Teen drama - Wkp:
Teen dramas generally appeal to teen audiences. The most popular teen dramas are set in upper-class locales (ie. Beverly Hills 90210, The O.C..), or if set in another type of town setting (ie. Dawson's Creek, One Tree Hill), feature attractive actors whose cast members are in their late teens at the youngest.
Shows that depict teen life in a more realistic manner with a cast of actual teenagers tend not to do nearly as well. Notable examples include the critically acclaimed teen dramas My So-Called Life and Freaks and Geeks ... neither of which lasted a full season.

History of teen dramas
One of the original teen dramas, Degrassi Junior High and later Degrassi High seems familiar as if I read books in a series called this became very popular in both Canada and the US while airing on PBS in the late 80's and early 90's.
Several years after the premiere of Degressi, Aaron Spelling created Beverly Hills, 90210 in 1990. The stars of “90210” became instantly popular with young audiences, and the show became a phenomenon, becoming the #1 show among teen girls in the early 90s. The show remained popular throughout the first half of the 1990s, and remained on the air until 2000.
The next teen drama to make it on the air was My So-Called Life on ABC in 1994. My-So Called Life although critically acclaimed, was not a success in ratings and was cancelled after its first season. One reason for the show's low ratings was its placement in the 8:00pm timeslot on Thursday, sharing a timeslot with NBC's Friends, which also premiered in 1994.
Fox’s Party of Five, which premiered in 1994, became an instant hit with teenage audiences.

hmm I did watch Party of Five but hardly My So-Called Life. or Friends. well I do remember Friends seeming like after-Seinfeld filler. I didn't watch Seinfeld much either. fall 94-spring95 so that was my senior year.
but after that I guess I dropped completely out of the tv loop? did not know any of these:

The creation of the teen-targeting The WB network in 1995 helped to launch a whole new era for teen dramas. Within three years, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Felicity (1998-2002), and Dawson's Creek were premiered, soon acquiring large teenage fan bases. The family drama 7th Heaven also became popular among teenagers.
Dawson’s Creek was considered by many to be the “heir apparent” to Beverly Hills, 90210. the kids on Dawsons seem so young compared to 90210. they are witty & articulate but look younger. more natural I guess. not so moneyed. is that all?
Over the next few years, The WB’s Everwood and Gilmore Girls became popular with teenage audiences. Smallville is another example of a WB show that is a successful teen drama.

By 2003, a whole new set of teen dramas sought fan bases. That year, both Dawson’s Creek and Buffy, The Vampire Slayer ended their runs. That fall, The O.C. premiered on Fox and One Tree Hill premiered on The WB. The former became a hit among teens very quickly, while the latter started rather slowly, but has outlasted the former, running for four full seasons to date.
The O.C. inspired the MTV reality show Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County. It was structured as an unscripted serial drama, akin to The O.C. The show is very popular among teenagers as well. Its fan club group on MySpace is the second-largest group on the site, with over 100,000 members. huh.