First published 2023
Entertainment journalist Thea Glassman examines seven teen television series that transformed modern TV. She draws from dozens of fresh interviews with showrunners, cast members, and crew to tell the behind-the-scenes stories of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, My So-Called Life, Dawson's Creek, Freaks and Geeks, The O.C., Friday Night Lights, and Glee. Glassman argues these shows proved teen television could be intelligent and significant while launching careers of future stars like Will Smith, Michael B. Jordan, Claire Danes, and Seth Rogen. The book traces how these series took young audiences seriously and created lasting cultural impact. Glassman connects these influential programs to today's acclaimed teen shows like Euphoria, Sex Education, and Pen15, showing how fictional high school hallways became laboratories for television innovation that rivals the impact of prestige adult dramas.
Genres: american-fiction, adolescence, 21st-century
Vibes: fast-paced, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: career-launch, found-family
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
240 pages · Hardcover · Running Press Adult