One Tree Hill: 15 Shows To Watch If You Loved It

It’s never easy letting go of a show fans have spent nine years watching. Over time, fans grow invested in each character’s life as well as the storylines the writers produced. With One Tree Hill ending fans will need to find new shows similar to it. The characters had depth and fans either felt for them or rooted against them.

While some may not be as great as One Tree Hill, there are several similar shows out there that are worth a try. Here are some shows worth watching if you love One Tree Hill.

Updated on February 2nd, 2021 by Kristen Palamara: Although One Tree Hill has been off the air for years it’s still a popular series for its engaging characters, plotlines, and the fact that it wasn’t afraid of shying away from more serious issues even with their younger cast. The show was on the air for nine years and was popular the entire time always having a large fanbase as fans watch and rewatch the show over and over again. Although there’s no show exactly like One Tree Hill, there are several other shows that are similar that focus on serious issues and have storylines for both the teenage characters and their parents. 

15 Gilmore Girls

Like One Tree Hill, Gilmore Girls had several intriguing characters that were both good and bad throughout the show. Gilmore Girls approached some difficult topics like sex and cheating, but it’s relatively tame compared to One Tree Hill.

But, the inseparable bond between Rory and her mother Lorelai and the two main characters’ various close relationships with friends and family in their small town and the show’s dramatic storylines are similar.

14 Degrassi

Degrassi is a Canadian teen drama that has had several seasons focusing on a different set of main characters in their school and personal lives. The show covers any type of drama and serious situation a viewer could think of including sex, drinking, gender identity, sexual orientation, and even school shootings.

Degrassi covers any topic that a high schooler might be struggling with in real life but also has lighter storylines and at times hilarious moments as well.

13 Parenthood

Parenthood follows the drama surrounding one family in multiple generations from grandparents to their children in their 40s to children’s children ranging from college-aged and younger.

The show focuses on every member of the family and covers serious and dramatic topics from one child in the family being diagnosed with Asperger’s, alcoholism, and relationship issues like cheating. Parenthood, like One Tree Hill, focused on serious issues and characters from multiple generations.

12 Boy Meets World

Boy Meets World followed a group of characters led by Cory Matthews (Ben Savage) in their school and personal lives in their middle school days all the way until they finished college. The show wasn’t known for sensationalizing dramatic moments but it certainly had its share of storylines that dealt with serious issues usually surrounding Cory’s best friend Shawn Hunter (Rider Strong) in his rough family life.

Although the series didn’t balance the focus between the kids and adults,  the kids all grew up and the audience was able to see them in their adult lives after high school, similar to One Tree Hill. 

11 Secret Life Of The American Teenager

The Secret Life of the American Teenager had a central plot of a teenager becoming pregnant and it delved into how it affected her life and everyone around her including friends and family. Although it wasn’t the only issue covered in the series, it was the major and arguably most serious issue that the show dealt with during its five seasons.

The show was a dramatic teen drama that also focused on the older parent characters in the show similar to One Tree Hill. 

10 Pretty Little Liars

There cannot be a list of the best teen dramas without mentioning Pretty Little Liars. This show is a must-watch true fan of One Tree Hill. While One Tree Hill was a coming-of-age saga, Pretty Little Liars centers on murder and mystery. It’s a female-driven show which adds more intrigue than One Tree Hill. There are laughs to go along with the mysteries as we watch each character go through the motions of trying to figure out who the mysterious villain ‘A’ is.

With a cast as large as One Tree Hill, Pretty Little Liars still manages to focus on individual characters with backstories and even offers a time jump the same way One Tree Hill did.

9 Beverley Hills 90210

Beverly Hills 90210, not the remake but the original, with Luke Perry, Jason Priestley, Ian Ziering, and Shannen Doherty set the stage for teen dramas before studio heads fully understood what targeting a demographic could mean for ratings.

90210 was another coming-of-age story centered around eight friends with their parent’s wealth at their disposal. But it wasn’t all about fast cars and big houses. The serious topics they touched upon are issues teens today are still going through. From teen pregnancy to suicide to drug abuse, there was no topic off-limits.

8 The O.C.

One Tree Hill appealed to the masses by focusing on the basics of life. The O.C. was about a group of friends with the means to build a corporation. However, The O.C. gave fans everything they wanted and didn’t know they needed. Topics such as growing up in an abusive household to parents not taking care of responsibilities, The O.C. pulled no punches in their storylines.

As with One Tree Hill, there were love triangles, heartbreaks, marriages, and the essential things you will get with normal teenagers. The O.C. started out as a savior show getting Ryan Atwater out of the slums then turned into a story of redemption for all main characters by the time it went off the air.

7 Riverdale

While based on the popular Archie comic books, Riverdale took things to a new level. While still teen-based, Riverdale, much like One Tree Hill, still touches on sensitive subjects such as teen sex, violence, drugs, and murder. The CW Network has done a great job keeping the original characters from the comics in place with a splash of today’s issues.

For every Lucas Scott fan, there is Archie Andrews. For fans of Peyton Sawyer, Riverdale has Betty Cooper. One Tree Hill also managed to incorporate parents into the storyline and Riverdale offers the same. If you had a love/hate relationship with Dan Scott, then you will feel the same about Hiram Lodge.

6 Friday Night Lights

One of the best parts about One Tree Hill was their focus on basketball. Sports play a huge role in the show as that’s how Lucas and Nathan were able to bond despite their differences. For Friday Night Lights, it was the same but with a different sport. Football was the centerpiece of the show about teenage high school kids and their futures.

There were the occasional ups ad downs between sons and fathers, mothers and daughters but Friday Night Lights was more about a person’s morals.

5 Chicago P.D.

Chicago P.D. is a police procedural with action, death, love triangles, and a ton of mature content. The reason why this is on the list is simple, Sophia Bush. Brooke Davis was a fan favorite on One Tree Hill and rightfully so. But when the show ended, many wondered what the cast had in store for them. For Bush, it was portraying a cop.

Set in the Chicago streets, Chicago P.D. follows the Intelligence Unit including Erin Lindsay (Sophia Bush) as they take down criminals in a high-risk way. If fans of One Tree Hill are also fans of action, then give Chicago P.D. a try.

4 Charmed

Charmed is another show on this list that has received a reboot or revival. But it’s the original that featured Shannen Doherty, Rose McGowan, and Holly Marie Combs. Charmed was another female-led show which focused its attention on four witches. It wasn’t a Halloween-scary type of drama but one based on the bonding of sisters.

Although it was supernatural, it was still a family-based show. One Tree Hill fans can easily relate as the sisters often went through troubling times with each other. There were bouts where Paige and Phoebe were leery of Leo which caused trouble between the Charmed ones.

3 Dawson’s Creek

Before there was One Tree Hill, there was Dawson’s Creek. One of the best coming-of-age shows about a group of teenagers finding their way in their small town and then in the real world. It’s also interesting that it was filmed in the same location as One Tree Hill. Although not as daring as One Tree Hill in terms of sexuality and drugs, Dawson’s Creek did manage to have its moments where it touched on sensitive subjects.

No matter how heavy the secondary storylines were, it always came back to Dawson, Joey, and Pacey. ‘Who belonged with who?’ was the essential question for years.

2 Gossip Girl

Gossip Girl was in a league of its own. If a fan is in the mood for a good mystery, then after watching Pretty Little Liars, they may want to binge one of the best shows to ever hit Primetime TV. Much like the case with ‘A”, a huge portion of the show was on the identity of the mystery person.

Gossip Girl was one of the first shows to actually expand beyond the high school years and well into what happens next with the main characters. The writers did a great job of keeping the core storylines intact.

1 The Wonder Years

Wonder Years was the “it” show in a Primetime slot. Kevin Arnold was the weird, awkward kid who ventured outside in search of his own identity. His father was a hardworking man who held family values close to his chest while his mother just wanted to keep her kids and family safe.

Where Lucas and Nathan fought for respect from their father and each other, Kevin and his brother just fought to pass time. Friendships were a central focus of this show and no matter where you were from, we all felt Kevin’s pain each time he lost Winnie Cooper.

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