Great High School Dramas Aren't Dead, They're Just Australian

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TV is in a high school show depression, as multiple Primetimer contributors have pointed out. With the end of Never Have I Ever and former teen show haven The CW pivoting to content aimed at older demographics, including Gen X, it's hard to think of a show about high school students that is keeping everyone at attention. 

Yes, technically there is The Summer I Turned Pretty but half of the young cast are college students and it's not really about high school politics or turmoil. It's about beach house drama and romance. There is a beacon of hope for the high school TV drama though, rising through the clutter of the streaming wars as a bingeable New Deal for the dying genre: Heartbreak High. 

You may not have heard of the series because it's Australian, but the first two seasons are now available globally on Netflix. It's a reboot of a '90s Australian drama of the same name about a group of dysfunctional teens at the fictional Hartley High. The original series was essentially Australia's answer to the original Degrassi High, which aired in Canada from 1986 to 1991. Similar to how the iconic Degrassi: The Next Generation spun off from its predecessor, the new Heartbreak High features original cast members as parents of the current Hartley High crew or in featured cameo appearances. 

Also like Degrassi: The Next Generation, Heartbreak High is a masterclass in dramatics. The amount of trauma that these kids amass is astounding, but it is handled so well within the narrative of the show. Season 1 kicks off with Amerie (Ayesha Madon) being discovered as the author of the school "Sex Map," which illustrated every rumored hook-up of her classmates on the wall of the school basement. Amerie drew the map with her best friend Harper (Asher Yasbincek), but when the season begins Harper is no longer speaking to Amerie for reasons unknown and Amerie must take the blame alone. When the map results in everyone listed on it to take "Sexual Literacy Trainings" or SLTs — pronounced "Sluts" — Amerie becomes the class pariah. 

Season 1 centers on Amerie's fall from grace and attempts to reclaim her former social clout, as well as the mystery of what happened to cause her and Harper to fall out. No matter how obvious you think what happened to Harper is, you truly have no idea what that girl has gone through. The level of drama and intrigue is reminiscent of Season 1 of The O.C. while the SLT factor gives intense Sex Education vibes. There's no reason that a Degrassi, The O.C., and Sex Education cocktail should work this well, but that is the wonder of Heartbreak High. 

Heartbreak High is also a showcase in representation, with a full spectrum of sexual identities, including the most in-depth exploration of asexuality currently on TV. There's also gender politics, discussions of mental illness, kink, and consent. This is a show that isn't afraid to go there when it comes to sex and all of its different forms and participants. 

Heartbreak High Season 2, which drops today on Netflix, very much builds off the solid foundation set by Season 1. Amerie got herself into such hot water in Season 1 because of her narcissism, and while her self-centered nature does still show up in the sophomore season, she is actively working on being a better friend to Harper and her classmates. Harper learns to accept help when she needs it, even if it takes her a minute to allow newcomers into her heart. Malakai (Thomas Weatherall), the soft-natured new kid from Season 1, is much more open about what's going on in his head after a run-in with the police in the first season sent him into an identity crisis. Bad-boy-with-a-heart-of-gold Cash (Will McDonald) is doing his best to stay on the up and up to preserve his fan-favorite relationship with Darren (James Majoos), even though old habits and unresolved sexual tension threaten to tear them apart. 

These characters aren't infallible, but their flaws make you love them more. They talk like kids, and they act like kids, but they draw you into their world and make you root for them at every turn — even if you know they are screwing up. If you are looking for the Seth Cohen, Pacey Witter, or Brooke Davis-level of character to offer to take a bullet for, you are probably going to find them on Heartbreak High. There are so many delightful fools on this show, and each is precious and defendable for their own reasons. 

There is a new mystery at the heart of the season that puts multiple Hartley High students in danger and keeps viewers on the edge of their seats as the interweaving storylines unfold. Men's rights activists infiltrate the school when the SLT agenda is deemed "too woke." A new student stirs up even more drama as he adds multiple intersecting layers to the hook-up map. And someone sets the entire school on fire during homecoming. 

Who set the fire is the central mystery of the season, but what is so great about Heartbreak High is that the high-stakes drama is still extremely high school. The kids are treated with respect and they have genuine, real-world problems, but they handle them with the maturity of 16-year-olds. They go through the trials and tribulations of first loves and the war zone of navigating high school politics, when everything that happens to you at that age feels like the biggest thing that will ever happen to anyone. There are classes, sports teams, and field trips that exacerbate the social anarchy the kids create. It delivers that nostalgia for a simpler, albeit messier, time in our lives that makes the high school drama genre so beloved. 

So the high school TV drama is not dying, it just took a vacation overseas. If you are looking for the next great teen drama to lose yourself in, Heartbreak High is the answer. 

Heartbreak High Seasons 1 and 2 are now streaming on Netflix.

Megan Vick is a pop-culture reporter whose byline has appeared on TVGuide.com, The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Reuters and more. You can find her on the internet talking about K-pop or screaming about teen romances.