Created and written by Sam Levinson, the dark drama starring Zendaya has caused a stir due to the graphic scenes that depict the nature of addiction, mental health, toxic masculinity, sex, trauma and social media with raw honesty.

If you're looking for your next binge, here are the teen dramas that will be your next obsession. 

 

Riverdale 

Netflix 

Based on the characters of Archie Comics, when a teenager is murdered in the town of Riverdale, a group of mismatched teens come together to uncover the truth and the dark evils hiding within the seemingly quiet town.

The dark secrets of the town bring together jock Archie (KJ Apa), girl next door Betty (Lili Reinhart), new girl Veronica (Camila Mendes) and outcast Jughead (Cole Sprouse).

Together they must navigate the murky waters of sex, romance, high school, family, friends and murder. 

The murder mystery is narrated by Jughead and sees the high schoolers put their sleuthing skills to the test to protect the town and those they love. 

The Wilds 

Amazon Prime 

A modern-day story akin to Lord of the Flies, The Wilds sees a group of teenage girls stranded on a deserted island after a plane crash and are forced to work together to survive. 

The girls are on their way to an empowerment retreat for young women in Hawaii called the Dawn of Eve programme when their plane crashes.

Forced to come together, the teen castaways are unaware that they are the subjects of a social experiment orchestrated by the head of the Dawn of Eve programme.

Scenes of the girl’s ordeal on the island are interspersed with flashbacks of their lives before the crash, and flashforwards of interviews with supposed FBI agents after their apparent rescue. 

On My Block 

Netflix 

Four black and Latino teens growing up in the rough inner city of Los Angeles find their lifelong friendship tested when they start high school and find themselves pulled in different directions. 

Monsé (Sierra Capri) is a headstrong tomboy who acts as the leader of the group, Ruben (Jason Genao) is a maths whiz kid and acts as the groups moral compass, Jamal (Brett Gray) is a self-confessed nerd who is on the hunt for hidden treasure, and Cesar (Diego Tinoco) is forced to join a gang when his brother is released from prison.

Unafraid to shy away from dark topics, the teens are coming of age in a world where the sound of gunshots is so normal they make a game of it.  

However, despite the heavy themes, the show is filled with wacky humour and reflects the fun of being a teenager. 

Sex Education 

Netflix 

Sex Education tackles the highs and lows of teenage life, tackling topics such as sexuality, anxiety, love and relationships.

Created by Laurie Nunn, the comedy focuses on 16-year-old Otis (Asa Butterfield), a socially awkward teenager who is insecure and ambivalent about sex, putting him at odds with the hormone-rampant teenagers around him and his sex positive therapist mother Jean (Gillian Anderson).

A chance encounter, however, soon leads to him setting up a business with outcast Maeve (Emma Mackey) as a sex and relationships advisor to his teenage classmates.

However, teaching teenagers the birds and the bees is not easy and there are plenty of awkward mishaps along the way. 

Shadow and Bone 

Netflix 

The fantasy series based on the books by Leigh Bardugo is set in the kingdom of Ravka, a country trapped in an endless war with its neighbours Fjerda and Shu Han. 

Ravka is divided into two by a dark, shadowy impenetrable void called the Fold, which is full of deadly monsters.

Young orphan Alina (Jessie Mei Li) is a cartographer for the Ravka army when she discovers that she is a Grisha, a person with individual special magical abilities. 

However, Alina is a very rare Grisha with the ability to control light, known as the sun summoner. With such power, she may be the only one that can destroy the Fold and save Ravka. 

My Mad Fat Diary 

All 4

It’s the mid-1990s in Lincolnshire and 16-year-old, 16 stone Rae Earl (Sharon Rooney) has just left the psychiatric hospital where she has spent the last four months following a suicide attempt. 

Desperate to lead a normal teenage life, she reconnects with her former best friend Chloe (Jodie Comer) and tries her best to hide her complicated mental health and body image problems.

Rae is keen to impress Chloe’s new friends, the dreamy Archie (Dan Cohen), aloof Finn (Nico Mirallegro), party animal Chop (Jordan Murphy) and ditzy Izzy (Ciara Baxendale). 

Music and boy obsessed, witty and honest entries in Rae’s diary reveal her inner thoughts and feelings, demonstrating the rollercoaster of emotions a teenage girl feels.

The End of the F***ing World 

All 4

The dark comedy based on a graphic novel of the same name sees suspected teen psychopath James (Alex Lawther) team up with mouthy rebel Alyssa (Jessica Barden) to embark on an ill-fated road trip. 

James has been killing animals since he was a child and when new pupil Alyssa arrives, he decides he will kill her next. He pretends to fall in love with her to lull her into a false sense of security.

Bored by suburbia and desperate to escape her chaotic home life, wild and free-spirited Alyssa decides to leave town and joins James, who plans to kill her at some point on the journey. 

During the road trip, instead of killing Alyssa, he starts to develop feelings for her as she begins to get under his skin. 

Gossip Girl 

BBC iPlayer 

The drama follows the lives of the most privileged teenagers of Manhattan’s Upper East Side who find themselves the focus of mysterious and omniscient blogger Gossip Girl. 

The original series aired between 2007 to 2012 before being rebooted for a new generation in 2021. 

Gossip Girl knows their every move and is ready to use their secrets and lies against them, dropping the truth when they least expect it. 

Both the original and sequel series are narrated by Kirsten Bell, who voices Gossip Girl, as she documents the chaotic escapades the young elite get up to.

Yellowjackets 

Sky 

A combination of survival, psychological horror and coming-of-age drama, Yellowjackets follows a group of New Jersey high school soccer players who are stranded in the Canadian wilderness after their plane crashes. 

Stuck in the middle of nowhere, the girls are forced to survive alone for 19 months in the wilderness, but the pressure of the life and death nature of the situation leads the team to descend into savage clans. 

The series flips between 1996 and the present day 25 years later as the women try to deal with the repercussions of the trauma they endured. 

Pen 15

Sky 

Comedy series Pen 15 is the series that promises to show the unvarnished reality of attending middle school. 

Maya and Anna are 31-years-old actors who play the 13-year-old social outcast versions of themselves during middle school in the year 2000.

Maya is shy and sensitive and has mainly been raised by her mother, but often makes friends using her class clown persona. 

Anna is best friends with Maya and struggling with her parent's divorce, which she deals with through music and singing. 

Surrounded by actual teenagers, the pair deal with the highs and lows of middle school, from peer pressure, to crushes, to friendship fallouts.

Derry Girls 

Channel 4

Four teenage girls and a wee English fella attend a Catholic girls’ Secondary School and often find themselves in awkward and crazy situations. 

Set in the 1990s during The Troubles, the series is based on writer Lisa McGee’s own experiences. 

The characters include Erin (Saoirse-Monica Jackson) and her eccentric cousin Orla (Louisa Harland), the studious and cautious Clare (Nicola Coughlan), wild child Michelle (Jamie-Lee O’Donnell) and Michelle’s English cousin James (Dylan Llewellyn). 

Never Have I Ever 

Netflix  

Devi (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) is desperate to climb the social ladder at school and find a boyfriend, while dealing with her overbearing mother, Indian identity, changing friendships and the grief over the recent death of her beloved father. 

Created by Mindy Kaling and narrated by John McEnroe, the comedy series is based on Kaling’s own upbringing.

With little experience with romance and boys, Devi dives headfirst in pursuing her crush on popular boy Paxton (Darren Barnet), but a rivalry with school nemesis Ben (Jaren Lewison) complicates matters when feelings start to arise.