By SARAH PIERCE – Who hasn’t watched a series on Netflix or Hulu? Well, if you haven’t here are some recommendations on where to start.

There are many shows to choose from, some old and some new. There are shows for everyone, for whatever you may be interested in watching.

Series including 9-1-1: Lone Star, All American, Euphoria, Outer Banks, You, The Act,  Grown-ish, and Good Trouble have new seasons coming out in 2021, but you can watch the season(s), the shows have out right now. There are many shows out on Netflix and Hulu, these are just a few that I have watched personally, and what I, along with other IHS students, would recommend for highschool students. 

Shows with a lot of seasons out or all of their seasons out are Grey’s Anatomy, The Vampire Diaries, The Fosters, Criminal Minds, and Pretty Little Liars. 

9-1-1 Lone Star is a show starring Rob Lowe, Liv Tyler, and Ronen Rubenstein, etc. It’s available on Hulu and the second season starts on January 18th  at 9 pm on Fox. 9-1-1 Lone Star is about “a sophisticated New York firefighter who, along with his son, relocates from Manhattan to Austin, Texas. He must try to balance the duties of saving those who are at their most vulnerable and solving the problems in his own life.” 

All American is a show starring Daniel Ezra, Samantha Logan, Michael Evans Behling, etc. It is available on Netflix, and the third season starts on January 18th at 8 pm on The CW. “When a rising high school American football player from South L.A. is recruited to play for Beverly Hills High, the wins, losses, and struggles of two families from vastly different worlds—Crenshaw and Beverly Hills—begin to collide. Inspired by the life of pro football player Spencer Paysinger.”

Euphoria is a show on Netflix and Hulu, starring Zendaya, Hunter Schafer, Jacob Elordi, etc. The second season starts on January 24th  at 9 pm on HBO. Euphoria is a show that “follows the troubled life of 17-year-old Rue (Zendaya), an addict fresh from rehab with no plans to stay clean. Circling in Rue’s orbit are Jules, a transgender girl searching for where she belongs; Nate, a jock whose anger issues mask sexual insecurities; Chris, a football star who finds the adjustment from high school to college harder than expected; Cassie, whose history continues to haunt her; and Kat, a body-conscious teen. As the classmates struggle to make sense of their futures, the series tackles the teenage landscape of parties and anxiety-ridden day-to-day life.”

Outer Banks is a show also on both Netflix and Hulu, starring Madelyn Cline, Chase Stokes, Rudy Pankow, etc. There is no date set for the second season, but it should be out in early to mid-2021. Outer Banks “follows a group of teenagers in the Outer Banks of North Carolina who are called ‘Pogues’, who live at The Cut, and are determined to find out what happened to the missing father of the group’s ringleader, John B. Along the way, they discover a legendary treasure that is tied to John B’s father.

You is a show on Netflix, starring Penn Badgley, Elizabeth Lail, Victoria Pedretti, etc. The third season should be out this year, but there is no set date. “The first season follows the story of Joe Goldberg, a bookstore manager in New York, who upon meeting Guinevere Beck, an aspiring writer, becomes infatuated with her. He feeds his toxic obsession using social media and other technology to track her presence and remove obstacles to their romance.”

The Act, available on Hulu, is a show that  “follows the true story of Gypsy Blanchard (Joey King), who uses a wheelchair due to an illness. Her mother Dee Dee successfully deceived not only Gypsy but also her family, friends, and medical professionals into believing her child was ill.” The first season is out, but we don’t know if there will be a second season yet. This show stars Joey King, Patricia Arquette, Calum Worthy, etc.

Grown-ish, available on Netflix and Hulu, is a show starring Yara Shahidi, Trevor Jackson, Luka Sabbat, etc. The 4th season is supposed to be released on July 9, 2021. “The Johnson family’s eldest daughter is taking her first steps into the real world as she heads off to college. ‘Grown-ish’ explores the first trappings of adulthood, and Zoey must navigate through the trials and tribulations of these momentous steps. Zoey discovers that once she leaves the nest, things do not always go her way. The series features ‘that in between where you’re not quite an adult but facing grown world problems for the first time,’ Kenya Barris, the show’s creator and executive producer, said.”

The Fosters is a show starring Maia Mitchell, Cierra Ramirez, Teri Polo, etc. The Fosters is available on Netflix and Hulu, it has 5 seasons, and all seasons have been released. The show The Fosters “follows the lives of the members of the Foster family led by lesbian couple Stef and Lena, a cop and school vice-principal respectively, who raise one biological and four adopted children in San Diego, California.”

Good Trouble is a show on both Netflix and Hulu and is a spinoff of The Fosters. This show stars Maia Mitchell, Cierra Ramirez, Tommy Martinez, etc. The third season will be released on February 17th on Freeform. This show “follows Callie and Mariana as they move out of the Fosters home and go to Los Angeles to chase their respective careers. They move into an apartment complex called The Coterie and meet their neighbors that come from different backgrounds who are also following their dreams.”

Freshman Kyla Weaver stated, “Grey’s Anatomy! The series is about a group of interns that focus on their career to become world-class surgeons. I loved this series because I have always wanted to be in the medical field and it’s interesting to see what it’s like. Also, the actors make u want to keep watching.”

Grey’s Anatomy is a show on Netflix and Hulu, it has 17 seasons, and there may be an 18th season, but we don’t know yet. This is a show starring Ellen Pompeo, Patrick Dempsey, Jesse Williams, etc. “The high-intensity medical drama, now in its 17th season, follows Meredith Grey and the team of doctors at Grey Sloan Memorial who are faced with life-or-death decisions on a daily basis. They seek comfort from one another, and, at times, more than just friendship.”

Senior Ashley Hite stated, “One series that I watched is Grey’s Anatomy. It’s mainly about a group of interns who are working their way to becoming surgeons. Throughout the show, they deal with life or death situations. I think I like the medical stuff the most about the show but the drama between the characters also keeps me watching.”

The Vampire Diaries, available on Netflix, is a show starring Ian Somerhalder, Nina Dobrev, Paul Wesley, etc. This show has 8 seasons, and the 9th season comes out in March of this year on The CW. The Vampire Diaries is a show that “follows the life of Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev), a teenage girl who has just lost both parents in a car accident, as she falls in love with a 162-year-old vampire named Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley).”

Freshman Olivia Zimmerman stated, “A series that I’ve watched is Vampire Diaries on Netflix. The series is overall about vampires. I liked this series because it made me keep wanting to watch it and was so interesting to me.”

Criminal Minds, starring Matthew Gray Gubler, A. J. Cook, Kirsten Vangsness, etc., is a show that “follows a group of criminal profilers who work for the FBI as members of its Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU), using behavioral analysis and profiling to investigate crimes and find perpetrators. The show tells the story of the team as they work various cases, and tackle their personal struggles.” This show has 15 seasons and all seasons have been released and you can watch it on Netflix or Hulu.

Sophomore Chloe McHugh stated, “Criminal minds. It is about a group of people working in the FBI to help find criminals. I liked it because this stuff interests me and I might get a degree in criminology.”

Pretty Little Liars is “an American teen drama mystery-thriller television series developed by I. Marlene King and is loosely based on the novel series of the same name written by Sara Shepard. The series follows the lives of four high school girls whose clique falls apart after the disappearance of their leader.” You can watch this series on Netflix and Hulu, it has seven seasons, and all seasons have been released. This show stars Shay Mitchell, Lucy Hale, Ashley Benson, etc.

You can search on YouTube to watch any of these shows’ trailers. Many students in high school watch series more than regular tv or movies. These are series that are relatable to our age group and series that a lot of students have watched and enjoyed.