Best tv shows like The O.C.
Last updated March 2024
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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
Best tv shows and movies like The O.C. (2003):
Similar in 83%
Hidden Palms (2007)
Plot Summary:
Hidden Palms is an American teen drama television series that ran from May 30 until July 4, 2007, on The CW in the United States. It was canceled after eight first-run episodes. The series, created by Kevin Williamson, portrays the fictional lives of a group of teenagers and their families residing in Palm Springs, California. In the US there are currently no plans to release Hidden Palms on DVD and/or Blu-ray from Lionsgate Home Entertainment. But in the Netherlands the entire series was released on DVD by RCV Entertainment in the summer of 2009.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Romance
Country: USA
Duration:
Plot tags: sexy, serious, realistic, captivating, stylized, tv series pilot
Similar in 89%
Hollyoaks (1995)
Plot Summary:
The daily soap that follows the loves, lives and misdemeanours of a group of people living in the Chester village of Hollyoaks where anything could, and frequently does, happen.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: soap opera, sincere, realistic, serious, captivating, emotional
Similar in 79%
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
Similar in 76%
Switched at Birth (2011)
Plot Summary:
The story of two teenage girls who discover they were accidentally switched as newborns in the hospital. Bay Kennish grew up in a wealthy family with two parents and a brother, while Daphne Vasquez, who lost her hearing at an early age due to a case of meningitis, grew up with a single mother in a working-class neighborhood. Things come to a dramatic head when both families meet and struggle to learn how to live together for the sake of the girls.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 26000
Genere: Drama, Family, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, sentimental, captivating, realistic, teen, light, nostalgic
Similar in 78%
Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990)
Plot Summary:
Beverly Hills, 90210 followed the lives of a group of teenagers living in the upscale, star-studded community of Beverly Hills, California and attending the fictitious West Beverly Hills High School and, subsequently, the fictitious California University after graduation.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 37000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 44 min
Plot tags: romantic, sentimental, soap opera, realistic, teen, exciting, romantic drama, serious, uplifting, vintage
Similar in 81%
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
Similar in 90%
Dawson's Creek (1998)
Plot Summary:
Dawson's Creek is an American teen drama television series created by Kevin Williamson which debuted on January 20, 1998, on The WB and was produced by Sony Pictures Television. Filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina, at EUE/Screen Gems studios and on location around Wilmington, Southport, and Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. Many scenes were filmed at UNCW, including William Randall Library and Alderman Hall, which served as the facade of Capeside High School. Other college scenes in the fifth and sixth seasons were shot at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina. It portrays the fictional lives of a close-knit group of teenagers through high school and college. The program, part of a new craze for teen-themed movies and television shows in America in the late 1990s, catapulted its leads to stardom and became a defining show for The WB. The series ended on May 14, 2003.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 44000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: touching, emotional, realistic, teen, soap opera, light, sweet, sitcom, sex comedy, serious
Similar in 79%
Popular (1999)
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
Similar in 77%
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
Similar in 79%
Felicity (1998)
Plot Summary:
Felicity Porter decides to follow her long time crush to college in New York City.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, realistic, talky, sex comedy, teen, telenovela
Similar in 90%
Everwood (2002)
Plot Summary:
After the death of his wife, world-class neurosurgeon Dr. Andrew Brown leaves Manhattan and moves his family to the small town of Everwood, Colorado. There he becomes a small-town doctor and learns parenting on the fly as he raises his talented but resentful 15-year-old son Ephram and his 9-year-old daughter Delia.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, realistic, serious, sincere, rough, suspenseful, medical drama, teen, light hearted
Similar in 79%
7th Heaven (1996)
Plot Summary:
7th Heaven is an American family drama television series, created and produced by Brenda Hampton. The series premiered on August 26, 1996, on The WB, the first time that the network aired Monday night programming, and was originally broadcast from August 26, 1996 to May 13, 2007. The series finale was scheduled for May 8, 2006; however, the show was renewed by The CW when the intended final episode received high ratings. The final season premiered on Monday, September 25, 2006 and ended on May 13, 2007. 7th Heaven is the longest-running series that has ever aired on The WB and is the longest-running family drama in television history. It is also the longest-running show produced by Aaron Spelling. Dan Foliart composed the theme song "7th Heaven", which is performed by Steve Plunkett in the introduction of each episode.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 27000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Family, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: sentimental, semi serious, sincere, touching, feel good, realistic, biblical, family comedy, romantic drama, religious drama
Similar in 87%
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
Similar in 81%
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 79%
One Tree Hill (2003)
Plot Summary:
Set in the fictional small town of Tree Hill, North Carolina, this teen-driven drama tells the story of two half brothers, who share a last name and nothing else. Brooding, blue-collar Lucas is a talented street-side basketball player, but his skills are appreciated only by his friends at the river court. Popular, affluent Nathan basks in the hero-worship of the town, as the star of his high school team. And both boys are the son of former college ball player, Dan Scott, whose long ago choice to abandon Lucas and his mother Karen, will haunt him long into his life with wife Deb, and their son Nathan. Until now, Dan has managed to keep his two sons far from each other. But the past and present collide sharply when Tree Hill's basketball coach recruits Lucas for his team, much to the chagrin of Nathan and Daddy Dan. And the siblings natural rivalry only intensifies when they set their sights on the same girl, Peyton Sawyer. The residue of the past lingers far into the future for the residents of Tree Hill, even as a new generation is rising. Tree Hill follows the lives and loves of these two brothers, their friends and their family as they navigate high school, marriage, and finally... adulthood.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 86000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Sport
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, realistic, touching, teen, soap opera, feel good, sweet, entertaining, action adventure
Similar in 76%
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
Similar in 82%
90210 (2008)
Plot Summary:
90210 revolves around several students at the fictional West Beverly Hills High School, including new Beverly Hills residents Annie Wilson and Dixon Wilson. Their father, Harry Wilson, has returned from Kansas to his Beverly Hills childhood home with his family to care for his mother, former television and theater actress Tabitha Wilson, who has a drinking problem and clashes with his wife Debbie Wilson. Annie and Dixon struggle to adjust to their new lives while making friends and yet adhering to their parents' wishes.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 46000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: realistic, romantic, captivating, teen, humorous, entertaining, serious, sentimental, telenovela, teen comedy
Similar in 77%
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 76%
Pretty Little Liars (2010)
Plot Summary:
Based on the Pretty Little Liars series of young adult novels by Sara Shepard, the series follows the lives of four girls — Spencer, Hanna, Aria, and Emily — whose clique falls apart after the disappearance of their queen bee, Alison. One year later, they begin receiving messages from someone using the name "A" who threatens to expose their secrets — including long-hidden ones they thought only Alison knew.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 176000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 44 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, serious, realistic, teen, soap opera, slasher, saga, relaxing, thrilling, teen horror
Similar in 81%
Riverdale (2017)
Plot Summary:
Set in the present, the series offers a bold, subversive take on Archie, Betty, Veronica and their friends, exploring the surreality of small-town life, the darkness and weirdness bubbling beneath Riverdale’s wholesome facade.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 153000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: captivating, suspenseful, tense, biting, surprise ending, suspense, dramatic, intense, enigmatic, bleak
Similar in 83%
Love 101 (2020)
Plot Summary:
While trying to make their teacher fall for a basketball coach, four misfits and a model student find friendship, love and the courage to be themselves.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: Turkey
Duration: 40 min
Plot tags: romantic, touching, feel good, captivating, visually appealing, teen comedy
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 89%
The Fosters (2013)
Plot Summary:
Stef Foster, a dedicated police officer, and her partner Lena Adams, a school vice principal, have built a close-knit, loving family with Stef's biological son from a previous marriage, Brandon, and their adopted twins, Mariana and Jesus. Their lives are disrupted in unexpected ways when Lena meets Callie, a hardened teen with an abusive past who has spent her life in and out of foster homes. Lena and Stef welcome Callie and her brother, Jude, into their home thinking it's just for a few weeks, until a more permanent placement can be found. But life has something else in store for the Fosters.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 30000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: sentimental, realistic, melancholic, teen, sincere, sex comedy, anime, hispanic, controversial, semi serious
Similar in 76%
Skins (2007)
Plot Summary:
Irreverent comedy drama which follows the messy lives, loves, delirious highs and inevitable lows of a group of raucous teenage friends in Bristol.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 91000
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 46 min
Plot tags: captivating, cynical, realistic, semi serious, teen, sexy, erotic, dark, controversial, sexual
Similar in 85%
Modern Family (2009)
Plot Summary:
The Pritchett-Dunphy-Tucker clan is a wonderfully large and blended family. They give us an honest and often hilarious look into the sometimes warm, sometimes twisted, embrace of the modern family.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 469000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 22 min
Plot tags: sitcom, humorous, funny, mockumentary, entertaining, hilarious, teen, realistic, exciting, feel good
Similar in 78%
Gilmore Girls (2000)
Plot Summary:
Set in the charming town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut, the series follows the captivating lives of Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, a mother/daughter pair who have a relationship most people only dream of.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 143000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 44 min
Plot tags: realistic, feel good, humorous, witty, talky, semi serious, light, satirical, deep, comedy drama
Similar in 82%
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 84%
The Spectacular Now (2013)
Plot Summary:
A hard-partying high school senior's philosophy on life changes when he meets the not-so-typical "nice girl.".
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 160000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: touching, teen, sincere, melancholic, emotional, independent film, romantic, feel good, sweet, heartbreaking
Similar in 83%
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)
Plot Summary:
A coming-of-age story based on the best-selling novel by Stephen Chbosky, which follows 15-year-old freshman Charlie, an endearing and naive outsider who is taken under the wings of two seniors. A moving tale of love, loss, fear and hope - and the unforgettable friends that help us through life.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 539000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: touching, sincere, teen, melancholic, romantic, emotional, realistic, feel good, heartbreaking, independent film
Similar in 87%
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