By Nandana Rajesh & Zoe Fitzmorris, Staff Writers
The O.C.
The O.C. is an intense drama following Ryan Atwood, a teen from the bad side of town. After his brother is arrested and his mom abandons him, Ryan moves in with public defense lawyer Sandy Cohen, his wife Kirsten and their son Seth. All at once Ryan is thrown into the wild and wealthy life of a Newport Beach resident. Featuring a cast of quirky and entertaining characters, such as Marissa, the gorgeous neighbor, and Summer, Marissa’s endearing best friend, this show is definitely worth your time. The show follows Ryan from his sophomore to senior year of high school, over the course of four seasons. On a rollercoaster of dramatic twists and turns, relationship strife and crime, this show will have you on the edge of your seat until the very end.
One Tree Hill
Similar to the The O.C., One Tree Hill features an ensemble cast teen angst. Protagonist Lucas Scott is not only an intelligent and hardworking student, but also a talented basketball player who plays at the river court with friends by night, and works at his single mom’s café by day.
Across town, Lucas' half-brother Nathan lives with his rich mother Deb and his pushy, sports-obsessed father Dan, and cares only about becoming the best basketball player on Tree Hill High’s team. When beloved basketball coach Whitey recruits Lucas to play on Tree Hills team, the lives of these two brothers collide and secrets about their pasts are slowly revealed. With basketball players who are smarter than they look, and cheerleaders who are stronger than they look, this show is definitely worth your time. The show is a fairly big time commitment, spanning a full nine seasons, however, though it can be slow at times, is a great watch with likeable characters and dramatic plot twists.
Dawson's Creek
Dawson's Creek revolves around titular character Dawson, an ambitious future filmmaker who is obsessed with movies and TV. Dawson is a sophomore at Capeside High School in Massachusetts. Problematic love triangles, such as the one between Dawson, his girlfriend Jen, and his best friend Joey, are not uncommon in Dawson's Creek. While it is a solid show, it falls short of the level of quality on the other shows on the list. The show spanned six seasons all with about 20 episodes per season. Dawson's Creek has multiple storylines especially in the earlier seasons of the show, that lack realism and suffers from stereotypical/overdone plot lines. Despite this, the show is still captivating, has a smooth easy to follow story line and really good character progression. Even though Dawson's Creek is the lowest on this list it is still a great show and is definitely entertaining
Gilmore Girls
Compelling hit drama Gilmore Girls focuses on teen mom Lorelai and her daughter Rory who’s 16 at the beginning of the show. Lorelei has worked her way up from maid to manager at a successful inn, and Rory is an overachieving high school student. When Rory gets into a prestigious and expensive private school, Lorelei is forced to ask her wealthy parents for money to pay for Rory's tuition, reigniting past tensions, and bringing them back into the girls' lives. The show follows the drama caused by the new school and Lorelei's complicated relationship with her parents, made more difficult by trying to raise a teenage daughter.
With seven seasons and about 20 episodes per season, it will take some time to watch, but it is definitely worth it. This show is dedicated to its realism, and is still holds up today, with its endearing character relationships and feel-good premise of the story. Very little in the show is super far from reality and Rory and Lorelai are just normal people going through dramatic situations. If you like drama, happy endings and likeable characters, Gilmore Girls is definitely a good show for you and is a very worthwhile watch.