12 Best TV Shows Like Outer Banks

One of Netflix's biggest hit original series in recent years is "Outer Banks," which premiered in 2020 and ran for five seasons. Set in the scenic beach towns of North Carolina, the series blended coming-of-age drama, along with romance and action, elevated by its young, charismatic main cast. "Outer Banks" reinvigorated teen dramas and thrillers, but the genre has been a television staple for decades. With that in mind, there are countless shows like "Outer Banks" for fans looking to find the series' effective soap operatic stakes elsewhere.

From shows set in other picturesque locations around the country or featuring cool, stylish characters in a cycle of love and betrayal, there are plenty of teen dramas to watch. What links these series are young, impossibly beautiful main characters, often thrust into melodramatic storylines that grow increasingly ludicrous. For fans of the genre, they wouldn't have these teen and young adult shows any other way.

Here are the 12 best TV shows like "Outer Banks" that you should check out next.

Any major American teen drama that has premiered following 2003 contains at least a little influence from "The O.C." Set in the Southern California town of Newport Beach in Orange County, the community is upended when troubled teen Ryan Atwood (Benjamin McKenzie) is adopted by the wealthy Cohen family. Ryan befriends the nerdy Seth Cohen (Adam Brody), while the two romance their two classmates, Marissa (Mischa Barton) and Summer (Rachel Bilson), respectively. As the four progress through high school, they deal with unhinged bullies and spurned love interests, as well as escalating drama among their parents.

From its sun-soaked exteriors to its seamless infusion of contemporary popular music into the show, "The O.C." set a template for teen dramas that continues to endure. The show has the usual genre archetypes –- the bad boy with a heart of gold, the paradoxical cool nerd, the beautiful girl-next-door -– presented in a way that they feel fresh. The series was never quite the same after Barton's departure in the third season, canceled the following year, but managed to stick the landing. An instant classic, "The O.C." is both a time capsule to the mid 2000s and a foundational teen drama that still has its impact felt today.

Compared to "The O.C.," which premiered only one month before, The CW's "One Tree Hill" told a considerably more grounded coming-of-age high school story. Set in the fictional small town of One Tree Hill, North Carolina, the series initially focused on half-brothers Lucas (Chad Michael Murray) and Nathan Scott (James Lafferty). Rivals on their high school basketball team, Lucas and Nathan gradually learned to appreciate each other as they progressed through school and found love with their classmates. The latter half of the series features a time jump, following the characters shortly after they complete college.

More in the vein of preceding teen dramas like "Dawson's Creek" and "Everwood" than "The O.C.," "One Tree Hill" offered a rustic alternative to city-based coming-of-age stories. The show's ensemble cast gelled extraordinarily well together, keeping the show firing on all cylinders for the majority of its nine-season run. The show wasn't without its own drama, however, from the controversial departure of several main cast members and sexual misconduct allegations towards creator Mark Schwahn. Beyond this behind-the-scenes notoriety, "One Tree Hill" remains a standard-setter for teen dramas and a career springboard for much of its cast.

After the successful 2004 film adaptation of H.G. Bissinger's 1990 novel "Friday Night Lights" (one of the best football movies ever), the story received a television adaptation of the same name in 2006. Set in small town Texas, football coach Eric Taylor (Kyle Chandler) and his wife Tami (Connie Britton) work at their local high school. The show delves deeper into the Taylor family and Eric's team, especially Jason Street (Scott Porter) and his girlfriend Lyla Garrity (Minka Kelly). The final two seasons have Coach Taylor begin teaching at a nearby high school, with its own new students and staff to grow accustomed to.

With the benefit of five seasons, this version of "Friday Night Lights" goes much deeper than the movie, particularly with its interpersonal relationships. From teenage relationship drama to the main ensemble being rocked by tragedy and betrayal, the series is marked with all the messiness of life. Chandler and Britton's constant presence grounds the proceedings, while the teen and young adult characters provide the edgier and more melodramatic storylines. A more grounded teen soap opera than most of its contemporaries, "Friday Night Lights" takes full advantage of its small town scope.

If "The O.C." and "Outer Banks" follows young socialites in sun-soaked coastal towns, "Gossip Girl" follows a similar teen population in Manhattan's Upper East Side. The show is centered on the high rivalry between classmates Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively) and Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester), including the romances they become entangled in. Serving as the series' omniscient narrator is an unidentified blogger going by the profile name Gossip Girl. The show chronicles its main characters progressing through high school, college, and their early years of young adulthood.

The CW really did provide the lion's share of popular teen dramas in its heyday, with "Gossip Girl" arguably its biggest show during this period. The series made stars of much of its main cast and included the late Michelle Trachtenberg's greatest performance. A revival show featuring an all-new cast premiered in 2021 on Max, though just didn't click the same way as the original. While its social satire isn't as sharp as the novel series the show was based on, "Gossip Girl" is still sharply written and powered by an appealing young cast.

Sara Shepard's young adult novel series "Pretty Little Liars" was adapted into a long-running television series by Freeform in 2010. The story has four estranged best friends reunite one year after the disappearance of their mutual friend Alison DiLaurentis (Sasha Pieterse). This reunion is prompted by the four receiving threatening messages linked to Alison's sudden vanishing. Later seasons feature a time jump and different antagonists behind other conspiracies against the main characters after Alison's mystery is resolved.

Most seasons of "Pretty Little Liars" improve upon themselves, building complex mysteries and mounting questions facing the characters. The main cast's ensemble chemistry, particularly Ashley Benson, Lucy Hale, and Troian Bellisario, with Bellisario pulling double duty in two different roles. "Pretty Little Liars" would spawn three spinoffs, including one sharing continuity with "Riverdale," but none as good as the original series. A masterclass in teen mystery, "Pretty Little Liars" is a standout of the genre.

The classic Archie Comics characters are reinvented by way of "Twin Peaks" in the teen thriller series "Riverdale." In the sleepy Upstate New York town of Riverdale, high schooler Archie Andrews (KJ Apa) and his friends are rocked by the murder of a classmate. Joined by his best friend and amateur sleuth Jughead Jones (Cole Sprouse), Archie investigates who is behind the murder, unraveling a trove of dark and deadly secrets within their community. Subsequent seasons bring in everything from biker gangs to religious cults to Riverdale, even a surprise crossover with "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina."

"Riverdale" starts out as a relatively straight-laced, if stylish, teen drama with murder mystery stakes, throwing in plenty of high school romance. However, every successive season of "Riverdale" gets more absurd, including somehow fitting in black magic and alternate universes, and the show is all the better for it. The series was compared to "Twin Peaks" out the gate, a comparison that it doubled down on as it embraced how weird its premise could get. Delightfully deranged and never not over-the-top, "Riverdale" is the ultimate guilty pleasure teen drama, as trashy as it is addictive.

The 2007 novel "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher starts with the morbid inciting incident of high schooler Hannah Baker (Katherine Langford) killing herself. The novel was adapted into a four-season series by Netflix in 2017, exploring the impact of Hannah's suicide. Hannah had left behind a handful of cassette tapes, each recounting a different reason she chose to end her life, the contents of which are being leaked online. Hannah's classmates start to spiral in the wake of her death and subsequent revelation of her suicide notes, including Clay Jensen (Dylan Minnette), who harbored a crush on Hannah.

"13 Reasons Why" is arguably the darkest Netflix original teen drama, with topics ranging from suicide ideation to school shootings. This raised controversy over the show's depiction of teenage depression and self-harm, leading to Netflix re-editing the initial suicide scene and including content warnings on select episodes. With all that in mind, "13 Reasons Why" is also a show about mental health recovery, specifically through Clay's journey, rather than dwell entirely on its grimmer aspects. A raw and unflinching look at mental health issues facing high schoolers, "13 Reasons Why" certainly isn't for everyone but the story that it tells, it tells well.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org

The long-running pulp literary mystery series "Nancy Drew" by Edward Stratemeyer got a supernatural teen drama adaptation in 2019 on The CW. Starring Kennedy McMann as the titular super-sleuth, Nancy investigates the murder of local socialite Tiffany Hudson (Sinead Curry) while dealing with the loss of her own mother. Nancy uncovers dark secrets about her hometown, including the truth about her parentage and its secret magical legacy. As Nancy gets closer to exposing the truth, she has to contend with a wraith that has chosen her as its next human host.

For fans of the straight-laced coming-of-age Nancy Drew popularized by the books, The CW series can feel like a complete tonal whiplash. With supernatural horror flourishes, the 2019 "Nancy Drew" is certainly the most unique take on the character, pivoting to appeal to more modern sensibilities. No matter how outlandish the story gets, the main cast plays the stakes as seriously as they can, with McCann's performance grounding the show. While the movie "Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase," released seven months before the show's debut, is more faithful to the text, the series shows how malleable Nancy Drew can be.

Nancy Drew wasn't the only pulp literary teen detective to get their own television series in the 21st century. Hulu commissioned a series based on the Hardy Boys, the sibling crime-solving duo created in 1927 by author Edward Stratemeyer. Brothers Frank (Rohan Campbell) and Joe Hardy (Alexander Elliot) are rocked by the sudden death of their mother. Frank and Joe learn their mother was investigating a local mystery and pick up her work while also trying to solve her murder. The relic at the center of this case is linked to a shadowy conspiracy that changes the two boys' lives forever.

"The Hardy Boys" starts out as a conventional mystery story before steadily weaving in paranormal elements across its three seasons. While purists of the literary characters may bristle at those changes, they certainly add a supernaturally action-packed flair to the classic property. This iteration of "The Hardy Boys" feels a bit more "Stranger Things" than "Harriet the Spy," but it's still packed with plenty of teenage adventure and romance. An offbeat take on another pulp mystery property, "The Hardy Boys" is an overlooked gem in Hulu's library.

The Freeform series "Cruel Summer" took on an anthology approach to its tales of teen thrills and coming-of-age drama. Each of the show's two seasons featured a completely different main cast, primary setting, and standalone story, thematically linked by both narratives being set in the '90s. The first season revolves around the abduction of high schooler Kate Wallis (Olivia Holt) in a small Texas town in the mid '90s and messy circumstances surrounding her return. The second season goes even more lurid with a community in Washington state rocked by a sex scandal and murder of teenager Luke Chambers (Griffin Gluck).

With each season featuring time-jumping narratives and dark mysteries at their respective cores, "Cruel Summer" feels like a teenage "True Detective." However, the 2021 series also offers a biting social commentary on how society treats its teenagers, especially teenage girls. This, coupled with the wealth of plot twists and delightfully convoluted interpersonal relationships between the main characters, makes "Cruel Summer" a binge-friendly watch. With its engaging main casts and genuinely compelling mysteries, "Cruel Summer" is another show that was gone too soon.

The Australian Netflix original series "Surviving Summer" infuses the teen drama formula with a healthy dose of scenic surfing. Brooklyn teen Summer Torres (Sky Katz) is expelled from her local high school and relocates to Australia where she moves in with family friends. As Summer adjusts to her new surroundings, she befriends a group of competitive surfers, including Ari Gibson (Kai Lewins). As Summer quickly learns how to be a star surfer in her own right, she finds that her penchant for drama has traveled with her to the Land Down Under.

"Surviving Summer" takes advantage of its sun-drenched scenery and surf-friendly beaches to give this teen drama a distinctly Aussie flavor. Though there are the occasional melodramatic moments that go with any teen-centric show, "Surviving Summer" is as much about chasing good vibes as chasing gnarly waves. Though the love triangle elements feel routine, the easygoing charisma of the leads, particularly Lewins, carries the series. An unassumingly charming coming-of-age story, "Surviving Summer" is a feel-good drama that coasts on its gorgeous setting and low stakes.

Author Jenny Han adapted her own 2009 novel trilogy "The Summer I Turned Pretty" into a television series for Prime Video in 2022. Belly Conklin (Lola Tung) finds herself caught in a love triangle between brothers Conrad (Christopher Briney) and Jeremiah Fisher (Gavin Casalegno) as she turns 16. This comes to a head as Belly's family and the Fishers share their vacation together on the beaches of New England one fateful summer. Things between the families are complicated further when Conrad and Jeremiah's mother Susannah (Rachel Blanchard) develops terminal cancer.

While not afraid to occasionally veer into melodrama, "The Summer I Turned Pretty" is more focused on telling a sweet tale about that first serious teenage love. Tung holds it all together in her performance as Belly, capturing all the awkward coming-of-age comedy and starry-eyed romance that comes with the premise. The second season dials up the emotional stakes, primarily with Susannah's death, while the love triangle also grows considerably more serious. An exploration of the turbulent emotions that always feel heightened as a teenager, "The Summer I Turned Pretty" is an enjoyable, sunny rollercoaster ride.