TV Line: "10 Best Teen Dramas Cancelled after 1 Season"

[JamesG.]

My So-Called Life (ABC, 1994-95)

When it debuted in 1994, My So-Called Life was the anti-Beverly Hills, 90210: a non-soapy high school drama — cast with some actual teens! — that treated the emotional travails of adolescence with tender respect.

The love and care put into telling the story of Angela Chase, played by a then-14-year-old Claire Danes, and her friends is a huge part of why the one-season ABC series continues to resonate: Don’t all teens everywhere just want to feel understood?





Flash Forward (Disney Channel, 1995)

Before Ben Foster was an indie movie star and Jewel Staite was a cult TV icon (Firefly), they starred in this Disney Channel comedy about two 13-year-old best friends who also happen to be neighbors.

The series brought genuine heart and humor to the travails of young teen angst and left us wondering if Tuck and Becca one day ended up together.





Malibu Shores (NBC, 1996)

Aaron Spelling attempted to follow up the success of Beverly Hills, 90210 with this juicy Romeo and Juliet-esque soap about a rich Malibu teen (a pre-Felicity Keri Russell) and a boy from the wrong side of the tracks the valley (Tony Lucca) who fall in love.

When he’s transferred to her school, along with some fellow valley classmates, the culture clash begins. It’s just like The O.C., complete with beach fights and mansions catching fire!

And did we mention the short-lived drama’s cast also includes a pre-Buffy Charisma Carpenter?





Freaks and Geeks (NBC, 1999-2000)

This exquisitely bittersweet NBC dramedy is a staple of cancelled-too-soon lists (and deservedly so). But it’s also one of the most hilariously accurate portraits of adolescence that’s ever aired, with a sharp eye for the very specific agony of teen life — whether you were a freak, a geek or somewhere in between — and a cast brimming with future stars.

Its blurring of the line between comedy and drama was revolutionary… and, sadly, just a bit ahead of its time.





Young Americans (The WB, 2000)

Two years after The WB blessed us with Dawson’s Creek, the Michigan J. Frog-owned network birthed this lesser-remembered teen drama about the brooding student body of a sexy New England boarding school.

How sexy, you ask? Let’s just say that this particular institution educated the likes of Ian Somerhalder and Kate Bosworth before they were household names. With its bold, gender-defying storylines and aggressive Coca-Cola sponsorship, Young Americans is a sure-fire thirst quencher if nothing else.





Life As We Know It (ABC, 2004-05)

Overshadowed by the more popular teen dramas of its day, this fourth wall-breaking treat aimed to tell us what high school boys are really thinking. (Spoiler alert: Sex. All the time.)

From a torrid student-teacher affair to a dramatic production of Romeo and Juliet with real-world implications, it tackled all the classic teen TV tropes, but thanks to to endearing performances from its charismatic cast — which included Missy Peregrym, Chris Lowell and Kelly Osbourne in her small-screen acting debut — it always felt fresh.





Privileged (The CW, 2008-09)

Long before Lucy Hale set the New York fashion scene ablaze as Katy Keene, she made waves in Palm Beach, Fla., as rebellious rich girl Rose Baker, one of the teen terrors entrusted to a new live-in tutor (played by Joanna Garcia) in this forgotten gem.

But while it may feel like poor Yale-educated Megan’s entire life revolves around bettering the Baker brats, she still finds the time to navigate an adorable love triangle with her best friend (Michael Cassidy) and the boy next door (Brian Hallisay).





10 Things I Hate About You (ABC Family, 2009-10)

A small-screen adaptation of the 1999 rom-com, which itself took inspiration from William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, this surprisingly clever and tragically underrated romp gave us memorable performances from the likes of Nicholas Braun (Succession), a pre-Star Trek Ethan Peck and even newly crowned American Horror Story queen Leslie Grossman.

We can’t even think of one thing we hated about this show… except that it was cancelled.





The Secret Circle (The CW, 2011-12)

On paper, this bewitching drama should have been a slam-dunk success. Not only was it based on a book series by The Vampire Diaries author L. J. Smith, but it also counted Kevin Williamson among its executive producers.

How the show’s compelling premise and highly watchable cast — which included Britt Robertson and Phoebe Tonkin among its teen witches, and Gale Harold and Natasha Henstridge among its hot grown-ups — didn’t conjure a larger viewership, we’ll never understand.

Fair warning, though: If you do decide to binge this one, its theme song will remain in your brain for as long as your human form walks this earth.





Jane by Design (ABC Family, 2012)

Younger meets The Devil Wears Prada in this quirky dramedy about a high school student (Erica Dasher) who moonlights as the assistant to a no-nonsense fashion executive (Andie MacDowell).

With the endless support of her “platonic” best friend (Nick Roux), Jane goes to unimaginable lengths to keep her two worlds from colliding. And did we mention that Teri Hatcher drops in halfway through the season as Jane’s estranged mom?

This show is romantic, zany fun in its purest form.

https://tvline.com/gallery/best-teen...ung-americans/

[Naiera]

Privileged was incredibly funny and, obviously, featured copious amounts of Lucy Hale. I can't say I mind where her career went after that (PLL was awesome and Aria Montgomery is the best girl ever on TV), but I wouldn't mind if they'd gotten a half-season more or something.

[kevin87]

Originally Posted by Naiera

Privileged was incredibly funny and, obviously, featured copious amounts of Lucy Hale. I can't say I mind where her career went after that (PLL was awesome and Aria Montgomery is the best girl ever on TV), but I wouldn't mind if they'd gotten a half-season more or something.

Or even an actual full season, it only had 18 episodes... but I don't consider it a teen drama since it focused more on Megan, her stereotypical secretly-in-love-with-her male best friend, and the stereotypical handsome rich guy who doesn't understand what's going on... Rose and Sage were one of the handful of teens on the show and their storylines were secondary at best.

The Secret Circle and 10 Things definitely should've had at least another season... if TSC had come out now, it probably would have lasted longer, but it was overshadowed by TVD at the time.

[JamesKurtovich]

Netflix's Everything Sucks should be up there.

[SororityRow]

I'm one of the few who really dug the 2009 CW reboot of Melrose Place. Katie Cassidy was an awesome loveable ***** on that.

[ThisIsJonny]

There can be multiple factors for cancelling a series, but I thought Jane By Design was cute. It was maybe just too "wholesome" for some viewers. Speaking of Lucy Hale, I'd say the same for her series Life Sentence. I liked both and believe they could have lasted for at least a few seasons. I don't know if we still would've had Katy Keene though (at least maybe no Lucy as the lead). lol

[CaptainWebber]

I know people seriously hated its guts (with good reason!), but I was slightly bummed when the BBC cancelled Class.

Despite its terrible first season, it was regardless one of those shows with incredible potential and the potential to improve. I mean....let's not kid ourselves: Torchwood's first season was god-awful, yet Children of Earth was one of the best things ever made in the sci-fi genre.

Originally Posted by JamesKurtovich

Netflix's Everything Sucks should be up there.

Second'd.

[Naiera]

Originally Posted by ThisIsJonny

Speaking of Lucy Hale, I'd say the same for her series Life Sentence. I liked both and believe they could have lasted for at least a few seasons. I don't know if we still would've had Katy Keene though (at least maybe no Lucy as the lead). lol

I liked Life Sentence a lot, but never really fell in love with it. Outside of Lucy, obviously

Katy Keene is a better show, except for Jorge. God dang, he's annoying. Sometimes it feels like half the show is about him doing stupid things and his drag. I'm not into that at all, and did I mention he's really annoying?

[Naiera]

Originally Posted by kevin87

Or even an actual full season, it only had 18 episodes...

18 can be a full season today But you're right.

I finally caught it maybe two years ago on CW Seed. I'd tried to find it everywhere, but no luck. No streaming or digital buying anywhere. It was awesome to see pre-PLL Lucy, although I know she wasn't in a good place personally back then.

[FrellingFrakker]

I would like to nominate Daybreak. It's a post apocalyptic teen show and I thought it was great. Was very disappointed Netflix didn't renew.

[Cardboard_killer]

Originally Posted by JamesG.

Don’t all teens everywhere just want to feel understood?

Speaking for myself, I also wanted to feel boobies.

I liked the first two seasons of Popular, but the third wasn't great, then it got canceled.

[filmbuffTX]

Generation (2021) - Starred Justice Smith. It was an HBO Max original and canceled after one season. They even purged it from the service as a cost cutting measure and it's now streaming on Tubi. There was a good companion podcast as well.

It ends on a cliffhanger, but not a big plot cliffhanger that makes you angry you invested the time. Definitely worth seeing if you like the coming of age genre.

[Josep5349]

Popular managed two seasons but still worthy of a mention as it ended far too soon.

[rikraq]

What about Ravenswood?

Nah, it was awful.