Hitting that ‘Request A TV Show’ button on Netflix leads to a world of longing, especially if you’re a fan of teen shows from the good old days. Yes, 13 Reasons Why, Riverdale and To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before are products of a new golden age of teen TV, but sometimes you crave the old stuff. And to be fair, today’s shows all owe a debt to what’s gone before.
Call it nostalgia, call it good teen TV. Call it what you want, but the days when we discovered Joshua Jackson as Pacey in Dawson’s Creek were a childhood gift we’ll cherish forever. As was every moment of Gossip Girl‘s eagerness to give us the lowdown on the Upper East Side. And let’s not forget Sweet Valley High — when the Wakefield twins ruled the corridors, TV was pure, unadulterated joy, all wrapped in a pretty pink bow and delivered direct to our big, boxy CRT sets. We’re aching to relive those halcyon TV days. Here are nine series we want to watch again on Netflix U.K. — and to be discovered by a whole new generation.
Dawson’s Creek
Imagine a time when teenage girls were expected to be more interested in the charms of James Van Der Beek than Joshua Jackson. A time before Katie Holmes and Michelle Williams had weathered the storms of their respective high-profile relationships with Tom Cruise and Heath Ledger. These were the heady days of Dawson’s Creek, the US drama about a group of alarmingly verbose teenagers making their way into adulthood.
Shot in soft-focus sunshine, it transformed Jackson’s Pacey into teen crush material after an affair with his teacher gave him a been-there-done-that swagger. Early on, Jen (Williams) established herself as a compelling hate-watch character with improbable lines such as “I was sexualised way too young”, but Dawson’s Creek was unmissable TV that launched the fledgling stars’ careers. Hell, James Van Der Beek even went on to feed Kesha cheese in her Blow video while some frisky unicorns looked on.
If you fancy this, watch: Dawson’s Creek — UK fans can stream six seasons of the mighty Creek on All 4. Until it’s available on Netflix, of course, and opens up to a wider audience.
A Different World
How cool was Denise Huxtable in The Cosby Show? The answer is cool enough to practically invent Janet Jackson-style shoulder-shrugging dance moves and pair them with the ’80s headscarves to match.
Lisa Bonet helped spread Denise’s wings when the second-born Huxtable child headed off to college in this spin-off, meeting early purveyor of Southern sass, Whitley, and the iconic Dwayne Wayne — who made flip-up sunglasses a thing. Bonet left after one season because she was pregnant with the bump that’s now known as Zoe Kravitz, but the chance to binge-watch some of her finest moments would be priceless.
If you fancy this, watch: All About The Washingtons.
My So-Called Life
Two words: Jordan Catalano. Jared Leto’s curtain-haired lothario was the ultimate ‘90s crush in this teen drama that only lasted for one season.
But what a season. From homelessness to homophobia, My So-Called Life covered all the issues, and brooding Leto was perfectly cast as Angela Chase’s (Claire Danes) on-off love interest. Or, as UK magazine J17 used to say, her “boyf”.
If you fancy this, watch: Party Of Five.
Sweet Valley High
Because Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield were YA before it was a thing.
If you fancy this, watch: Victorious, in which Ariana Grande and Victoria Justice battle for top billing and deliver one-liners and pop songs aplenty.
The Monkees
It’s the 1960s. Four hipsters, each with a different look and personality, bring the lulz and a pop banger (Daydream Believer, Last Train To Clarksville and I’m A Believer, to name a few) to each episode. What’s not to like?
The band was created expressly for the TV series and consisted of Mickey Dolenz, Davy Jones, Peter Tork and Michael Nesmith. The Monkees enjoyed a revival in the 1980s in the UK when the show was re-run on weekday mornings in the school holidays. Today’s teenagers should get the chance to sample their psychedelic funnies and musical performances, too.
If you fancy this, watch: That 70s Show.
Daria
If there’s anyone who sums up the fine art of being a miserable teen with a talent for witty one-liners, it’s Daria Morgendorffer, the bespectacled breakout star of MTV’s Beavis And Butt-Head.
The show ran from 1997 to 2001 and in that time Daria wasn’t impressed with anything. In the words of the coolest teenager in animation: “Do you think if you breathe on me I might catch your enthusiasm?” But even Daria might crack a smile at the news that MTV is making new episodes.
If you fancy this, watch: Big Mouth, a very different picture of adolescence.
As If
OK, so Skins is held up as groundbreaking TV with its depiction of teenagers bothering their parents by having too much fun. But before that came As If, bringing crazy camera angles, teenage kicks and a new breed of raunchiness to Sunday lunchtimes in the UK.
So far, so classic telly. But it also raised issues around mental health, showing Sooz (the girl McFly’s UK Number One hit Five Colours In Her Hair was written about) and her struggle to fit in and manage her depression.
If you fancy this, watch: Skins.
Press Gang
Dexter Fletcher and Julia Sawalha inspired a generation of geeky young Brits to tap the keys of their typewriters in this comedy-drama set in the office of a school newspaper created by outgoing Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat.
Sawalha ruled as fearless editor Lynda, but still had time to flirt with wise-cracking American import Spike (Fletcher). His accent was so convincing that viewers of Guy Ritchie’s breakthrough crime flick Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels were shocked to find out that he was actually British.
If you fancy this, watch: The Breakfast Club.
The Hills/The City
So, the cast have been pictured together which means that frenzied stories about the reboot inevitably follow. But while we wait for The Hills: New Beginnings, first, let’s take a moment to appreciate the days when Speidi were a new power couple and Olivia Palermo brought the classiest sass to Whitney Port on spin-off show The City. And of course, The Hills and The City brought the finest reality TV character ever, straight-talking PR boss Kelly “Mama Wolf” Cutrone. This show needs revisiting before we catch up with our favourite reality stars all grown up.
If you fancy this, watch: Gossip Girl.
