So much so, that I apparently can’t get enough of it. A good 99% of the shows I watch are set in high school, so I take great pleasure in comparing my seemingly mundane life to the ones I see on screen. Funny thing though, I never actually see the characters watch TV … maybe I ought to try that more often. Imo, that’s probably why they lead such exciting lives. 

Anyways, I just started a new one a couple of days ago after discovering it was on HBO Max. (Side note, HBO is where it’s at. Though it may not have as many offerings as Netflix, what it lacks for in quantity it more than makes up for in quality. From throwbacks to originals, there is not a single flop on that app. Istg). Tbh, I’m a little embarrassed to say I’ve stayed up till like one more than a couple of nights this week, just to catch another episode. To preserve the integrity of this blog though, I’ll refrain from naming said show and you can try to guess which title currently has a chokehold on me. If you’ve come within 5 feet of me in the past few days, however, this’ll be pretty easy. I have not shut up about it (sorry!!). 

Also disclaimer: I excluded all Disney (and all of its affiliates: Disney XD, Disney Jr, etc.) shows as well as all Nickelodeon shows from this review. I’ve watched like practically every single one so this blog would be way too long if I were to include all of them. Just know that, in hindsight, most are pretty trash. They were golden for their time and aged oh so terribly so I’d recommend you not re-watch them as a way to keep the charm alive. 

Now, on to the main program:

13 Reasons Why

-controversial af but a potentially good concept (?) that just went awry

-time skips made it super duper confusing cuz I could never tell when Hannah was in the picture and when she wasn’t

-mature topics yet not as bad as Euphoria, but lacks the aesthetic appeal that makes it worthwhile so maybe skip this one

All American 

-inspired by a true story yet somehow truly cliche, if you like that kind of thing (I do)

-goes off the rails after season 1 but the craziness is lowk entertaining 

-overall good plot and great eye candy

Boys Over Flowers

-one of the few kdramas I watched and my favorite by far

-everyone ik hated it sm but I loved the dramatics, fanatics, and flare of the upper crust lifestyle (sucker for this in general)

-rich boy poor girl + school bully + soulmates + strangers to lovers trope

Euphoria

-unpopular opinion but way too graphic to be enjoyable

-personally more interested in the Cassie-Maddie-Nate storyline than the Rue-Jules one

-imo not at all realistic so prob why I didn’t like it but love the fashion/makeup so I try to keep up on the socials

Gilmore Girls

-so. freaking. slow. how sm ppl rewatch this show is rly beyond me

-prob team Logan or Dean, I didn’t rly like Jess’s personality but they’re all so hot

-cute and aesthetically pleasing but all of the characters are flawed and it’s infuriating—every time I thought someone was fine they entered their villain arc and it made me want to scream

Gossip Girl

-some of the cheapest trashiest television around and also one of my favorite shows of all time

-fashion inspo, confidence inspo, travel inspo, life inspo all around

-the storylines got repetitive at times and am guilty of skipping around a bit but so iconic and inspirational and just generally entertaining

Grand Army

-only one season on Netflix and sadly wasn’t renewed (rip)

-really interesting and diverse (!!!) and tackles similar topics to 13 Reason Why but in a fresh, relatable way that is 10000000x better

-professional critics feel the multiple differing storylines were too confusing and muddled the meaning but this professional TV aficionado thinks it was perf

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series

-couldn’t get thru 5 min without cringing bc the characters literally act like middle school pre-teens

-All I Want is the only good original piece to come out of this dumpster fire of a show

-stick to the movie!! I beg you!! or even the Olivia-Joshua tik tok drama!! anything is better than the show I promise

Never Have I Ever

-also cringey but was made by my queen Mindy Kaling so I had to watch

-honestly quite funny and depressingly relatable :/ (though it did inspire me to make some changes so it wouldn’t be as relatable)

-they rly did everyone dirty with the costuming tho so if I could change one thing it would be that 

One Tree Hill

-why is every single person in the cast so hot I genuinely have never seen a better looking group of people in my life (irl or online) … also Chad Michael Murray need I say more

-cliche like All American but ig I have a soft spot for the sports themed shows

-what I think of when I think of teens living in America (minus the diversity since it was made like twenty years ago)

Saved by the Bell

-one of the first “real” teen shows I watched back when it was on Netflix and had literally 9 pixels (it’s now remastered on HBO but I hate rewatching things)

-kind of forgot a lot of the plot but remember rly enjoying it and it’s another all american classic like One Tree Hill

-pretty cute and much more PG compared to a lot of the shows on this list

The Carrie Diaries

-watched it before seeing Sex and the City so that was an interesting (for reference The Carrie Diaries is supposed to be a prequel, detailing the life of SATC protagonist Carrie Bradshaw during her high school years)

-well-fleshed out characters who are pretty likable; some personality discrepancies though now knowing Carrie in SATC

-liked the focus on fashion and would overall recommend! an unexpected find on Netflix that still somewhat underground I’d say

The Vampire Diaries

-thought it was gonna be weird so I held off on watching it until Tiffany  (still Team Stefan but not for Elena cuz hes better than her sorry not sorry) convinced me to give it a shot

-un poco scary if you watch it at night but also its just supernormal stuff which isn’t that bad?

-idt they even go to school ever so idk if it qualifies as a high school show lol

Also honorable mention to the shows I started but never stuck with (aka watched more than an episode or two) since I feel like I’m ethically not allowed to pass judgment on them:

-Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

-Dawson’s Creek

-Degrassi

-Elite

-Fresh Prince

-Friday Night Lights

-Glee

-Pretty Little Liars

-Riverdale

-Sex Education

-Skins

-The Society

You were fine, I guess, but there’s a reason I never stuck with you. 

          -XOXO

          Eshani