One Tree Hill
Another installment in the teen drama canon, One Tree Hill not only brought us Chad Michael Murray, but it also furthered the genre as a serious contender in network TV.
The premise: Two half-brothers are separated when they are young. Although they share the same father, one, Lucas, is raised by his single mother in a lower socio-economic situation. The other, Nathan, was raised by his jerky and rich dad in a mansion on the other side of town.
Despite the bad blood toward their shared father, they eventually become close and establish a really tight-knit clique. This clique stays together throughout high school, and although the show time jumps over college, they pick back up in their adult lives.
Why you’ll like it: It’s everything you want from a teen soap, with a touch of the absurd thrown in. It’s got your standard love triangles, betrayals and heart-eyed crushes, but it also has a deranged nanny, someone’s transplant heart eaten by a dog, and teenage pregnancy.
Where to find it: All seven seasons are on Hulu. If you ask me, things don’t really get good until the fifth season when they pick up in the group’s 20s. It depends on what you like, but if you prefer stalkers, Pete Wentz, and near death experiences, you might fast forward though the high school years.