Latest news with #teenagedrama
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Why are women over 30 hooked on teenage TV dramas?
In recent weeks, I've spent an unprecedented amount of time thinking about two teenage boys and the various merits of dating each. Before you call the police, let me explain. I've become completely addicted to The Summer I Turned Pretty, a television show based on Jenny Han's Young Adult novels of the same name, which has a love triangle between a 15-year-old girl, Belly Conklin, and two brothers, Conrad and Jeremiah Fisher, at its heart. First released on Amazon Prime in 2022, the show has attracted a passionate and vocal fanbase, a large proportion of which, if Reddit forums and anecdotal evidence are to be believed, is over the age of 30 – like me. 'I started watching the show from the very first season and have been hooked on it ever since,' shares Rebecca Newham, a 43-year-old fashion stylist. 'I haven't read the books but as soon as I saw the trailer I knew it would be a show that I would enjoy.' Isla Heller, a 41-year-old copy editor, is also a fan. 'It's got it all! Love triangles, brooding youths, long hot summers, sexual awakenings, country club politics… what's not to love?' The phenomenon of older women enjoying teen dramas right now is far from unique to TSITP either, with others waxing lyrical about Ginny and Georgia, a Netflix series following a single mother and her teenage daughter; or XO Kitty, a Korean dating drama set in a high school. Personally, I've spent a lot of time questioning why I'm enjoying a TV series about people two decades younger than me. Is this a sign of an imminent mid-life crisis? Perhaps not. According to Dana Moinian, psychotherapist at The Soke, our thirties and forties often feel like times of great change, much like our teenage years, so there's a resonance there. 'The appeal to women in their thirties and beyond is rooted in both emotional resonance and psychological projection,' she explains. 'The narratives often explore identity formation, social belonging and relational intensity – core developmental themes that, while prominent in adolescence, continue to echo throughout adulthood. 'For women in mid-life, watching teen dramas can offer a form of emotional revisitation, where unresolved experiences or unarticulated feelings from adolescence can be symbolically processed through the safety of fictional characters. Additionally, these shows tend to emphasise heightened emotional clarity, which may be particularly appealing amid the often ambiguous, emotionally muted realities of adult life.' It's also undeniably nostalgic for those of a certain generation; TSITP is ostensibly set during the period in which I 'came of age' (ish). 'Nostalgia has a well-documented psychological function: it supports emotional regulation, self-continuity and resilience during periods of stress or change,' explains Moinian. 'For many adult women, especially those navigating transitional phases – career shifts, caregiving roles or identity renegotiation – nostalgic content can offer a stabilising effect. Teen dramas may not precisely mirror the viewer's past, but they often evoke sensory and emotional cues – for example, fashion, music, interpersonal dynamics – that activate autobiographical memory systems. This can foster a comforting sense of connection to an earlier, perhaps more exploratory, phase of life.' For stylist Newham, the retro fashion also appeals. 'I love the nostalgia of it in both the storyline and the fashion. I love the nods to the early '00s fashion, which includes baby tees and denim shorts. This shows the revival in Y2K fashion and how relevant it still is.' While for me, it's the music: having a first dance at the prom to 'Mayonnaise' by Smashing Pumpkins took me immediately back to the halcyon days of my late teens. Unlike many of the teen dramas from our youth, a lot of these shows also feature more people of colour, with Belly in TSITP being biracial white and Asian American. It's something that writer Isabella Silvers (31) likes in particular. 'I love shows that focus on women and girls of colour,' she says. 'As someone who writes about being mixed-race, I'm always drawn to shows with characters and storylines that represent and explore that. They also explore other topics, like mental health, eating disorders, self-harm, bullying, queerness and so much more in non-patronising ways.' Indeed, it's also refreshing that TSITP also has a strong storyline for the parent characters too, in a way that wasn't necessarily true of the original noughties teen shows like Dawson's Creek or Gossip Girl – especially as many of the viewers are closer in age to the mums than the kids themselves. Belly's mum Laurel and the Fisher boys' mother Susannah are both sassy, fun, headstrong and intelligent – but they also get high and make out with strangers in bars, despite the fact they are in their forties. For me, as a single parent, too, it's comforting to see. Teen dramas undoubtedly allow most of us to reflect on a less complicated time in our lives – and don't require us to think too much, either, unlike the majority of prestige television made today. 'I love it because being an adult with all its complexities is hard, and to have a little window into a simpler time – 'Which brother should I snog?' – is light relief,' says Heller. At the same time, it's also not exploitative, like some reality TV can feel – so there's no need to feel guilty at someone else's expense. Far from being brain rot, there are scientific benefits from indulging in these so-called 'guilty pleasure' TV shows, too. 'In clinical practice, we see increasing signs of cognitive overload and performance fatigue, particularly among high-functioning adults,' says Moinian. 'The constant pressure to 'optimise' time can lead to chronic stress, diminished creativity and emotional depletion. Watching television that allows for low cognitive load – such as teen dramas – can serve as a form of passive restoration. This type of viewing supports downregulation of the nervous system, facilitating psychological recovery. Importantly, it also counters the perfectionistic mindset that leisure must be productive, which is itself a source of distress for many individuals.' If you haven't selected your teen drama of choice yet, now's the time. You Might Also Like 8 spring/summer 2019 nail trends to be wearing now 10 best summer shorts to wear beyond the beach 10 pairs of knee-high boots to transform your autumn look
Telegraph
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
We Were Liars, review: This po-faced YA drama makes me yearn for the fun teen comedies of the 1980s
Suspicions that teenage dramas aren't what they used to be are confirmed near the end of We Were Liars, Amazon Prime Video's glossy adaptation of E Lockhart's bestselling YA novel. One of the characters strips to his shirt, underpants and socks and dances around the house to Old Time Rock'n'Roll by Bob Seger. It's an homage to Tom Cruise in Risky Business, and an unfortunate reminder that dramas aimed at teenagers were once fun but are now a humour-free zone. Risky Business, The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Footloose – in the 1980s, all of these took seriously the business of being young and overwhelmed by feelings, but they also made you laugh. We Were Liars, on the other hand, is a po-faced thriller about characters who are privileged and bland, soundtracked by the kind of acoustic dirges that used to blight John Lewis Christmas adverts. The Risky Business scene is so out of place that I had to rewatch just to check I hadn't imagined it being there. The central mystery concerns Cadence Sinclair, who hails from a super-wealthy family and is suffering from amnesia after being found half-drowned on the beach. Oddly, her family knows what traumatic event caused this, but refuses to tell her. The setting has promise: the Sinclairs are 'American royalty' who summer at their Kennedy-style compound, a private island near Martha's Vineyard, where they vie for the attention – and largesse – of Cadence's domineering grandfather. Unfortunately, it takes itself far too seriously, and reaching The Big Twist at the end will require you to sit through hours of angst and switching timelines. We are introduced to the characters through a pretentious voiceover, and I've no idea if the lines are taken from the original book or are the work of scriptwriter Scarlett Curtis (daughter of Richard), but they're pass-the-sick-bucket awful: 'My name is Cadence Sinclair Eastman. I was once strength and promise and spun gold.' Cousin Mirren is 'sugar, effort and constant curiosity'. The romantic hero starts out as 'fireflies, mischief and old books' but grows into 'contemplation, enthusiasm, ambition and strong coffee'. Argh, make it stop! References to King Lear and fairytales are laid on thick. At least it's pleasant to look at, like a Duchess of Sussex moodboard come to life. At one point, I'm pretty sure I saw a rainbow vegetable platter. The details of their Succession -lite lifestyle are the only enjoyable aspect. The family pose for colour-coordinated photoshoots wearing 'ocean hues and neutrals' from Ralph Lauren. They organise lemon hunts – like Easter Egg hunts, but the adults and kids look for hidden lemons, and whoever collects the most wins a multi-million dollar house. Harris Sinclair (David Morse) tests the loyalty of his three daughters, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy clones who are variously planning a 'divorce cleanse', recovering from drug addiction through meditation, and sleeping with Salty Dan, the local boathand. As everyone in the Sinclair family is sun-kissed and blonde, it may take you a couple of episodes to differentiate between these people, although one of the actresses, Mamie Gummer, is better than the others; perhaps it's genetic, because Gummer is the daughter of Meryl Streep. The focus is not on these three but on their offspring. The novel was a hit when it was published a decade ago but has found a new fanbase on TikTok, where readers swoon over the love affair between Cadence (Emily Alyn Lind, a dead ringer for The White Lotus's Aimee Lou Wood), and Gat Patil (Shubham Maheshwari), an outsider who has been holidaying with the family since he was eight. The romance between them is sweet and intense, and you can see why a young audience would get swept up in it. But here's how po-faced it is: Gat is short for 'Gatwick' yet there isn't a single joke about airports.
Daily Mail
01-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
He starred in iconic 1990s teen drama and had unrelenting crush on show's star... can you guess who it is?
This actor portrayed the nerdy next-door neighbor in a fictional Pennsylvania town on a groundbreaking 1990s teenage drama - and was hopelessly infatuated with the show's main star. Think you know who it is? The son of a visual artist and the younger brother of a producer, this future star was raised in a creatively driven Colorado household before eventually relocating to the Northern California area. After settling in Los Angeles, he made his professional debut at just 10 years old, landing roles in several television commercials before making his way onto the small screen. His first major performance came as a guest star on the hit 1990s sitcom Dream On, marking the beginning of his rise in the industry. From that point on, he appeared in minor guest roles on various shows and movies - including My Girl 2 - before landing the role that would cement his place in television history. In 1994, the blonde, curly-haired teenager quickly became a memorable face on a short-lived ABC series that, despite only lasting one season, earned national praise for its realistic portrayal of teenage complexity and social issues. Starring as an introspective and somewhat socially awkward teenager, his character often found himself on the outskirts of the typical teenage crowd - providing a counterbalance to the more emotional and rebellious characters. He appeared in minor guest roles on various shows and movies - including My Girl 2 - before landing the role that would cement his place in television history And of course, who could forget his fictional neighbor, with whom he seizes every opportunity to spark a conversation - all because he's hopelessly in love, even if it was sometimes tough to watch his unrequited crush. With a career now spanning over 30 years, this actor has amassed more than 60 appearances across a wide range of films and television series. Have you been able to guess who it is yet? It's Devon Gummersall! The now-46-year-old actor brought to life the brooding yet sympathetic Brian Krakow on hit 1990s drama, My So-Called Life. Since the show's cancelation, he has gone on to appear in several television projects - including AMC's Mad Men and CMT's Nashville. He got married to actress Majandra Delfino in 2007 before they ended up splitting the next year. Today, Gummersall is a self-proclaimed filmmaker, content creator, writer, actor, surfer, and traveler - according to social media - where he has shared updates from his travels over the years. Although short-lived, My So-Called Life is what Gummersall is most remembered for - a series that continues to resonate today for its raw, timeless portrayal of adolescence. 'Even though we were all devastated when it ended, I do think we are grateful for it being such a short-lived and kind of perfect thing that happened under glass, in a way,' Gummersall shared with Elle Magazine last year. 'It was over before it became huge, so it had a purity to it that was kind of unique and rare.' Starring Claire Danes as 15-year-old Angela Chase, an angsty high-schooler in suburban Pittsburgh, the drama followed her struggles with her parents and friends - and her obsession with the toxic Jordan Catalano, played by Jared Leto. The 19-episode, hour-long 90s drama captured the angst of teenage years while fearlessly addressing issues like homophobia, drug use, sex, homelessness and more. But one of the most crucial elements of the show was Brian's unrelenting crush on Angela, as it was never just about the romance. Instead, it centered around themes of teenage identity, vulnerability and the turbulence of growing up. His character's unreciprocated feelings for the popular high schooler showcased one of the most relatable teenage experiences - loving someone who doesn't feel the same way. In the drama, his longing never felt dramatic or manipulative, but rather quiet, awkward and achingly painful - mirroring the inner lives of many viewers, despite what year it may be. Angela was instead drawn to the mysterious and emotionally unavailable Jordan, which underscored the show's theme of teenagers often chasing risks and excitement rather than safety and familiarity. Despite earning critical acclaim for its honest depiction of teenage life as difficult and emotionally confusing rather than fun and carefree, My So-Called Life was cancelled after just one season. Still, its richly drawn characters - especially Gummersall's portrayal of a quietly yearning neighbor hopelessly in love with the shows lead - cemented its legacy as a true cult classic.
