A second season has been announced for the enormously successful Netflix series, Heartstopper, demonstrating the extent to which a series focusing on the lives of young LGBTQ+ people could reach a mass audience. But as important as Heartstopper is, it is but one of a number of very strong and compelling series focusing on the lives of LGBTQ+ teenagers.
Thankfully, the users of the website Ranker have helpfully identified a number of such series, all of which help to shed light on the particular experiences these young people go through as they face maturity.
Note: Ranker lists are live and continue to accrue votes, so some rankings may have changed after this publishing.
Genera+ion (2021)
Streaming On HBO Max
Even though it only lasted a single season, Genera+tion still managed to show why it deserves to be seen as one of the best recent series on HBO Max. Its particular brilliance lies in its ability to capture the particular struggles that LGBTQ+ teenagers and members of Gen Z face as they navigate the fraught waters of high school and adolescence.
Though it can, at times, be salacious, there is still a heart to this series, particularly as it shows how these young people contend with the challenges of their conservative community.
Trinkets (2019 - 2020)
Streaming On Netflix
Netflix has been particularly committed to telling a wide variety of LGBTQ+ stories, and one of the most extraordinary of these is Trinkets. Focusing on a trio of friends who meet during a Shoplifters Anonymous meeting, it follows these three very different young people as they work on their addiction as well as the emotional traumas that led them there.
Just as importantly, however, it also shines an important light on the vital role that friendship plays in the lives of adolescent women.
We Are Who We Are (2020)
Streaming On HBO Max
There’s no question that the teenage years are often difficult and messy, full of conflicted emotions and constantly-shifting relationships. This is precisely what makes We Are Who We Are such a fascinating and highly-regarded series.
While it certainly explores important issues regarding sexuality, gender identity, and politics, it is, at its root, a series very much about its teenage characters, all of whom are allowed to be gorgeously human and messy. Even though they may not always make the best choices, the series allows the viewer to cheer for them, even in their more complicated moments.
Never Have I Ever (2020)
Streaming On Netflix
Mindy Kaling has had many lauded television roles, and she has proven especially adept at taking her own life experiences and mining them for television gold. One of her most well-regarded series, Never Have I Ever, focuses on an Indian-American teenager as she navigates the fraught territory of grief, high school, and love.
It is also notable for its inclusion of LGBTQ+ storylines. It thus manages to be a very funny series that also happens to have a social conscience.
Sex Education (2019 - )
Streaming On Netflix
Sex Education has quickly established itself as one of the best series on Netflix. It focuses on an English high school, in which various teenagers engage in sexual shenanigans of one sort of another. It is especially notable for the frank way that it talks about both relationships and sexuality.
Though its main character is the young, straight man Otis, his gay best friend, Eric, as well as his romantic relationships, often steal the show. More than anything else, the series reveals how important love is to many young people, everywhere.
Elite (2018 - )
Streaming On Netflix
Elite has also established itself as one of the best offerings from Netflix. Like many of the streamer's other LGBTQ+ shows, it focuses on the lives of young people, in this case, various students at a boarding school for the wealthy. It is especially notable for its progressive depiction of its LGBTQ+ characters, whose lives and loves are just as important as their straight counterparts.
What’s more, its inclusion of a mystery plot also gives it a certain edge that is sometimes missing in even the best teenage dramas.
Heartstopper (2022)
Streaming On Netflix
There’s no question that Heartstopper is one of the most celebrated series on Netflix. In large part, this stems from the undeniable chemistry between its two lead characters, Nick and Charlie, two high schoolers whose friendship slowly blossoms into something much deeper and more meaningful for the two of them.
Though the series doesn’t shy away from some difficult issues – including homophobia – it is notable for giving viewers two young people who genuinely love and want what’s best for one another. With its simple, unpretentious story, the series demonstrates the extraordinary power, grace, and joy of young love.
I Am Not Okay With This (2020)
Streaming On Netflix
The idea of a young person having uncontrolled powers that come about during adolescence is one that has had an enduring presence in popular culture. In I Am Not Okay With This, which aired for one season on Netflix, this trope is given a bit of a queer twist.
Its main character, Sydney Novak, discovers that she has telekinetic powers, at the same time as she begins to realize that she is in love with her best friend. With its interweaving of a superpower story and adolescent love, it manages to set itself apart from other similarly themed series.
She-Ra And The Princesses Of Power (2018 - 2020)
Streaming On Netflix
From its very first season, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power showed that it had the potential to be one of the best animated series of recent vintage. Focusing on the title character as she comes into her powers and decides to fight back against a malevolent Hordak.
This pits her against her friend, Catra. However, it is precisely the dynamic between these two female characters that gives the series its power, particularly as they finally find ways to be allies.
Euphoria (2019 - )
Streaming On HBO Max
There are few teen dramas quite like Euphoria. With its sometimes over-the-top storylines about young people, it has certainly earned its place as one of HBO’s most progressive series.
However, despite the fact that it often leans into its own edginess, the series does actually engage with many important issues of concern to young people, particularly regarding trauma, addiction, family, and relationships. And, just as importantly, it is also grounded by the performances of its main cast, particularly Zendaya.