Back to School TV: 12 Shows to Match That September Vibe
TV shows with a classroom twist to add to your queue!
The fall is a time for lots of things: changing leaves đ, PSLâs, apple picking đ, etc. Also on the list: back to school! đ« Whether youâre headed back to school yourself, have kids who have resumed their normal August/September-May/June routine, or simply love that new-school-supplies-smell âïž in the air every time you hit your local store, September is when we collectively reset and enter a new grade, so to speak. Fall has always been a great time to start a new TV show, since the networks usually premiere their new and returning shows in September. đș But since things this year are a little different, we put together a list of shows you can watch that take place at school or heavily feature a school backdrop to match the vibe!
 1. Abbott Elementary
Abbott Elementary is a critically acclaimed fan favorite show about an inner city elementary school and its teaching staff. đ©âđ« Filmed in a mockumentary style, creator and star Quinta Brunson is a new teacher trying to fit in with her colleaguesâand her overt optimism doesnât always mesh, to comedic effect. Full of equal amounts of laughs and heart, itâs no mystery why this show has earned multiple Emmy and other critical awards. đ
2. Friday Night Lights
One of the best shows about football đ that isnât really just about football, Friday Night Lights has been a critical favorite since it premiered in 2006. A TV show based on a movie đ„ of the same name (which was based on a book đ of the same name by H.G. Bissinger,) itâs about a high school football team as they embark on a new season with a new coach. On the first Friday night, their star quarterback suffers a career-ending injury and the rest of the series is about what happens next. The show delves into broader social issues affecting the fictional small town of Dillon, TX: generational values, sense of family, racism and sexism, how school funding figures into the community, teen pregnancy, political and socio economic differences.  Â
3. Community
A comedy about community college, Community follows a small group of mismatched classmatesâan eclectic study group-who become unlikely friends. Comedian Joel McHale plays a lawyer who is disbarred and suspended from his job after itâs discovered that he never graduated from college đ with his Bachelorâs Degree, so he heads back to school. The cast is star-studded: McHale along with Gillian Jacobs, Danny Pudi, Yvette Nicole Brown, Alison Brie, Donald Glover, Ken Jeong and Chevy Chase ensure that every episode is full of sarcastic, witty humor. Writer and creator Dan Harmon took inspiration from his own life when he wrote the show: he enrolled in a community college to take Spanish with his girlfriend, and ended up joining a study group đ with people that were very different from him but ended up being his friends.
4. Never Have I Ever
In this teen comedy/drama from creator Mindy Kaling, an Indian-American teen, Devi Vishwakumar, living in the San Fernando Valley of CA, heads back to school đ« following the summer after a rough year. Her father suddenly died and she is in the midst of coping with her loss đąâincluding changes in her family dynamics and home life. But instead of dwelling, Devi has a new mission: to become popular, and get a boyfriend. Her best friends are on board, but donât make things particularly easy for her. Together, these friends navigate school, family, and the reinvention phases one goes through during high school.
5. Freaks & Geeks
One of the most critically acclaimed, cult favorite TV shows of all time is Freaks & Geeks. Created by Paul Feig and executive-produced by Judd Apatow, this short lived series only saw one season on the air, but is consistently talked about and rewatched by fans. The cast includes Linda Cardellini, John Francis Daley, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel, James Franco, Busy Philipps, Samm Levine, and Martin Starrâall who went on to appear in more Judd Apatow-produced films or have giant careers. Itâs 1980, and Lindsay Weir and her younger brother Sam both attend William McKinley High School đ« in a Michigan suburb. Lindsay finds herself hanging out with a group of teens who the show refers to as the âfreaks:â they arenât jocks or cheerleaders but might be found under the bleachers smoking đŹ or having a beer.đș Sam and his friends are the âgeeks:â đ€ theyâre good students, mathletes, and generally afraid of getting in trouble. Through Lindsay and Sam, viewers navigate both ends of the social spectrumâas well as the importance of family and friendship.
6. Wednesday
In a series based on The Addams Family, Wednesday is a brand new story đ€ about Wednesday Addams, played by Jenna Ortega, who is thrown out of her high school for releasing piranhas into the pool to seek revenge on a classmate. She enrolls in the Nevermore Academy, a boarding school for monstrous outcastsâthe alma mater of her parents Morticia and Gomez (and the place where they met and fell in love đ). Itâs here where Wednesday discovers an inherited gift of psychic abilities, and when a campus murder đ©ž plagues the student body, she sets out to find out what happened. Nevermore is delightfully spooky; its students and teachers are incrediblyâŠkooky. But what high school isnât?!
7. Heartstopper
A brilliant adaptation of a graphic novel đ by Alice Oseman, Heartstopper is a British coming-of-age romantic comedy/drama created and written by the same author. Charlie and Nick find themselves in the same class at their private high school, and sparks fly âš almost immediately. Charlie is an openly gay đłïžâđ teen, while Nick is still struggling with his sexuality, so things arenât exactly easy right away. The show delves into all aspects of high school angst: crushes, friendships, family, and finding oneâs identity at a confusing time. Heartstopper earnestly portrays the inner lives of LGBTQ+ teens, and so sweetly depicts first love â€ïž that can make anyone nostalgic for that time in their lives.
8. Greek
This comedy-drama from the late 2000s is a fun portrayal of fraternity/sorority life in college. At a fictional university, Greek life rules the schoolâand Casey Cartwright is the campus queen đ: sheâs about to become President of her sorority, is dating the President of the best fraternity at the school, and she lives a charmed life. But when her geeky đ€ brother arrives as a freshman, dead set on joining a fraternity himself, she sees her entire carefully curated image going up in flames. When her brother catches her perfect boyfriend cheating on her with a pledge during rush, everything starts to fall apart. đ Whatâs worse: her ex-boyfriendâs fraternity thinks her brother is awesome, and makes him their star pledge. đ Whether youâre familiar with Greek life within the collegiate system or not, itâs an entertaining show about friendship, family, and loveâand what you value the most.
9. One Tree Hill
An early 2000s drama, One Tree Hill is a show about brothers at odds. Lucas and Nathan Scott are half brothers and rivalsâa rivalry that only grows stronger when Lucas joins the high school basketball đ team, of which Nathan is already the star. âïž Their father is also in a rivalry of his own with his brother Keith, who has helped raise Lucas. The show often follows the friends and acquaintances of Lucas and Nathan, as their classmates and community are put into the center of their family drama. In addition to good old fashioned teenage angst and deep storylines about identity, the show was known for putting new musical artists đ¶ on screen consistently. Endlessly rewatchable, fans of the show consistently celebrate it.
10. Gossip Girl
Based on a book series đ of the same name, Gossip Girl follows the lives of wealthy teens on the Upper East Side of New York City. đœ âGossip Girlâ is voiced by Kristen Bell: it is the observant commentary of an omniscient member of this privileged community, one who is always watching to publish the sordid details of their lives for everyone to gawk over. đ The show was known for its starsâBlake Lively, Leighton Meester, Penn Badgley, Ed Westwick, among othersâas well as the fashion-forward vibe. Even these kidsâ private school uniforms were chic. And in a world where social media was just starting to take over our lives when the show premiered in 2007, the idea of someone watching your every move and ready to broadcast your whereabouts to everyone you know was daunting. Imagine if Gossip Girl had an Instagram account?! đ±
11. Derry Girls
Derry Girls is a British sitcom that takes place in Derry, Northern Ireland đźđȘ in the 1990s, during the last years of The Troubles. A heavy setting is a brilliant backdrop for a comedy about Catholic high school âïž friends who get themselves into all sorts of hijinks, often which coincide with the themes of political unrest and cultural divides of the times. Erin, her cousin Orla, and their friends Michelle and Clare are inseparable, and when Michelleâs English cousin James comes to live in Derry and go to school with them, he becomes the butt of every joke. The series balances historical events with cutting humor, and often uses archival footage of the events happening at the time, providing levity to otherwise hilarious dialogue. While the world around them is uncertain and scary, these teensâ day-to-day concerns are typical: they long for dates đ«, concert tickets đ«, good grades đ, and parental approval đ, among other things.Â
12. Boy Meets World
A classic sitcom from the 1990s, Boy Meets World đ is still a fan favorite three decades later (and the subject of a popular podcast series đ hosted by three of its stars). While the series is largely a show about Cory Matthews and his friend Shawn, brother Eric, and longtime girlfriend Topanga, the episodes mostly take place at school: first elementary, then high school and college. And the gangâs teacher, đšâđ« Mr. Feeny (played by seasoned actor William Daniels), is prominently featured as their guide and mentor through seven seasons. Nothing says âback to schoolâ like watching Cory give Mr. Feeny a hard time!
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