Now that the Olympics are over, it's almost time for the only tournament that matters*: it's the triumphant return of March Madness at FYA! Our brackets have already chosen the best YA book of 2011 and the greatest teen movie of all-time; this year, it's all about Teen TV Madness 2014.
*JK obvs, because MOTHERCUSSIN' YES.
Y'all know how the rules go: 64 teen shows will face off in head-to-head match-ups until there's only one left standing. Votes will be placed, Sophie's Choices will be made, and tears... will probably not be shed. (Unless you'll be revisiting tearjerker eps of these shows. But I don't know your life.)
Similar to last year's teen movie bracket, the greatest challenge was figuring out what exactly is a teen show. Some of the ones that made our list might be borderline children's or family shows, but a main character at least starts off as a teen, and the show itself deals with teen themes. (Er, more or less. It's one of those 'you'll know when you see it' sitches.)
In building the Teen TV Madness bracket, we tried to consider every single teen show that we could think of. I even culled shows from all the obscure shizz that y'all like, but HA HA -- obscure shizz is too obscure to make the cut, and their inclusion only probably annoyed my fellow FYA writers, who had to unnecessarily rate 147 shows. (We were thorough, is what I'm saying.) These shows were ranked according to a convoluted* system of critic ratings, popularity, and preferences of FYA writers, and the top 63 were seeded and randomly assigned to the semi-arbitrarily named** division brackets you're about to see.
*Don't make me show my work! You're not my calculus class!
**By a happy coincidence, the shows that inspired the names mostly ended up in their own brackets. But having a bracket named after a show isn't an indicator of how well we think it'll do. (Although: Buffy and Gilmore Girls.)
Interactive PDF bracket, with links to IMDB, Netflix streaming, Amazon Prime streaming, and past FYA posts, where applicable. (Thanks, Mandy C.!)
THE BRONZE
(1) Buffy the Vampire Slayer vs. (16) Bunheads
(8) 10 Things I Hate About You vs. (9) American Dreams
(5) Degrassi: The Next Generation vs. (12) Laguna Beach
(4) Smallville vs. (13) The Lying Game
(6) Sabrina the Teenage Witch vs. (11) 7th Heaven
(3) The Wonder Years vs. (14) Hey Dude
(7) Reign vs. (10) The Nine Lives of Chloe King
(2) Dance Academy vs. (15) Lizzie McGuire
PEACH PIT
(1) Freaks and Geeks vs. (16) Switched at Birth
(8) Gossip Girl vs. (9) Party of Five
(5) Saved by the Bell vs. (12) The Carrie Diaries
(4) The O.C. vs. (13) Clarissa Explains It All
(6) Beverly Hills, 90210 vs. (11) The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
(3) My So-Called Life vs. (14) The Facts of Life
(7) Awkward vs. (10) Teen Wolf
(2) Dawson's Creek vs. (15) Blossom
LUKE'S DINER
(1) Friday Night Lights vs. (16) Play-in winner
(8) Skins (UK) vs. (9) One Tree Hill
(5) The Vampire Diaries vs. (12) The Tomorrow People
(4) Roswell vs. (13) Pretty Little Liars
(6) Everwood vs. (11) Clueless
(3) Daria vs. (14) The Adventures of Pete & Pete
(7) Doogie Howser, MD vs. (10) Even Stevens
(2) Gilmore Girls vs. (15) Salute Your Shorts
THE MAX
(1) Veronica Mars vs. (16) Greek
(8) Glee vs. (9) Suburgatory
(5) Boy Meets World vs. (12) Malcolm in the Middle
(4) Undeclared vs. (13) Family Matters
(6) That '70s Show vs. (11) California Dreams
(3) Felicity vs. (14) The Secret World of Alex Mack
(7) Popular vs. (10) The Secret Circle
(2) Misfits vs. (15) Happy Days
"But what about the 16th seed in Luke's Diner? Is it just a pile of flannel shirts and baseball hats, because y'all think nothing will slow down Friday Night Lights (TEXAS FOREVER)?"
That's where y'all come in! This Friday, February 28th, there will be a play-in game for the final spot in our tournament. Put some teen TV shows that didn't make it in the comments, and one will have the honour of getting slaughtered by FNL earning the last spot in our bracket.
"Where's Supernatural? I don't see Supernatural. I WILL TORCH THE ENTIRE INTERNETS IF SUPERNATURAL ISN'T INCLUDED."
Y'all. Actual teens may watch that show, but Supernatural is in no way a teen show; these are grown-ass MEN (mmm hmm). And if there was a March Madness bracket for Mandy W.'s Fictional Boyfriends, then obvs Dean Winchester would be a top seed. But this is not that bracket, so please don't vote for Supernatural.* (If you decide to vote for Supernatural anyway: HAVE FUN, since it won't be counted.)
Here, have a pretty photo to placate yourselves.
*Same argument applies for Arrow, Charmed, etc. -- i.e. shows with predominately grownup casts that appeal to teens (read: on The WB or The CW). But those shows don't have Jensen Ackles.
So which teen show should be added to this tournament? Just one per comment, please, so that we're clear about which teen TV show you're talking about. Upvote and lobby for your favourites, and we’ll pick the top two for our play-in game Friday.