Tweens: They’re tricky, aren’t they? They want to consume the content the older kids are watching, but in reality, they might be better suited to series on the cusp of teen-tainment—those that cater more to middle schoolers than those who can actually drive. That said, you and your fellow binge-watcher likely have already seen the best of that bunch—namely, The Baby-Sitters Club, Anne With an E, and Stranger Things (if you haven’t yet, do that and we’ll meet you back here).
Ahead, a list of amazing tween-approved fare you both may have missed. After scouring the TV guide and streamers, we’ve whittled down a thoughtful group of TV shows for tweens. From brand-new options on Apple TV+ and elevated animated offerings on Netflix, to under-the-radar finds on Disney+ and the very best network shows to watch with the entire family—we’ve got it all. So, hide their phones, pop some corn, and hit play on the best TV show for tweens and everyone in b’tween.
Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts
Netflix is an embarrassment of animated riches. From She-Ra and the Princesses of Power to Avatar: The Last Airbender, the platform is a hotbed of empowering fantasies that are fun for the entire fam. This gem from the DreamWorks TV arm is no exception. About a 13-year-old “burrow girl” who takes on the apocalypse, it’s brimming with adventure, lush visuals, and socially relevant topics.
Watch it on Netflix
Camp Snoopy
The latest collaboration from Apple TV+ and WildBrain sees Charlie Brown head to summer camp with his friends, as Snoopy and Woodstock conquer the great outdoors as Beagle Scouts. We include this vibrantly animated toon, because a) It’s refreshing to see a classic handled with such care as it’s ushered into a modern era where emotional complexities and nuanced character-building take precedence, and 2) no one is ever too young or too old to take away Snoopy’s life lessons.
Watch it on Apple TV+
SciGirls
Reality TV is bloated with fodder that shreds brain cells and offers nada in terms of role models. SciGirls, an Emmy-winning series whose goal is to get girls passionate about STEM, does the opposite. In each episode, animated besties Izzie and Jake embark on an adventure and then call on the SciGirls for their expertise. That’s when real tweens, who use science, technology, engineering, and math to explore the world around them, take over the screen and inspire every viewer.
Watch it on PBS
Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous
This animated Jurassic Park offshoot tags along with 12-year-old Darius Bowman and his friends at an adventure camp crawling with real dinosaurs. And like its origin film, the dinos—and their really big, carnivorous teeth—wreak havoc. When you’re done bingeing all five seasons of this TV show for tweens, queue up the next chapter, Chaos Theory, which catches up with 19-year-old Darius and launches into even bigger thrills.
Watch it on Netflix
Detention Adventure
Usually, kids want to stay out of detention, but for the foursome in this adventure TV show for tweens, getting into trouble is exactly the plan. Here’s why: There’s a trap door in the detention room leading to the secret lab of Alexander Graham Bell. A fun watch that weaves history and humor into a heart-pumping mystery, this one is also built on themes like cooperation, friendship, and compromise.
Watch it on Dailymotion
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series
HSMTMTS, a spinoff of the hit trilogy, is set in a fictional world where the school in the movies is real, and the students in attendance are now honoring their cinematic legacy with an HSM stage production (it’s all very meta). Representation and diversity are on display as the Wildcats of East High belt out old favorites and new songs in an elevated mockumentary style that’ll make your tweens feel seen.
Watch it on Disney+
Related: 18 Movies Your Tweens Will Watch Without Rolling Their Eyes
Me
Streaming on July 12, Me is Apple TV+’s answer to the Marvel-filled digital shelves of Disney+. The narrative follows a 12-year-old who learns that he can become other people. Touting the tagline, “When you have the power to become anyone, how do you define yourself,” this family series wrestles with themes of self-discovery and identity (and every other issue potent during preteen puberty).
Watch it on Apple TV+
Abbott Elementary
In 2021, Quinta Brunson launched a network series that would change the face of primetime. Now, four seasons deep and four Primetime Emmys later, the humble mocku-style show about the teachers at an elementary school in Philadelphia is still going strong. Empathetic, honest, and above all hilarious, Abbott Elementary is more than a wonderful, family-friendly show; it’s an homage to all the caring and incredibly patient educators who got you and your kids through grade school.
Watch it on ABC
Diary of a Future President
Borrowed from the writings of series’ creator Ilana Pena, this two-season Disney series is one Cuban-American girl’s quest to reach the Oval Office. She just has to get through middle school first. As Elena enters seventh grade, she jots down every anxiety a tween faces, with Jane the Virgin star Gina Rodriguez playing her future self. Funny and relatable, it’s an A+ dramedy about dreaming big.
Watch it on Dailymotion
Harlan Coben’s Shelter
Inspired by the YA crime books by Harlan Coben, Shelter is a series that might be for the older tweens in the household, as it deals with emotionally hefty issues like death, rehab, and missing persons. You have Mickey Bolitar, a junior in high school who lives with his aunt and finds himself pulled into a head-scratching mystery suitable for Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys fans. A note: This series contains a bit of cursing, so if that’s an issue for you, hold off on this one until the kids are even older.
Watch it on Prime Video
Cobra Kai
The sixth and final season of the Karate Kid spinoff hits Netflix in July, so there’s no better time than the present to catch up with bitter frenemies Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence, and the battle of the Valley dojos. Seriously, we can’t say enough amazing things about this reboot: Diversity, representation, unpredictability, girls kicking butt—this series does the Miyagiverse very proud.
Watch it on Netflix
Ms. Marvel
Ms. Marvel introduces Kamala Khan, a 16-year-old Pakistani American girl from Jersey City who happens to also be harboring some really cool superpowers. Realizing her shapeshifting talent one day, she hits the town to save humanity. Heads up: According to most parenting websites, this girl-power series is great for kids 10 and up, but midseason the fight scenes begin to get somewhat graphic and violent.
Watch it on Disney+
Wednesday
Tim Burton gives the forever sardonic Wednesday Addams her due in his first television series. Jenna Ortega stars as the titular 15-year-old student at Nevermore. And taking some artistic license, the series merges the supernatural with the human in a narrative embroiled in monsters, mystery, and the macabre. Reasons your tweens will love this one? Challenging the status quo, redefining the norm, and celebrating individuality abound.
Watch it on Netflix
