This stylishly-filmed angst-fest follows a variety of morose high-schoolers as they deal with addiction, self-esteem issues, and the local neighborhood psychopath. The first season is reminiscent of the UK series Skin's first, best, season.
Hormones make teenagers feel like everything in their life is huge and dramatic and intolerable; this series is about people who really are coping with all sorts of soul-crushing things.
It's also a very glamorized version of teen angst. Everyone is beautiful, the cinematography is sometimes stunning, the girls apparently spend twelve hours a day watching youtube make-up tutorials, and everyone is having lots of sex (trivia: something like 20% of teens are having 90% of teen sex; none of the other 80% are in this series). Zendaya is terrific as the head angster, as is Barbie Ferreira as the token not-skinny girl, who has perhaps the most interesting and unlikely story arc.
It's a really fun series, and for all it's over-the-top ridiculousness, it also captures a lot of the sadness, confusion, and isolation of being a teenager. I'd recommend checking it out.
