. In
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#33
90%
74%
Synopsis: Two American kids who live on a U.S. military base in Italy explore friendship, first love, identity, and all the
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#34
90%
76%
Synopsis: Twenty years ago, a series of tragic events almost ripped the blue-collar town of Millwood apart; now, in the present
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#35
89%
84%
Synopsis: Teenage girls from radically different backgrounds find themselves stranded on a remote island, unaware they’ve just become the subjects of
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#36
88%
– –
Synopsis: One of the McCallister boys (Jack or Bobby) is elected president of the United States in 2040. But with the
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#37
87%
84%
Synopsis: An American adaptation of the Israeli show of the same name, “Euphoria” follows the troubled life of 17-year-old Rue, a
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#38
87%
66%
Synopsis: The collapse of an oil rig in New Orleans owned by the company Roxxon causes two teenagers to become unlikely
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#39
86%
73%
Synopsis: This supernatural drama, based on the series of novels by L.J. Smith, details the lives of two brothers, Damon and
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#40
86%
86%
Synopsis: A teenager navigates the complexities of high school, family and her sexuality while dealing with new superpowers; based on Charles
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#41
86%
82%
Synopsis: Queen of Scotland Mary Stuart travels to France with four ladies-in-waiting to secure her politically strategic engagement to the king’s
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#42
86%
76%
Synopsis: Teenagers Harry and June are in love with each other and decide to run away from their repressive families so
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#43
86%
81%
Synopsis: Busloads of Connecticut high school students head off for an extended camping trip, but a storm forces them to return
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#44
85%
92%
Synopsis: Sarah Michelle Gellar takes on the role of Buffy Summers in this TV version of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” based
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#45
84%
69%
Synopsis: There are times when pretty much every teenager thinks his or her parents are evil — but what if it
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#46
84%
79%
Synopsis: High school is over for the privileged former students at an exclusive prep school on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, but
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#47
84%
85%
Synopsis: It’s 1984 and a pre-Manolos-and-Mr.-Big Carrie Bradshaw (“Sex and the City”) is just a Connecticut teenager with a rebellious kid
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#48
83%
84%
Synopsis: Sinister forces plot against a young soldier after she reveals a magical power that may unite her world.
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#49
82%
72%
Synopsis: This adaptation of the “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” tale is a dark coming-of-age story that traffics in horror and the
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#50
82%
63%
Synopsis: Kitty, the youngest of the Covey sisters, embarks on a quest to find true love.
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#51
82%
75%
Synopsis: “Dare Me” is an unflinching exploration of volatile female friendships, jealousy, loyalty and the dynamics of power in a small
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#52
81%
49%
Synopsis: Archie Andrews starts the school year with the world weighing on his shoulders. He’s decided he wants to pursue a
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#53
81%
88%
Synopsis: The multi-talented Baz Luhrmann and a team of collaborators — Oscar-winner Catherine Martin, legendary MC Nas, Grandmaster Flash, Pulitzer-winning playwright
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#54
81%
85%
Synopsis: The high-school anonymity Scott McCall was trying to break free from couldn’t have happened in a more mysterious, complicated way.
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#55
81%
81%
Synopsis: As time has passed since Alison, then the queen bee of the bunch, went missing. Spencer, Aria, Hanna and Emily
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#56
80%
52%
Synopsis: Misfits investigate a series of supernatural crimes in Victorian London for Dr. Watson and his shadowy associate, Sherlock Holmes.
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#57
80%
81%
Synopsis: Emily Kmetko’s dreams of becoming an Olympic gymnast inch closer to reality when she receives a scholarship to The Rock
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#58
79%
70%
Synopsis: Produced in association with Marvel Television, and set in the “X-Men” universe, family adventure series “The Gifted” is about an
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#59
79%
71%
Synopsis: In this anthology series, each season follows a new cast of characters who deal with traumatic events over several timelines,
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#60
79%
67%
Synopsis: A teenager enlists his three best friends to hunt for a legendary treasure linked to his father’s disappearance.
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#61
79%
79%
Synopsis: Based on the best-selling fantasy book series by Terry Brooks, “The Shannara Chronicles” follows heroes in the Four Lands as
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#62
78%
71%
Synopsis: An interpretation of the Superman story features young Clark Kent coming to grips with his emerging superpowers. In the 10th
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#63
78%
87%
Synopsis: A temperamental college basketball coach gets fired from his job and must take a job at an elite all-girls private
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#64
77%
62%
Synopsis: After a decade away from home, Liz Ortecho returns to her native Roswell to care for her ailing father. When
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#65
76%
80%
Synopsis: On her birthday, Clary Fray discovers a surprise concerning her life. The teenager is not who she thinks she is
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#66
75%
68%
Synopsis: A girl is caught in a love triangle between two brothers as she deals with her first love and first
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#67
75%
84%
Synopsis: High school students explore modern sexuality, testing deeply entrenched beliefs about life, love and the nature of family in their
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#68
75%
74%
Synopsis: When Caleb Rivers heads to Ravenswood, a town near his hometown, to help some friends who went there to crash
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#69
73%
85%
Synopsis: While attending Nevermore Academy, Wednesday Addams attempts to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart a killing spree and solve the
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#70
73%
78%
Synopsis: Four roommates must learn how to navigate their new freedom on the well-known campus of Essex College.
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#71
73%
– –
Synopsis: Meet Dino, Ben and Jonathan, longtime best friends navigating high-school waters in Seattle. Being teenagers, their minds are preoccupied with
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#72
73%
83%
Synopsis: When charismatic Danny Desai returns to his hometown after spending five years in juvenile detention, he sees that things are
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#73
71%
64%
Synopsis: When three working-class teens enroll in an exclusive private school in Spain, the clash between them and the wealthy students
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#74
71%
78%
Synopsis: After 15 years of being with different families in Oregon’s foster-care system, Lux decides to try her luck as an
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#75
70%
89%
Synopsis: Ruby unwittingly witnesses an explosive secret at the public school Maxton Hall; as a result, the arrogant millionaire heir James
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#76
68%
56%
Synopsis: Following their father’s murder, three siblings move into a house filled with reality-bending keys; from the comics by Joe Hill
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#77
68%
72%
Synopsis: This modern soap opera mines the intertwined lives of the Cohen, Cooper and Nichol families for drama, with a contemporary
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#78
68%
66%
Synopsis: Navigating a post-apocalyptic world full of zombies and “Mad Max”-style gangs, a teenage outcast searches for his lost love.
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#79
67%
77%
Synopsis: Teenage Ginny and her family yearn to put down roots in a picturesque New England town after years on the
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#80
67%
80%
Synopsis: Every summer in a small Texas town, graduating seniors compete in a series of challenges, which they believe is their
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#81
67%
58%
Synopsis: When American student Molly is murdered while studying in London, her roommate, Grace, becomes the prime suspect in the crime.
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#82
65%
90%
Synopsis: Based on the graphic novel of the same name comes an unlikely coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of unsanitized
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#83
63%
91%
Synopsis: This reimagining of the classic book and film is a coming-of-age story about a young orphan who is seeking love,
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#84
63%
69%
Synopsis: Summertime in the Midwest means another season at summer camp for teens, which usually promises the campers and counselors such
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#85
61%
59%
Synopsis: MTV teams with super-producers Bob and Harvey Weinstein on a TV series adaptation of the hit horror film franchise. Instigated
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#86
60%
65%
Synopsis: The Sinclairs are American royalty known for their good looks, old money and enviable bond; after a mysterious accident changes
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#87
60%
77%
Synopsis: A grieving teenager finds an unexpected connection with two classmates at her new high school when they all land in
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#88
60%
100%
Synopsis: It’s a culture clash of epic proportions when cheerleader Brooke and unpopular journalist Sam, girls on the opposite ends of
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#89
59%
86%
Synopsis: A group of teens in the pediatric ward of Los Angeles’ Ocean Park Hospital find comfort in one another. Mexican-born
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#90
59%
75%
Synopsis: Inspired by a true story, a working-class community is awakened when its high school theater program takes on an unconventional
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#91
59%
90%
Synopsis: A figure skating Olympic hopeful struggles to balance family, love and fragile mental health as her dream of winning takes
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#92
57%
74%
Synopsis: When an alien spacecraft lands in 6-year-old Emery’s town resulting in an immediate battle, she befriends one of the young
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#93
56%
77%
Synopsis: A teenage boy is found wandering, naked and dazed, in traffic. At a nearby youth detention center, authorities discover that
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#94
53%
49%
Synopsis: After an attack brings down the star student at a ballet school, her replacement enters a world of lies, betrayal
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#95
52%
88%
Synopsis: This period piece from the minds of Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers builds on the ever-popular world first put to
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#96
50%
79%
Synopsis: Four best friends invite the shy new girl out on Halloween, but they quickly regret their decision when she suggests
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#97
47%
73%
Synopsis: After her mother dies in a fire, Cassie Blake (Britt Robertson) goes to live with her grandmother in Chance Harbor,
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#98
45%
82%
Synopsis: Fairies attend a magical boarding school in the Otherworld, where they must learn to master their magical powers while navigating
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#99
43%
92%
Synopsis: Amidst the charred ruins of Earth, a group of teens are chosen to compete in the prestigious Exemplar performing arts
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#100
43%
70%
Synopsis: Jane Quimby is a high-school fashionista who works as an assistant to high-powered fashion executive Gray Chandler Murray. Jane’s problem
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