Best Coming-of-Age Series Worth Watching

Why does the coming-of-age genre benefit specifically from a television format?

Because growing up genuinely doesn't happen in a single clean arc, and television's episodic, multi-season structure can actually reflect that messiness better than a film's tighter runtime allows. The best coming-of-age television lets characters make the same mistakes more than once, regress after apparent growth, and change gradually rather than through one clean epiphany, which is a much more honest depiction of how people actually mature than a single film usually has room for.

If you want early adolescence and the awkwardness of middle school

PEN15. Adult actors playing their actual younger selves alongside actual child actors, in a genuinely bold structural choice that somehow makes the show's depiction of middle school humiliation and awkwardness feel more honest rather than less. It's a genuinely brave, funny, and occasionally devastating look at that specific stage of growing up.

If you want high school specifically

Freaks and Geeks. Still one of the most acclaimed depictions of high school social dynamics ever made for television, despite running for only one season. It treats its teenage characters with genuine respect rather than exaggerating them into either simple stereotypes or overly precocious mini-adults.

Derry Girls. Set against the backdrop of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, this manages to be genuinely hilarious while never losing sight of the real historical weight surrounding its teenage characters' more ordinary adolescent concerns.

If you want the specific transition into early adulthood

Atlanta. Less a traditional coming-of-age show than most entries here, but its early seasons genuinely capture the specific uncertainty of your twenties, ambition without a clear path, in a way that feels distinct from typical high school-focused coming-of-age stories.

Everything Sucks! A more straightforward, nostalgic 90s-set look at that same high school to early adulthood transition, genuinely warm despite its short single-season run.

If you want the format applied to a genuinely different cultural context

Sex Education. British, frank, and genuinely thoughtful about sexuality and identity as part of growing up, without either moralizing or treating those topics as purely comedic material.

My honest opinion on why PEN15's structural gimmick actually works

I think the choice to have adult actors play their own younger selves alongside real child actors could have easily been a distracting stunt, but it ends up doing real thematic work instead. It creates a genuine, uncanny sense of how humiliating adolescent experiences can feel both painfully real and, in retrospect, absurd, exactly the double perspective that makes looking back on middle school so specifically cringe-inducing for most adults.

How should you actually pick from this list based on which age you want to see reflected?

If you want early adolescence specifically, PEN15 is the strongest, if strangest, pick. For high school, Freaks and Geeks or Derry Girls both work well depending on whether you want American or Northern Irish specificity. For the transition into adulthood, Atlanta or Everything Sucks! offer two very different tones of that same stage.

Frequently asked questions

What's the best coming-of-age show about middle school specifically? PEN15, with its genuinely bold choice to have adult actors play their younger selves alongside real child actors.

What's a highly regarded high school coming-of-age show? Freaks and Geeks remains one of the most acclaimed, despite only lasting one season.

Is Atlanta really a coming-of-age show? Loosely, in its early seasons specifically, capturing the uncertainty of early adulthood more than a traditional teenage coming-of-age narrative.

What's a good coming-of-age show that handles sexuality and identity thoughtfully? Sex Education, which treats those topics with genuine care rather than either moralizing or playing them purely for comedy.

Want something matched more specifically to your mood?

Our series recommendation quiz can help you find something else in this register based on which stage of growing up you're actually in the mood to revisit.