25 teen TV shows that millennials still love today

Even Stevens aired on the Disney Channel for three seasons from 2000 to 2003. The show focuses on the Stevens family, particularly the siblings of Ren and Louis, played by Christy Carlson Romano and Shia LaBeouf. Ren was the straight-A student who was always involved in school organizations, while Louis was the more rambunctious sibling who was usually called into the principal’s office. It’s where viewers were first introduced to LaBeouf, years before he became a film star.

Degrassi: The Next Generation centered on teenagers going through school and home life. The show focused on numerous topics such as family, relationships, bullying, sex, mental disorders, gang violence, and so much more. It’s also the show in which rapper Drake got his first big acting break playing the character of Jimmy Brooks. 

In addition to singing some iconic R&B songs, Brandy also showed off her acting chops in the show Moesha. The show aired for six seasons and showcased Moesha during her high school and college years as she navigated being a teenager and dealing with family, relationships and school life. Some of Brandy’s co-stars included Sheryl Lee Ralph, Countess Vaughn, William Allen Young, Yvette Wilson, and more. 

Kristen Bell starred as the lead character on the teenage drama series Veronica Mars. In each episode, Mars navigated school life while also working as a private investigator under the mentorship of her detective father to solve mystery cases. 

That’s So Raven aired on the Disney Channel for four seasons from 2003 to 2007. The show centered around Raven Baxter (played by Raven-Symone), who has psychic abilities. However, she can’t control these abilities, a vision just usually appears to her, and she sees the vision play out or tries to stop it from happening. In addition to her psychic abilities, the audience sees Raven take on life as a typical teenager, while also creating chaos of her own. 

Dawson’s Creek aired for six seasons from 1998 to 2003 and became one of the WB’s most popular shows on the network. The series followed Dawson (played by James Van Der Beek) and his group of friends as they navigate a number of coming-of-age topics such as family, love, death, class differences, addiction, and more. 

Melissa Joan Hart was a fan favorite actresses among millennials, thanks to starring in shows like Clarissa Explains It All and Sabrina, The Teenage Witch. In Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Hart’s character lives with her aunts played by Caroline Rhea and Beth Broderick (who are also witches). On Sabrina’s 16th birthday, she discovers that she has magical powers, but because she’s a new witch, her spells usually don’t go as planned. 

If you speak to fellow millennials, a lot of them love reminiscing on the Disney Channel’s glory days. One of the shows that many of them mention is Lizzie McGuire, the series only lasted for two seasons, but it followed the title character (played by Hilary Duff) and her life as a teenager. 

Teen drama Gossip Girl aired on the CW for six seasons from 2007 to 2012. Blake Lively starred as Serena van der Woodsen, and the show followed a group of high school teenagers whose lives were constantly made public and commented on by an unknown blogger named "Gossip Girl." With their public and social lives on full display for everyone to read, the girls try to uncover who the blogger is. 

Lee Thompson Young starred in the Disney Channel show The Famous Jett Jackson. Young played the lead of Jett Jackson, a teenager who’s navigating school and celebrity life since he’s also an actor on the show "Silverstone". Naturally, like any other teenager, Jackson gets into random situations with his friends J.B. and Kayla. There were even a few episodes that had guest stars like Britney Spears and Beyoncé making cameos. 

The O.C. was a teen drama that showcased teenagers navigating status, wealth, and class differences. It was centered around teenager Ryan Atwood, who was adopted by a wealthy family and is trying to figure out his new life at home and school.  

After becoming fan favorites on the sketch comedy show All That, Kenan Thompson and Kel Mitchell starred in the spinoff Kenan & Kel. Each episode is centered around Thompson’s character Kenan Rockmore always coming up with a scheme and Mitchell’s character Kel Kimble, causing some type of chaos in the midst of it. 

Chad Michael Murray and James Lafferty starred in  One Tree Hill as two half-brothers trying to take on school and home life. Some themes they explored were being on their school’s basketball team and relationships with girlfriends. 

Tahj Mowry starred alongside John Marshall Jones, Jason Weaver, Omar Gooding, and Essence Atkins in the comedy sitcom Smart Guy. Mowry played the role of T.J. Henderson, a ten-year-old genius who gets moved from elementary school to high school, in which he attends alongside his brother and sister. Naturally, Henderson deals with challenges as a high school even though he's still a kid, sometimes showing off his intelligence, while also dealing with bullies. 

Sarah Michelle Gellar was already making a name for herself in the acting world, but her breakthrough role came in 1997 when she starred in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Her character Buffy Summers gets chose to fight against demons and vampires, although she consistently wishes she could live more of a normal life. The show helped earn Gellar a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress - Television Series Drama. 

Tia Mowry and Tamera Mowry starred as twin sisters separated at birth in the family sitcom Sister, Sister. The premise is centered around how each twin was adopted by a separate family and didn’t know about each other until they randomly ran into each other at the mall. To give the twins a chance to know each other, their parents decide to all live under one roof. Throughout the show, viewers see how different the twins are in personality with Tia being more of the reserved, honor student, while Tamera is the more whimsical and extroverted sister. 

Friday Night Lights is centered around a high school football team in a small, fictional town of Dillon, Texas. The show focused on numerous topics including family, school, racism, and addiction. It's a show that highlighted early careers for the likes of Michael B. Jordan and Jesse Plemons. 

Shailene Woodley starred as Amy Juergens in the drama series  The Secret Life of the American Teenager. The show follows Juergens who gets pregnant during band camp and is considering whether she should keep the baby, give the baby up for adoption, or have an abortion. In addition to teen pregnancy, the show also focuses on other topics including sexual health, fertility issues, divorce, homosexuality, and friendship. 

Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel starred as the mother-daughter duo of Lorelai Gilmore and Rory Gilmore in the comedy-drama series Gilmore Girls. Lorelai is a single mother raising Rory as she also owns her own business of running an inn. Throughout the series, the mother and daughter face a number of topics including family drama and romantic relationships. 

Daria was an animated sitcom that aired on MTV for five seasons from 1997 to 2002. On the show, Daria plays a smart and sarcastic teenager, who navigates high school alongside her fellow outcast best friend Jane. Daria’s sister Quinn plays the ditsy and popular girl in high school. 

Tyler James Williams, Tichina Arnold, and Terry Crews starred in the comedy sitcom Everybody Hates Chris. It was a semi-autobiographical show that was loosely based on the life of comedian and actor Chris Rock, who also was the show narrator. Throughout the series, viewers get a look into Rock’s life as a teen, from dealing with bullies at school and having an extremely frugal father. 

Before Miley Cyrus became the pop star she is today, fans grew up with her when she starred in the Disney Channel series Hannah Montana. The show’s premise was centered around Cyrus playing a teenager named Miley Stewart, who lived a double life as the pop singer Hannah Montana. Since she was in disguise with a blonde wig as Montana, it give her the chance to still live a regular life as a teenager since the only people who knew about her stardom were her family and best friends. 

The world was introduced to Frankie Muniz when he starred in the TV sitcom Malcolm in the Middle. The series focused on Malcolm (played by Muniz), a genius middle child, and his family who’s just trying to fit in with society. The show went on to win several accolades including Emmy Awards for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series and Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series. 

Christina Vidal starred in the Nickelodeon sitcom Taina, a series focused on a Puerto Rican teenager with dreams of becoming a pop star. Throughout the series, viewers see Taina and her friends attend a performing arts school, as well as deal with her family life. Unfortunately, Nickelodeon cancelled Taina after its second season. 

Plenty of millennials had dreams of attending a school like the fictional Bayside High featured in the show Saved by the Bell. The series was centered around a group of high school friends and their ins and outs of trying to manage school and home life. Each friend brought something different such as the charismatic Zack Morris, the materialistic Lisa Turtle, the jock AC Slater, the popular girl Kelly Kapowski, the honors student Jessie Spano, and the nerd Screech Powers. Several topics were highlighted on the show including women’s rights, drug use, and homelessness.