7 Things to Watch on Netflix If You Loved 'Eighth Grade'

I don’t know how else to put this— Eighth Grade is so good. By now, I’m pretty aware that middle school sucks for pretty much everyone, but I didn’t realize how many similarities there were in the ways we experienced the suckage. Eighth Grade is not only extremely relatable to anyone who’s survived middle school and puberty; it’s also validating—things were exactly as bad as you remember! Eighth Grade left me craving more accurately uncomfortable yet weirdly beautiful teen-centric stories.

While I don’t think many movies or shows capture the coming-of-age experience quite like Eighth Grade, I compiled a list of the titles on Netflix that come close.

Every once in a while, you stumble upon a show so good you quit scrolling through Instagram and actually watch it. End of the Fucking World is one of those shows. The dark British dramedy follows James, a 17-year-old who’s pretty sure he’s a psychopath, and Alyssa, a crudely blunt girl who convinces James to run away with her. James only obliges because he’s bored with killing animals and has decided that Alyssa will be his next victim—but before he gets the chance to kill her, she starts to grow on him. The first season only has eight episodes, meaning that when you finish the entire thing in less than 24 hours, it won’t be as embarrassing as it could be.

From the creators of Awkward, On My Block is a Netflix original teen drama that follows four kids in South Central Los Angeles as they start high school. Together, they navigate the horniness, friendship, and heartbreak that come with starting ninth grade, as well as the challenges of growing up in a neighborhood ruled by two gangs. The show has been praised for its cast (all of its main characters are people of color) and the way it “doesn't lose cultural context for a second.” In April, it was renewed for a second season.

Like Eighth Grade, Everything Sucks deals with the very real, miserable, and occasionally sweet challenges of finding yourself, your sexuality, and your passions in the unforgiving hell that is high school. The series focuses on a freshman named Luke, who develops a crush on the principal’s daughter Kate. Meanwhile, Kate is developing a crush on another student named Emaline and realizing that she may be into girls. When rumors that she might be a lesbian spread around the school, however, Kate decides to date Luke in an effort to disprove them. At the same time, Luke’s mom and Kate’s dad (their school principal!) start running around together like teenagers. Drama, drama, drama—but it wouldn’t be high school if it were any other way.

Atypical’s main character Sam Gardner is a typically awkward 18-year-old. But unlike the awkwardly cringeworthy Kayla from Eighth Grade, Sam is on the autism spectrum, meaning social interactions are even more challenging for him than they are already for other clumsy high schoolers. Encouraged by his therapist, Sam decides he’s ready to start dating and hopes that will entail losing his virginity. His family is nervous but supportive, until they find out that Sam’s crush is his therapist. The series also follows Sam’s family as they struggle with their own emotional turmoil and letting him find his independence.

Starring Lana Condor, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (out on Netflix today!) follows Lara Jean, a high schooler with a knack for writing letters to her crushes that she never intends to send. Instead, she seals them in envelopes and hides them in a box in her closet. She’s been keeping these letters since the seventh grade and all is well, until one day they mysteriously wind up in the hands of the boys they were written about—who then begin to confront Lara Jean one by one. Mortified, Lara Jean decides to “fake date” one of the boys named Peter (who is hoping to make his ex-girlfriend jealous) in an effort to avoid the other guys who’ve received her letters. It’s messy, but some good comes out of it when she and Peter begin to genuinely develop feelings for each other. The moral of the story: If you’re feeling feelings, let the object of your affection know!

The characters in Dear White People are quite older than Eighth Grade’s Kayla, and as such, far more confident. Still, they’re most certainly still finding themselves and navigating the world’s expectations of them as well as their romantic and platonic relationships. The dramedy is set at an Ivy League college with a campus that’s divided when it comes to social issues and civil justice. Main character Samantha White hosts a radio show where she tries to set the record straight on these issues and advocate for her fellow Black classmates. As a result, she often finds herself at the center of controversy while she simultaneously tries to keep up with her social and romantic endeavors.

3 Generations follows a trans boy named Ray in the midst of his transition. Ray, played by Elle Fanning, lives with his mom (Naomi Watts), grandmother (Susan Sarandon), and her partner (Linda Emond). The movie’s cast is stacked, but the film received flack for its choice to cast Fanning, a cis woman, as a trans man instead of, you know, an actual trans actor. The actresses give quite a performance as we see the logistic and emotional challenges they face throughout Ray’s transition, but we’ll let you decide if the film, which was shot in 2014, is worth your watch.