Best tv shows like Popular
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Brooke McQueen, a popular cheerleader at Jacqueline Kennedy High School, and Sam McPherson, the editor of the school paper, are polar opposites. When their single parents unexpectedly meet and get engaged, Brooke and Sam have to deal with their new situation on top of regular teenage girl problems.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: humorous, emotional, realistic, witty, semi serious, offbeat, teen, telenovela, queer cinema, teen comedy
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Best tv shows and movies like Popular (1999):
Similar in 80%
Falcon Beach (2006)
Plot Summary:
Set in a quiet town where locals and summer visitors mingle, and relationships change as quickly as the tide. Will the hot days of summer prove long enough to resolve the abundant seduction and scandal of Falcon Beach?.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 611
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: Canada
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: semi serious, humorous, emotional, realistic
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Similar in 87%
The Secret Life of the American Teenager (2008)
Plot Summary:
Amy and her friends at Grant High learn to define themselves while they navigate the perilous waters of contemporary adolescence. Between their love triangles, secrets, drama, accusations, gossip, confusion, and scandalous rumors, there's never a dull moment.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 43 min
Plot tags: serious, emotional, realistic, teen, romantic, captivating, suspenseful, touching, grindhouse, sincere
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Similar in 82%
Degrassi: Next Class (2016)
Plot Summary:
Follow a group of high school freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors from Degrassi Community School, a fictional school in Toronto, Ontario, as they encounter some of the typical issues and challenges common to a teenager's life.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Canada
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: realistic, sentimental, uplifting, emotional, sweet
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Similar in 78%
Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001)
Plot Summary:
The life of a group of adolescents going through the trials and tribulations of teendom at Degrassi Community School.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Canada
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: teen, sentimental, realistic, touching, serious, tense, suspenseful, captivating, suspense, disturbing
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Similar in 78%
Camp (2013)
Plot Summary:
Off the grid and miles from civilization, Little Otter Family Camp has summer fun for everyone. Parents decompress over gin and tonics while their kids run wild, and teenage counselors fall in and out of love. Mackenzie Granger is the camp owner and director. Still reeling from her recent divorce, Mackenzie is ready for a fresh start. She is running things on her own for the first time and scrambling to keep the cash-strapped Little Otter from going under.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA, Australia
Duration: 43 min
Plot tags: feel good, humorous, semi serious, realistic
Similar in 78%
Degrassi Junior High (1987)
Plot Summary:
Degrassi Junior High is a Canadian CBC Television teen drama series that was produced from 1987-1989 as part of the Degrassi series. The show followed the lives of a group of students attending the titular fictional school. Many episodes tackled difficult topics such as drug use, child abuse, teenage pregnancy, homosexuality, homophobia, racism, and divorce, and the series was acclaimed for its sensitive and realistic portrayal of the challenges of teenage life. The cast comprised mainly non-professional actors, which added to the show's sense of realism. The series featured many of the same actors who had starred on The Kids of Degrassi Street a few years earlier, including Stacie Mistysyn, Neil Hope, Anais Granofsky, Sarah Charlesworth and others. However, their character names and family situations had been changed, so Degrassi Junior High cannot, therefore, be considered a direct spinoff. The legal counsel for all the episodes was Stephen Stohn who later became the executive producer of Degrassi: The Next Generation. The series was filmed at the unused Vincent Massey Public School in Etobicoke, Ontario.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Family, Romance
Country: Canada
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, touching, serious, realistic, teen, gloomy, soap opera, telenovela
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Similar in 78%
My So-Called Life (1994)
Plot Summary:
The life of a 15 year-old high school student, whose angst-ridden journey through adolescence, friendship, parents, and life teaches her what it means to grow up.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 912 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, serious, emotional, realistic, talky, teen, romantic, anime, clever
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Similar in 80%
Gossip Girl (2021)
Plot Summary:
Eight years after the original website went dark, a new generation of New York private school teens are introduced to the social surveillance of Gossip Girl.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: enigmatic, realistic, stylized, semi serious, intense, queer cinema
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Similar in 85%
Glee (2009)
Plot Summary:
Glee is an American teen musical comedy-drama television series that airs on the Fox network in the United States. It focuses on the reconstituted William McKinley High School glee club, New Directions, which competes on the show choir competition circuit while its disparate members deal with relationships, sexuality, social issues, and learning to become an effective team.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 154000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Music, Musical
Country: USA
Duration: 44 min
Plot tags: feel good, stylized, humorous, witty, semi serious, teen, suspense, funny, light, offbeat
Similar in 80%
Bart Got a Room (2008)
Plot Summary:
Everyone is searching for love in director Brian Hecker's semi-autobiographical story. Danny Stein, a high school senior at the bottom of the social food chain, needs a prom date. As a cause of anxiety for Danny, Bart Beeber, the nerdiest guy in school, has already found a date -- and booked a hotel room. At the same time, Danny's divorced parents are both looking for relationships again.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: feel good, humorous, touching, realistic, teen, offbeat, semi serious, independent film
Similar in 89%
Hellcats (2010)
Plot Summary:
Pre-law student Marti Perkins' world is flipped upside down when she loses her scholarship, and realizes the only way she can stay in school is by reigniting her dormant teen gymnastic skills to win a place on Lancer University's legendary cheerleading team.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: humorous, feel good, semi serious, entertaining, teen, realistic
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Similar in 79%
Zoey 101 (2005)
Plot Summary:
Zoey 101 is an American television series which originally aired on Nickelodeon from January 9, 2005 until May 2, 2008. It focuses on the lives of teenager Zoey Brooks and her friends as they attend Pacific Coast Academy, a fictional boarding school in Southern California. It was created by Dan Schneider. It was initially filmed at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, then at stages in Valencia, California beginning in season 3. It was nominated for an "Outstanding Children's Program" Emmy in 2005. Zoey 101 was the most expensive production ever for Nickelodeon series, as it was shot completely on location in Malibu. It was also Nickelodeon's best performance for a series premiere in almost eight years. Despite this, many critics have made negative comments about the show, its setting, and its characters.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: humorous, sitcom, semi serious, realistic, entertaining, juvenile, cult classic, teen comedy, nostalgic
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Similar in 81%
Saved by the Bell (1989)
Plot Summary:
Saved by the Bell is an American television sitcom that aired on NBC from 1989 to 1993. The series was a retool of the Disney Channel series Good Morning, Miss Bliss. The show follows the exploits of a group of friends and their principal, and although the series primarily showcases light-hearted comedic situations, it occasionally touches on serious social issues, such as drug use, driving under the influence, homelessness, divorce, death, and environmental issues. This made Saved by the Bell a precursor to later shows that introduce young audiences to critical moral dilemmas. Saved by the Bell stars Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Dustin Diamond, Lark Voorhies, Dennis Haskins, Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, Elizabeth Berkley, and Mario Lopez. Saved by the Bell was named one of the "20 Best School Shows of All Time" by AOL TV. The show's popularity spawned two spin-off series to follow: Saved by the Bell: The College Years, a prime time series that follows several of the original characters to college, and Saved by the Bell: The New Class, a Saturday morning series that follows a new group of students at Bayside High School. The series also spawned two TV movies and a short-lived comic book series. Saved by the Bell also aired in Australia on Channel Seven, and from 1990 until 2004 on Nickelodeon. Reruns have aired in local syndication and on MTV2.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 37000
Genere: Comedy, Family, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, feel good, sweet, humorous, realistic, witty, not serious, iconic, teen comedy, nostalgic
Similar in 77%
Sweet Valley High (1994)
Plot Summary:
Sweet Valley High is an American comedy-drama series very loosely based on Francine Pascal's book series of the same name. The series ran from September 5, 1994 to October 14, 1997, and was produced by Saban Entertainment. The rights are now held by Disney-ABC Domestic Television. After three seasons in syndication, the show moved to UPN for its fourth season, where it was canceled due to low ratings.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sweet, sentimental, humorous, realistic, semi serious
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Similar in 86%
10 Things I Hate About You (2009)
Plot Summary:
Outspoken Kat Stratford couldn't be less like her sister, super sweet, yet kinda conformist Bianca. The only things they seem to have in common are being new at school and their overprotective dad.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Comedy
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: witty, sitcom, semi serious, humorous, light, romantic, sweet, entertaining, teen, clever
Similar in 78%
That '70s Show (1998)
Plot Summary:
Crank up the 8-track and flash back to a time when platform shoes and puka shells were all the rage in this hilarious retro-sitcom. For Eric, Kelso, Jackie, Hyde, Donna and Fez, a group of high school teens who spend most of their time hanging out in Eric’s basement, life in the ‘70s isn’t always so groovy. But between trying to figure out the meaning of life, avoiding their parents, and dealing with out-of-control hormones, they’ve learned one thing for sure: they’ll always get by with a little help from their friends.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 187000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 22 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, sentimental, realistic, not serious, funny, mystical, parody, light, atmospheric
Similar in 77%
The Carrie Diaries (2013)
Plot Summary:
Before she was a fashion icon, before her column in the New York Star, before Mr. Big, Carrie Bradshaw was an innocent 16-year-old girl living in suburban Connecticut.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 29000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 42 min
Plot tags: exciting, captivating, semi serious, humorous, erotic, teen, realistic, light, retro
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Similar in 86%
Awkward. (2011)
Plot Summary:
An irreverent look at the conflict, chaos and humor that defines teenage life through the eyes of 15-year-old Jenna Hamilton whose life begins to change when a simple accident becomes an epic misunderstanding and is blown way out of proportion. Narration in the first-person voice of Jenna's blog posts captures the humor within the struggles and experiences everyone can relate to from their formative years.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 46000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 22 min
Plot tags: humorous, light, realistic, sitcom, teen, funny, romantic, captivating, entertaining, independent film
Similar in 90%
The O.C. (2003)
Plot Summary:
The series centers on Ryan Atwood, a troubled youth from a broken home who is adopted by the wealthy and philanthropic Sandy and Kirsten Cohen. Ryan and his surrogate brother Seth, a socially awkward yet quick-witted teenager, deal with life as outsiders in the high-class world of Newport Beach. Ryan and Seth spend much time navigating their relationships with girl-next-door Marissa Cooper, Seth's childhood crush Summer Roberts, and the fast-talking loner Taylor Townsend. Story lines deal with the culture clash between the idealistic Cohen family and the shallow, materialistic, and closed-minded community in which they reside. The series includes elements of postmodernism, and functions as a mixture of melodrama and comedy.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 95000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 44 min
Plot tags: touching, soap opera, witty, teen, exciting, entertaining, sad, anime, serious, realistic
Similar in 75%
Life As We Know It (2004)
Plot Summary:
See life through the eyes of Dino, Ben, and Jonathan -- three teens experiencing the joys and pains of growing up. Although different in many ways, these guys have one main thing in common -- women. Together, their attitudes about women are challenged, and they discover there's more to life than meets the eye.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 43 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, semi serious, light, melancholic, sentimental, romantic, feel good, captivating, entertaining
Similar in 81%
Gossip Girl (2007)
Plot Summary:
Gossip Girl is an American teen drama television series based on the book series of the same name written by Cecily von Ziegesar. The series, created by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, originally ran on The CW for six seasons from September 19, 2007 to December 17, 2012. Narrated by the omniscient blogger "Gossip Girl," voiced by Kristen Bell, the series revolves around the lives of privileged young adults on Manhattan's Upper East Side in New York City.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 189000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 42 min
Plot tags: romantic, soap opera, talky, stylized, serious, witty, teen, erotic, sexy, intellectual
Similar in 84%
Faking It (2014)
Plot Summary:
A romantic comedy about two best friends who love each other -- in slightly different ways. After numerous failed attempts to become popular, the girls are mistakenly outed as lesbians, which launches them to instant celebrity status. Seduced by their newfound fame, Karma and Amy decide to keep up their romantic ruse.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 21 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, sitcom, teen, light, disturbing, not serious, teen comedy, queer cinema
Similar in 85%
Desperate Housewives (2004)
Plot Summary:
Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama-mystery series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. It aired Sundays at 9 P.M. Eastern/8 P.M. Central, on ABC from October 3, 2004, until May 13, 2012. Executive producer Cherry served as showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season included Bob Daily, George W. Perkins, John Pardee, Joey Murphy, David Grossman, and Larry Shaw. The main setting of the show was Wisteria Lane, a street in the fictional American town of 'Fairview' in the fictional 'Eagle State'. The show followed the lives of a group of women as seen through the eyes of a dead neighbor who committed suicide in the very first episode. The storyline covers thirteen years of the women's lives over eight seasons, set between the years 2004–2008, and later 2013–2017. They worked through domestic struggles and family life, while facing the secrets, crimes and mysteries hidden behind the doors of their — at the surface — beautiful and seemingly perfect suburban neighborhood. The show featured an ensemble cast, headed by Teri Hatcher as Susan Mayer, Felicity Huffman as Lynette Scavo, Marcia Cross as Bree Van de Kamp, and Eva Longoria as Gabrielle Solis. Brenda Strong narrated the show as the deceased Mary Alice Young, appearing sporadically in flashbacks or dream sequences.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 137000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Mystery, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: witty, humorous, sexy, soap opera, sexual, stylized, exciting, cynical, biting, cliffhanger
Similar in 80%
Rebelde Way (2002)
Plot Summary:
Rebelde Way is a Martín Fierro Award—nominated Argentine soap opera created and produced by Cris Morena. It originally aired from 26 May 2002 to 18 December 2003. The series was broadcast in many countries worldwide, including Peru, Germany, Israel, Spain and Uruguay, achieving widespread success. In addition, numerous remakes of Rebelde Way have been made, most notably Rebelde by Mexican Televisa. In 2009, Jennifer Lopez bought the rights for an U.S. adaptation. Rebelde Way is set in the Elite Way School, a prestigious private boarding high school near Buenos Aires. The students of the school are the members of Argentine wealthiest families, as well as gifted students with scholarships. The series follows the lives of Elite Way students, their parents and their professors, and it also features the regular use of English language and phrases by the upper class. Its central characters are Marizza Pía Spirito, Mía Colucci, Pablo Bustamante and Manuel Aguirre, portrayed by, respectively, Camila Bordonaba, Luisana Lopilato, Benjamín Rojas and Felipe Colombo. The four form a band named Erreway, in order to pursue their dreams. The band enjoyed a great success throughout Latin America, Europe and Israel, selling over 3 million records and achieving several Platinum records. Along with spawning a series of merchandising, Cris Morena Group also released a spin–off movie Erreway: 4 Caminos in 2004.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Music, Romance
Country: Argentina
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: soap opera, semi serious, humorous, novela, realistic, sentimental, romantic, feel good, entertaining, telenovela
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Similar in 76%
Boy Meets World (1993)
Plot Summary:
Boy Meets World is an American television sitcom that chronicles the coming of age events and everyday life-lessons of Cory Matthews, a Philadelphian who grows up from a young boy to a married man. The show aired for seven seasons from 1993 to 2000 on ABC, part of the network's TGIF lineup. The entire series has been released on DVD, as well as on iTunes.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 46000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family
Country: USA
Duration: 23 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, realistic, feel good, semi serious, touching, sweet, teen comedy, nostalgic
Similar in 82%
Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging (2008)
Plot Summary:
Georgia Nicolson is fourteen, lives with nosey parents who don't understand her, an annoying three year old sister and has to wear a beret to school. She would, however, rather be blonde, have a smaller nose and a boyfriend. Revolving around her hilarious journal entries, prepare to be engulfed in the world of the soaring joys and bottomless angst of being a teenager.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 30000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA, Germany, UK
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: touching, teen, feel good, romantic, romantic comedy, humorous, sexy, realistic, heartbreaking, cute
Similar in 84%
Clueless (1995)
Plot Summary:
Shallow, rich and socially successful Cher is at the top of her Beverly Hills high school's pecking scale. Seeing herself as a matchmaker, Cher first coaxes two teachers into dating each other. Emboldened by her success, she decides to give hopelessly klutzy new student Tai a makeover. When Tai becomes more popular than she is, Cher realizes that her disapproving ex-stepbrother was right about how misguided she was -- and falls for him.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 239000
Genere: Comedy, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: feel good, teen, romantic, light, funny, sexy, not serious, sweet, humorous, clever
Similar in 76%
Drive Me Crazy (1999)
Plot Summary:
Nicole and Chase live next door to each other but are worlds apart. However, they plot a scheme to date each other in order to attract the interest and jealousy of their respective romantic prey. But in the mist of planning a gala centennial celebration, Nicole and Chase find that the one they always wanted was closer than they ever thought.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: feel good, romantic, sexy, teen, light, humorous, romantic comedy, relaxing, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 86%
LOL (2012)
Plot Summary:
In a world connected by YouTube, iTunes, and Facebook, Lola and her friends navigate the peer pressures of high school romance and friendship while dodging their sometimes overbearing and confused parents. When Lola's mom, Anne, "accidentally" reads her teenage daughter's racy journal, she realizes just how wide their communication gap has grown.
IMDB Rating: 4.4
IMDB Votes: 58000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: romantic, light, feel good, teen, realistic, semi serious, funny, sexy, heartbreaking, sex comedy
Similar in 75%
Picture This (2008)
Plot Summary:
Bookish and unpopular Mandy finds her luck finally changing when Drew, the school hottie, invites her to the year's biggest party. But with being grounded and Drew's ex-girlfriend bent on thwarting her, Mandy may be destined to remain a geek. Can a little ingenuity and some help from her friends save the day?.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: feel good, humorous, semi serious, teen, realistic, romantic, sex comedy, romantic comedy, happy, relaxing