My name is Sharon and I'm addicted to teen dramas.

There I said it.

I remember back in high school, I used to have Dawson's Creek viewing parties with friends while we swooned over Pacey Witter's charm and laughed at Dawson's crybaby face. And even before that, I can recall watching Beverly Hills 90210 and Party of Five before I even knew what was really going on. Pregnancy and cheating, huh?

My point is, well, this addiction never really had a starting point.

Cut to present day. I'm 25 years old and find myself rushing home every Thursday night to watch The Vampire Diaries and taking an oath never to give up on One Tree Hill despite the changes year after year.

Anyway, let's face it, no teen drama is ever complete without very specific storylines. In fact, we expect those storylines to show up in some capacity. That's what makes a teen drama a teen drama. That and the hot guys. As an addict of The CW (and formerally The WB), I decided to break down the ten essential storylines to any teen drama:

10. Parental Issues

It's not always the teens making the mistakes, ya know.

Joey (Dawson's Creek)



Ephram (Everwood)

Matt (Friday Night Lights)

Other Examples: 
Pacey (Dawson's Creek), 
Serena (Gossip Girl), 
Marissa (The OC)
, Lucas and Nathan (One Tree Hill), 
Peyton (One Tree Hill), 
Brooke (One Tree Hill) 
Hell... everyone on One Tree Hill.

9. The "Geek" Gets The Girl (Or Guy)

And by "geek" we mean really hot person in glasses.

Bright and Hannah (Everwood)




Seth and Summer (The OC)




Max and Naomi (90210)



Other Examples:
 Dan and Serena (Gossip Girl)

8. Pregnancy (scare)

Someone always gets knocked up... or almost does, anyway.

Brooke (One Tree Hill)




Joey (Dawson's Creek)




Julia (Party of Five)




Other Examples:
 Sara (Everwood), 
Theresa (The OC), 
Adriana (90210), 
Blair (Gossip Girl), 
Brenda (Beverly Hills 90210), 
Becky (Friday Night Lights)

7. Gay Student Comes Out
Or forced to come out...

Jack (Dawson's Creek)



Teddy (90210)

Emily (Pretty Little Liars)

Other Examples: Kurt (Glee), Eric (Gossip Girl), Kyle (Everwood)

6. Prom Disaster

The most anticipated night of high school. Ruined!

Joey/Pacey (Dawson's Creek)



Brooke/Peyton (One Tree Hill)




Summer (The OC)

Other Examples: Finn and Jesse (Glee)

5. Teacher/Student Hookup

I think Pacey Witter sums it up the best: "I'm the best sex you'll never have."

Pacey (Dawson's Creek)


Brooke (One Tree Hill)

Dan (Gossip Girl)



4. The Druggie Alcoholic Phases
Bad boys. Or girls.

Jen (Dawson's Creek)

Marissa (The OC)

Jeremy (The Vampire Diaries)

3. Death of a Major Character
So long.

Jen (Dawson's Creek)

Jenna (The Vampire Diaries)

Marissa (The OC)

Other Examples: Keith (One Tree Hill)

2. Forgotton Storylines
Whatever happened to...

Ryan's baby (The OC)

Ephram's baby (Everwood)

1. The Love Triangle

This is easy. Boy likes girl. Girl likes boy's best friend. Or brother. Or... well, you get the picture.

Joey/Pacey/Dawson (Dawson's Creek)



Lucas/Peyton/Brooke (One Tree Hill)



Elena/Stefan/Damon (The Vampire Diaries)




Other examples: 
Dylan/Brenda/Kelly (Beverly Hills 90210
), Lyla/Tim/Jason (Friday Night Lights), 
Rory/Dean/Jess (Gilmore Girls)

--

Did I miss anything or anyone?

Follow Sharon Tharp on Twitter: @sharontharp

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