Nostalgia gets the best of all of us sometimes. If you’re yearning for the simpler times, Her Campus has you covered with these throwback shows.
1. “Boy Meets World”
“Boy Meets World” follows Cory and his gang from the time they are in sixth grade all the way through college. We grow up with the cast, and along the way, we learn lots of valuable lessons from Mr. Feeny. We all wanted a best friend like Shawn, a lover like Topanga and most importantly, a teacher and neighbor like Mr. Feeny.
2. “Freaks and Geeks”
It only lasted one season, but has now become a cult classic since being added to Netflix. It was completely underrated for its time, but starred tons of now-A-listers, including Seth Rogen, James Franco, and Jason Segel. The show is about going to high school in the ’80s, but remains timeless, as the typical high schooler still struggles with the same issues, like grades, bullies, cheating and everything else you worry about as an adolescent.
3. “One Tree Hill”
This show was on the air for nearly 10 years, and has remained extremely popular since its debut on Netflix. The show is set and filmed in North Carolina. It follows the lives of a group of teenagers through it all; aspiring basketball careers, marriages, break-ups, and even kids. This show is extremely addicting and binge-worthy, so once you start, be ready to be dedicated for nine seasons worth of drama.
4. “That ’70s Show”
A huge hit TV show from Fox and now available on Netflix, “That ’70s Show” followed the lives of teenagers living in Wisconsin during the — you guessed it — 1970s. Most of the plot is spent in Eric Forman’s basement or car, but that’s what makes it so great. It’s not far from the reality of what being a teenager is like when you live in the middle of nowhere. It’s also always wonderful to go back and watch a young Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher. True goals.
5. “The OC”
“The OC” set another pretty unrealistic expectation for what high school would be like. It portrayed teenagers living in the well-to-do area of Newport Beach. The Cohen family puts Ryan, a rough teenager from Chino, up in their pool house (how third-class), and from there the show focuses on the antics and love interests of four teens living in Orange County.
6. “Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide”
How could one even survive middle school without Ned Bigby? Not to mention, the theme song for this show was incredibly catchy. However, it did make me have an irrational fear of how horrible eighth graders would be.
7. “Kim Possible”
Every girl my age wanted to be Kim Possible when we were growing up. Now that I am older, I appreciate Kim Possible even more. I always knew she was really cool — but I never realized how badass she truly was. And you’re lying if you said you were never just a little bit envious of that hair.
8. “Lizzie McGuire”
“Lizzie McGuire” is another classic Disney Channel show that followed a teenage girl through her journey of adolescence. What made this show stick out was how likable and relatable Lizzie and her friends were. Lizzie McGuire practically invented the “friend zone,” and everyone simultaneously cheered when Lizzie finally gave Gordo that kiss in Italy.
9. “Jersey Shore”
It may seem like this was fairly recent, but the hit MTV reality show that transformed the lives of its ensemble cast has been off the air for five years now. There’s been lots of reality shows since, but none as iconic as “Jersey Shore.” It turned random people from the Northeast into instant celebrities, and created some of the slang and acronyms still popular today. I bet a majority of millennials could easily tell you what a “grenade” is, what it means to “smush,” and what “GTL” entails.
10. “Laguna Beach” / “The Hills”
The teens on Laguna Beach lived the type of life that everyone wished they were living. The show completely captured the early 2000s: side bangs, flip phones and mini skirts. “The Hills” then became the spin-off series that followed the journey of Laguna native, Lauren Conrad. It came out that the show had a lot of set-ups and was partially scripted, but it’s still wildly entertaining. The age of Speidi will never truly be forgotten.