TV shows have the crazy habit of making you completely lost, don’t they? You fall in love with the characters on the screen, empathise with them, feel for them when they are going through their hard times, and congratulate with them on their good. They run for so long (well, many of them) that it can be hard not to think of these people as your friends!

We think that there are some TV shows that really changed the course of TV for young teens, and these are the 10 best teen TV shows of all time:

1 – Friends

This clearly needs to be number on the list and ten years after it STOPPED airing, people are still talking about it and hoping the six of them will get it together one final time either for a last season, or a movie just like they did with Sex and the City.

Phoebe, Joey, Rachel, Ross, Monica and Chandler are the six friends that live together in New York and the TV show follows them over ten years of their life, teaching the audience a whole bunch of lessons along the way – you might fall in love with your best friend, you can lose weight if you were fat, you will get pregnant if you have unprotected sex with the ex…. You know?

2 – The Vampire Diaries

Not quite as naughty as its raunchier vampire-themed cousin (True Blood), The Vampire Diaries was a teen TV show that took the world by storm and was actually loved by all people of all ages.

Covering a whole range of topics not quite vampire-themed such as losing your parents, high school dramas, love dramas, plus a whole host more (including drugs), fantasy-vampire drama aside, this is a TV show you might just be able to relate to. Plus who doesn’t find vampires hot?

3 – 90210

OK so we can’t all live the high life in Beverly Hills with plenty of money and a mansion behind us but 90210 would be how we lived if we could… Well, some of the time at least.

A remake of a much easier 90’s show, the group of close friends from high school have all sorts of dramas to deal with with loyalties being well and truly put to the test as their adventures take them into adulthood and various differing paths than they expected…

4 – Glee

OK so at one point, the whole world was Glee-mad but whether you love it or you hate it, there are some definite life lessons that can be learned here especially when it comes to life, dating, relationships and sexuality. There is fighting, singing, happiness, sadness and even death on the horizon when you start to watch this pretty amazing TV show – it’s a must have for any teen looking to learn a few lessons to take them well into further life.

5 – Gossip Girl

Oh come on – it’s a guilty pleasure for many, isn’t it? There are so many hot actors and actresses in this tV show that it is almost impossible to believe any teen wouldn’t want to be a part of the life despite the bitchiness, backstabbing and two-faced arguments along the way.

It may follow privileged students in Manhattan but there are some lessons that can be learned here regardless of wealth and background.

6 – How I Met Your Mother

We were all sad when it stopped airing but HIMYM is a TV show that must be watched by everyone – young and old alike.

Following a group of friends like so many of these great TV shows are, Robyn, Barney, Lily, Marshall and Ted are a weird and wonderful bunch of people that fall in love with each other all over the place, and fall out of love just as quick it would seem.

Following the story of Ted, he narrates to his kids the back story of how he met their mother, and all the women and turmoils that came along before her. It never ended up being the girl we thought either, keeping us on our toes right to the very end!

7 – New Girl

Who’s that girl? It’s Jess! It’s an addictive theme tune and to be honest, the TV show is just as addictive. Following Jess’s story as she moves in with three guys who wants to sleep with her super model friend, there’s a love story, some really funny broken-toilet scenes, and even some musical bells being played… It might be unconventional but it certainly is funny and every episode we’ve seen has had us rip-roaring with laughter!

8 – Pretty Little Liars

Showing that what is on the outside isn’t always what you get on the inside is the TV show Pretty Little Liars which is every bit as sneaky and underhand as the title suggests it might be. Someone goes missing, a group of people try to get on with their lives, and as you can probably imagine, things start to go awry when anonymous text messages start to get sent out…

It’s up and down and at times, really did have us at the edge of our seats. Plus there’s plenty of eye-candy to keep the girls and boys entertained!

9 – The Big Bang Theory

 If you’ve never seen this great TV show, you really should start. Following a group of friends at University (really smart ones at that), you’ll meet Penny who lives across from Leonard and the infamous Sheldon Cooper, and their friends Howard and Raj. Sheldon meets Amy and embarks on a weird relationship. Leonard and Penny finally got it together like everyone thought they would, and although everyone reckons Raj and Howard will end up being together, Howard gets married and jets off into space…

It might seem a little far-fetched but it’s definitely one of the best TV shows of our age and all the intelligent stuff aside, is a really funny show to watch!

10 – Dawson’s Creek

Dawson, a budding filmmaker, and his friend Joey (girl – has been in love with him since day one) are followed in this TV show about their life. People come and go, new loves take over, and although she never forgets the way she feels for him, she sure does need to put up with a lot…

Between the two main characters and the friends that join them along the way, it makes for an interesting ride and definitely makes for a great watch.

So what do you think? We had a hard time putting this list together, especially with so many other TV shows out there that we consider must-watch for any teens! TV shows like Saved by the Bell, Friday Night Lights, Laguna Beach, Gilmore Girls and more! We think that these 10 are the greatest place to start… There’s always Netflix after all! 😉