The year is 2002, and middle school you is just getting home from an arduous day of learning the FOIL method. There’s only one thing on your mind: “What show am I going to throw on while I ignore my homework and call my best friend (whom I already spent all day talking to)?” If you’re yearning for such a simple, unbothered time, three nostalgic comedy series are dropping on Netflix this weekend that will take you right back to those younger years (and on into your high school and college days). All you need is a little dash of Amanda Bynes to run it back to the days when dinner magically appeared in front of you (thanks, Mom!), you didn’t have a Google calendar to track, and your biggest problem was asking your crush to the dance.
After their dad takes a job in Japan, teenage Holly Tyler — played by Amanda Bynes — moves into her adult sister Valerie’s (Jennie Garth) NYC apartment to finish out high school. Despite their obvious differences, with Holly’s wild and free spirit threatening to completely ruin Valerie’s regimented, city girl life, the two sisters come to realize they’re better together than apart. All four seasons of the after-school classic, which ran from 2002 to 2006, are now streaming.
When an old college acquaintance goes missing, Dory (Alia Shawkat), becomes obsessed with trying to find her, convinced she’s in danger. But Dory quickly realizes she isn’t exactly equipped with the kind of personality that makes people want to give her information. So, one by one, she corrals her friends into an unlikely crime-solving collective — but will their instincts be enough to save a missing person? Or will the threads they pull on unravel their lives as well? The dark comedy series, which premiered in 2016, was created by Michael Showalter and also stars John Reynolds, John Early, Meredith Hagner, and Brandon Micheal Hall.
Single dad George Altman (Jeremy Sisto) finds a box of condoms in his teen daughter Tessa’s (Jane Levy) bedroom, panics, and promptly moves Tessa and himself out of their New York City apartment — and all the way out to the suburbs. At first, the culture clash of Ugg boots, Starbucks, and dead-eyed bullying in designer bags seems like something neither Tessa nor George will be able to handle. But navigating their new hellish suburgatory brings the two closer than ever before. The three-season comedy, which originally aired from 2011 to 2014, also stars Carly Chaikin, Allie Grant, Cheryl Hines, Chris Parnell, Alan Tudyk, and Ana Gasteyer.
Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) had the perfect high school life — hot jock boyfriend, popular girl clique, a gleaming future ahead of her — before her best friend, Lilly (Amanda Seyfried), was murdered. When her father, local sheriff Keith Mars (Enrico Colantoni), investigates the rich and powerful people of Neptune, the Mars family suffers the consequences. After getting fired from his job, Keith opens a PI business to keep the family afloat, and the only employee he can afford is Veronica. Luckily, Veronica’s done with trying to fit in with the rich kids who threw her away after Lilly died. The only thing on her mind is learning as much as possible from dad and bringing Lilly’s killer to justice. Veronica Mars, created by Rob Thomas, also stars Jason Dohring, Percy Daggs III, Francis Capra, Tessa Thompson, Ryan Hansen, Chris Lowell, and Tina Majorino. The series’ three-season original run (2004–2007), the 2014 movie featuring law school–era V. Mars, plus the fourth season — which aired in 2019 and follows an adult Veronica as she solves a tricky bombing case in Neptune — are now streaming.
