Already finished ‘Skins’? Watch these gritty teen dramas on Netflix

If you’ve already watched Skins on Netflix then you know how gritty & intense the teen TV show really is. Skins aired between 2007 & 2013 and its U.S. spinoff premiered in 2011. Skins on Netflix stars Kaya Scodelario, Nicholas Hoult, Hannah Murray, and Dev Patel in the leading roles. These actors have gone on to land some majorly cool parts from Game of Thrones to Slumdog Millionaire.

Euphoria is a super gritty teen drama that’s often compared to Skins on Netflix, but since Euphoria is only available on HBO, not everyone has the chance to watch it. Here are some of the popular shows to watch that shed some light on the darker side of the difficult teenage years we all live through.

Grand Army (2020)

Grand Army hit Netflix in 2020 and it’s already been secured for a second season. Some of the heavy subject matter covered in Grand Army includes how normalized rape culture has unfortunately become, racial issues between people of different ethnicities, and the concept of sexual identity. Bullying is something that happens in schools all over the world and this show covers that just like Skins on Netflix.

13 Reasons Why (2017-2020)

13 Reasons Why is one show that gets pretty dark. It’s a Netflix Original that focuses on the story of a girl named Hannah who commits suicide. She leaves behind a record of thirteen tapes explaining her thirteen reasons for killing herself. The Netflix show reveals she’s pushed over the edge after being sexually assaulted by the most popular football player at her school. 

After Hannah dies by suicide, the main character, Clay Jensen, spends his time trying to track down the rest of the secrets she’s left behind based on clues within the tapes that she recorded. He struggles to let her go and move on.

Dare Me (2019)

There are so many cheerleading shows & movies to watch but this one takes the cake when it comes to gritty television. Dare Me is about two best friends who might not be the healthiest for each other. Something about their friendship is extremely toxic yet for some reason, they can’t stay apart. 

They’re rebellious, they partake in underage drinking, sometimes act promiscuously, and go head to head against their cheer coach with major attitudes. On top of that, they sometimes even bully younger cheerleaders in their squad to maintain the power dynamics. A murderous plot is also taking place outside of cheer practice in this show leaving viewers confused about who did what.

Ginny & Georgia (2021)

Ginny & Georgia premiered on Netflix in 2021 and although it’s already been criticized by Taylor Swift publicly on social media, it’s still doing pretty well. It’s about a young mom who got pregnant at the age of fifteen and is now doing her best to raise her two kids on her own. By the time her oldest daughter is also fifteen years old, they have a very odd relationship that isn’t as close as it probably should be.

Ginny is the young mother and Georgia is the mature daughter. The reason they don’t seem to get along is because Ginny prefers to lie about things she should easily be telling the truth about. Georgia is doing her best to get through high school and not follow in her mother’s footsteps.

Insatiable (2018-2019)

Unlike Skins on Netflix, to many critics, Insatiable is considered a Netflix flop. It tells the story of a teenage girl who gets bullied for being overweight until she drastically becomes thin. After an accident, her jaw gets wired shut and she is unable to eat all of the foods she once loved. 

Social media users banded together to cancel this show saying that it encourages dangerous diet culture & fat shaming. Although Insatiable might be considered a tad bit tone deaf, it is still one of those gritty teen comedy dramas that is comparable to Skins on Netflix. 

Degrassi: Next Class (2016-2017)

Every single season of Degrassi is filled with new drama, new characters, and new craziness. Degrassi: Next Class on Netflix is no different. The four-season show focuses on teenagers dealing with racism, cyber bullying, mental illness, the use of illegal substances, and even homophobia. 

Having to deal with real world issues at a young age is realistic. Kids shouldn’t have to face such serious hardships before they are even eighteen years old, but it happens. This show is very similar to Skins on Netflix.