Need more teen drama? We’ve got you sorted.
7 Shows to Watch if You Can’t Get Enough of 'Heartbreak High'
Need more teen drama? We’ve got you sorted.
The world has fallen in love with Heartbreak High. The series was ranked number one on Netflix globally for a few weeks in September 2021 and has been consistently highly rated in Australia. Everyone has been watching and falling for, Amerie, Harper, Dusty, Darren, Quinni and the whole crew.
But if you’ve already binged through all of the season 2 episodes – and we don’t blame you, there weren’t enough! – then we’ve got you sorted with a new list of must-watch teen dramas to spend a weekend with. Here are some of our favourite shows if you can’t get enough of Heartbreak High.
1. Bump
Where can I watch it? Stan
If what you want is more Australian drama, then Bump has to be next on your watch list. Bump follows Ollie and Santi, two teenagers who find themselves the accidental parents of a baby – while still finishing high school in Sydney’s Inner West. Most teen pregnancy shows might take a turn towards drama but Bump does not. It’s a joyous and love-filled series about family, friendship and finding your person. Filmed in Sydney and with a cast that includes Claudia Karvan and Angus Sampson as Ollie’s parents, it’s a must-watch, with two seasons on Stan now and a third coming soon.
2. Sex Education
Where can I watch it? Netflix
One of the original and the best teen shows on Netflix, Sex Education is currently in production for a fourth season and remains one of the best shows on the streaming platform. The series began with the tale of Otis (Asa Butterfield), the son of a sex therapist (Gillian Anderson) who starts to dole out sex advice at his school for money, all with the help of his pals Eric (Ncuti Gatwa) and Maeve (Emma Mackey). But over the years and seasons, this show has blossomed into so much more: always nuanced, always smart, and always putting the lives and loves of its teenage characters first. We love how seriously this show takes its young characters, which is something we also love about Heartbreak High.
3. Heartstopper
Where can I watch it? Netflix
Something that put Heartbreak High above many other shows was how effortlessly – while still thoughtfully – it approached diversity, in particular its LGBTQ+ characters. This is something on display in Netflix’s Heartstopper, the surprise hit of February, which followed a group of school kids as they begin to understand how they feel and who they love. It’s a teen show without any of Heartbreak High’s raunch, but rather a sweet love story at its core. Adorable. A second season is coming soon and we cannot wait.
4. Never Have I Ever
Where can I watch it? Netflix
Similarly, another thing that we loved about Heartbreak High was its diversity of ethnicities when it came to its main characters, and the very nuanced and realistic approach it took to multicultural families. This is something that we also love about Never Have I Ever, Mindy Kaling’s coming-of-age series that is in its third season on Netflix, with a fourth also in the works. Never Have I Ever’s casting is impeccable, introducing us to a diverse crew of talented young actors just like Heartbreak High, while also representing a modern Indian American family.
5. Yellowjackets
Where can I watch it? Paramount+
OK, so Yellowjackets might be the most dissimilar to Heartbreak High on this list. It’s a series about mysticism and the occult and a missing plane and a group of schoolgirls who might have resorted to something drastic while they were stranded on a mountain for 18 months in the 90s. (You can guess what that might be.) But the darkness of Yellowjackets doesn’t change the fact that it is full of fantastic costumes and clothes, just like Heartbreak High. We recommend watching it purely for the incredible 90s fits, as well as the great cast of young actors that you will fall in love with, just like you did with Heartbreak High. Yellowjackets actually features quite a few Australian actors, including Courtney Eaton and Eve Hewson – so it might be more similar to Heartbreak High than we thought!
6. The Summer I Turned Pretty
Where can I watch it? Prime Video
If what you want after Heartbreak High is more young love, then we suggest checking in with The Summer I Turned Pretty. This show is just delightful, a very, very adorable series about Belly’s love triangle with two brothers, over the course of one lazy summer when she turns 16. The series is based on books by Jenny Han – she who wrote To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before – and a second series is already in the works at Prime Video.
7. Reservation Dogs
Where can I watch it? Binge
Binge has no shortage of teen dramas, from Euphoria to Sex Lives of College Girls and Genera+ion, but we thought we’d give a shoutout to Reservation Dogs. Like Heartbreak High, which features two First Nations characters in Malakai and Missy, Reservation Dogs also platforms First Nations storytelling, as it follows a group of Native American teenagers on a mission to get out of their hometown and hit the open road to California. Taika Waititi is a producer of this Emmy-nominated show, with all episodes available to watch on Binge.
