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In some ways, September feels more like a reset than January. After the hedonism of Summer, snapping back into routine feels welcome and motivating. And some part of my brain was trained by the rigors of back-to-school season to associate September with new starts.
From moodboarding to buying new planners, I feel so productive in the fall. Many of us get this renewed burst of confidence and inspiration, even as we mourn the end of summer — and our beloved summer Fridays). It will always be back-to-school season, even if the closest you’ve been to a classroom in years is binge-watching
Abbott Elementary.
The nostalgia trip we all take — pining for the days when our biggest worry was whether we’d make it to homeroom before the bell — is enough to make me yearn for high school. I don’t miss the classes or the people, but I do miss that time when the only thing I had to pay for was school lunch — and I didn’t even have to use my own money. Things were simpler, even if they weren’t better. But on TV and in movies, you can indulge in reminiscing and go on pretending that everything was better when you were in school.
What better way to indulge in that nostalgia than with a solid back-to-school watchlist?
These school-inspired shows and films aren’t merely entertainment — they’re time machines, transporting us back to that era of questionable fashion choices, awkward first crushes, and the unshakeable belief that high school was going to be the best four years of our lives. (Spoiler alert: it wasn’t. Our high school crushes did NOT look like
Zac Efron in High School Musical.)
From the hallowed halls of
Gilmore Girls’ private school or Hawkins Middle School’s air of murder in Stranger Things, these stories capture student life in all its glory and angst — no matter how unrelatable the actual scenarios are. They remind us of the friends we made, the lessons we learned (occasionally in class, but mostly outside of it), and the unshakeable certainty that our lives were about to change forever.
Without further ado, here’s our definitive back-to-school watchlist, guaranteed to give you all the feels and maybe — just maybe — make you wish you could do it all over again. But only if you get to look like a 25-year-old playing a teenager, because let’s face it, that’s half the fun of these shows.
1. Gilmore Girls
I used to wish I lived in Stars Hollow — the town where everyone knows your name, your coffee order, and your SAT scores.
Gilmore Girls has become synonymous with fall and with the back-to-school season for a reason. We all wish we could channel Rory: her good grades, her pick of hot guys, and her superficial drama. So of course this show is ideal for when you’re feeling nostalgic for a high school experience that you never actually had. At its heart, this show is about the relationship between Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, a mother-daughter duo, so close you’ll give your mom a call. Rory’s journey through the hallowed halls of Chilton Preparatory School and later Yale University makes this show a back-to-school essential. Watching her navigate the cutthroat world of an elite private school — complete with Paris Geller, the human embodiment of a Type A girlboss — is both hilarious and oddly comforting.
2. Matilda
If
Matilda doesn’t inspire you to want to telekinetically hurl your principal out a window, you never went to middle school. But more than wishing harm on Miss Trunchbull, This Roald Dahl adaptation makes me wish I had a teacher like Miss Honey. I had a few English teachers that came close (it’s always the English teachers) but corporate ladders of the adult world is devoid of soul that pure. Matilda Wormwood is every bookworm’s hero, a pint-sized genius who finally gets the recognition she deserves. We’re all waiting for our powers to kick in once we read enough books, I’m sure.
3. Jennifer’s Body
This film is
Megan Fox at her peak — no wonder it’s recently been referenced by stars like Madison Beer. A Tumblr mainstay, Jennifer’s Body is a cult classic that went unappreciated in its time but it goes triple platinum in my apartment each back-to-school season. It asks the important question: what do you do when the scariest thing about high school isn’t the pop quiz in third period, but your best friend’s sudden appetite for human flesh? This bisexual-coded film is the Black Swan of high school dramas. Megan Fox stars as Jennifer, the quintessential high school hottie who starts killing — and eating — boys. If I was her bestie, I would let her. The gore and the gloriously cheesy one-liners — “You’re killing people!” “No, I’m killing boys.” — make this a brilliant feminist revenge fantasy. No wonder I crave it every year.
4. Bottoms
When it comes to gory, kitschy modern classics,
Bottoms is a new entry and it’s number one with a bullet.
Bottoms is a queer high school comedy that reveals what happens when you mix Fight Club with sapphic energy and sprinkle in some Gen Z absurdism. Starring Ayo Edebiri and Rachel Sennott, it follows two unpopular lesbian students who start a fight club to hook up with cheerleaders. It’s gloriously unhinged, unapologetically gay, and so killingly awkward in the best possible way.
Bottoms changed my brain chemistry, just like high school. It aptly captures the desperation of trying to fit in while also flipping off the entire concept of fitting in. Wrapped up in a packaging of violence, dark humor, and surprisingly tender moments, it’s a love letter to every queer kid who felt like an outsider. This film is the chaotic good energy we need in our back-to-school watchlist, reminding us that sometimes the best way to navigate the hellscape of high school is to create your own ridiculous rules.
5. The Breakfast Club
Speaking of creating your own rules and changing high school archetypes,
The Breakfast Club is the OG film celebrating high school angst. The Breakfast Club is a John Hughes classic that never goes out of style. Five stereotypes walk into detention, and by the end, they’re dancing on tables and oversharing like they’re on their third glass of rosé. It’s a terrific reminder that high school was actually terrible, and we’re all just damaged goods trying to fit in.
As someone who was a floater in high school, this is pretty much what my average afternoon looked like. But without the cool 80s outfits. The film’s exploration of clique dynamics and the pressure to conform is still painfully relevant — even outside the halls of high school. Whether you identify with the brain, the athlete, the basket case, the princess, or the criminal (let’s be real, you’re probably a mix of all five by now), there’s something here for everyone. Plus, watching Judd Nelson’s John Bender stick it to the man will make you feel better about that passive-aggressive email you sent to HR last week. It’ll have you fist-pumping and cringing in equal measure – just like your actual high school experience.
6. Young Royals
One thing about me, I’m gonna bring up
Young Royals. I thought my boarding school was full of angst and drama? It was nothing compared to Wilhelm and Simon’s experience at Hillerska, the Swedish boarding school for the elite in Young Royals. It’s gay Gossip Girl meets gay The Crown with a hefty dose of Swedish angst. Imagine if Prince Harry’s memoir was gay and he wrote it while listening to Robyn on repeat.
Young Royals follows a fictionalized Swedish Prince who is the “spare.” He grapples with royal responsibilities at a new school where he balances dealing with family expectations, class differences, and his growing feelings for a non-royal — and decidedly male — classmate. Tea. It’s a delicious cocktail of privilege, repression, and teen hormones that’ll make you grateful for your mundane high school experiences. But it also reminds you how much can change in September. Who knows, you might fall in love tomorrow. We can dream. The show’s final season aired this summer and it has one of the best finales I’ve ever seen. Go forth. Break your own heart.
7. Heartstopper
For a less angsty and more fluff-filled queer romance, turn on my personal comfort show:
Heartstopper. It’s the wholesome gay content we didn’t know we needed in our cynical lives. Based on Alice Oseman’s graphic novels, this British coming-of-age story follows Charlie and Nick as they navigate friendship, love, and self-discovery. Its cast has grown iconic with the show’s immense popularity, making us root for Kit Conner and Joe Locke’s endeavors in real life as much as we root for Nick and Charlie on screen.
It’s so sweet but somehow manages to avoid being saccharine. It’s a refreshingly optimistic take on LGBTQ+ youth experiences that’ll make you want to go back in time and give your teenage self a hug. The show tackles issues like coming out, bullying, and mental health with a deft touch, all while serving up enough adorable moments alongside cringe-worthy universal experiences — like the age old “am I gay” quiz.
8. Sex Education
Less wholesome, but equally as iconic,
Sex Education is a British gem about the awkwardness of puberty. It’s set in a high school that seems to exist in a timeless bubble of ’80s aesthetics and modern sensibilities. The show follows Otis — the son of a sex therapist — as he and his friends navigate the treacherous waters of teen sexuality. It’s frank, it’s funny, and it’ll make you wish you had access to this information when you were fumbling through your own sexual awakening. Apt for back-to-school season, it reminds us that no matter how old we get, when it comes to sex and relationships we’re all still awkward teenagers.
9. Election
Election is another cult classic starring a young Reese Witherspoon. This razor-sharp satire takes on the cutthroat world of high school politics and turns it into a mirrored funhouse mirror that reflects our current political landscape. Way more lighthearted than stress-watching the debate, I promise. Reese Witherspoon’s Tracy Flick is the overachiever we all love to hate — or secretly admire, depending on how many color-coded planners you own.
She’s gunning for student body president with the intensity she brought back in
Legally Blonde. All while Matthew Broderick’s Mr. McAllister tries to sabotage her campaign in a misguided attempt to teach her a lesson (spoiler alert: it doesn’t go well). Election is a delicious back-to-school watch for when you’re feeling disillusioned with the system but still harboring a secret desire to change it from within. It’s a biting commentary on ambition, ethics, and the dangers of unchecked power — all wrapped up in a deceptively perky package.
10. 10 Things I Hate About You
My favorite movie of all time. I don’t need back-to-school season to make me want to watch this and transform myself into Kat Stratford — but it’s a good enough excuse. This modern retelling of
The Taming of the Shrew is a time capsule filled with crop tops, combat boots, and enough feminist rage to flashback to high school when I’m painting signs for the Women’s March.
Kat Stratford — played by Julia Stiles at her eye-rolling best — is the sardonic, Sylvia Plath-reading heroine we all aspired to be but lacked the natural coolness. Meanwhile, Heath Ledger’s Patrick Verona is the bad boy with a heart of gold that launched a thousand sexual awakenings. The film’s take on high school politics feels both delightfully dated and eerily relevant — because let’s face it, adult life is just high school with more expensive wine.
10 Things is the perfect back-to-school watch when you need a reminder that it’s okay to be the “difficult” one, that grand romantic gestures involving marching bands are severely underrated, and that you should never-ever let someone tell you that you’re “incapable of loving anyone.”
11. Love and Basketball
Hear me out: half of Spike Lee’s 2000 film
Love and Basketball may take place in adulthood, but it starts with the first day of school. This is the ultimate story about actually ending up with your childhood crush or high school boyfriend. Yes, it’s delusional but something’s gotta motivate me to attend my reunion in a few years. Love and Basketball follows Monica and Quincy from childhood neighbors to high school sweethearts to rival athletes, all set against the backdrop of competitive basketball.
The film perfectly captures the intensity of first love, the pressure of pursuing your dreams, and the realization that sometimes you can have it all — just not all at once.
Love and Basketball is the ideal back-to-school watch for when you’re feeling sentimental about the days when your biggest worry was balancing your crush with your extracurriculars. It’s a poignant reminder that life doesn’t always follow a straight path, and sometimes you have to take a few shots before you score. And that women’s sports are just as valid as men’s sports. Play for her heart, Quincy! Play for her heart!
12. Abbott Elementary
Everyone’s favorite sitcom is the defining school-inspired drama of our era. Quinta Brunson’s masterpiece accurately portrays the chaos of elementary school while prompting us to wonder: what were our teachers up to during those years? While I don’t remember much, I’m sure I was just as much a menace as the kids in
Abbott Elementary. Teachers deserve a raise, seriously. Full of hearty laughs and genuinely moving moments, this feel-good show makes me consider teaching somewhere. I won’t do it, but maybe…
13. Stranger Things
Hawkins Middle School may be full of monsters and murder, but what I would do to be part of the AV club with those nerds. Netflix’s paranormal smash hit is set in a small midwestern town and, while the last two seasons have been set in the summer, the show is at its best when our characters are balancing a fresh school year with battling the demogorgon. The wait for Season 5 is lasting as long as Senior Year felt. If those kids can get through middle school, you can make it through your next meeting. I believe in you.
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LKC
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