''Teenagers'' (often stylized as ''teenagers'') is a Canadian

web series A web series (also known as a web show) is a series of scripted or non-scripted online videos, generally in episodic form, released on the Internet, which first emerged in the late 1990s and became more prominent in the early 2000s. A single in ...

created by M. H. Murray and Sara Tamosauskas. With an

ensemble cast In a dramatic production, an ensemble cast is one that is composed of multiple principal actors and performers who are typically assigned roughly equal amounts of screen time.Random House: ensemble acting Linked 2013-07-17 Structure In contrast to ...

that includes former ''

Degrassi ''Degrassi'' is a Canadian television franchise created by Kit Hood and Linda Schuyler in 1979. It is centred on a multigenerational teen drama about an ensemble cast of teenagers attending the namesake Toronto school as they navigate their ...

'' stars

Chloe Rose Chloe Rose (born October 25, 1994) is a Canadian actress. She rose to prominence when she portrayed Katie Matlin in the long-running teen drama television series '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'', from 2011 to 2013. Following her time on ''Deg ...

and

Raymond Ablack Raymond Ablack (born November 15, 1989) is a Canadian actor and comedian. He began his career in the early 2000s as a child actor on stage, performing as Young Simba in ''The Lion King'' at the Princess of Wales Theatre. He later gained recogni ...

, ''Teenagers'' presents various storylines in the form of

vignettes Vignette may refer to: * Vignette (entertainment), a sketch in a sketch comedy * Vignette (graphic design), decorative designs in books (originally in the form of leaves and vines) to separate sections or chapters * Vignette (literature), short, i ...

and focuses on social issues such as teen angst,

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

violence Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or Power (social and p ...

slut-shaming Slut-shaming is the practice of criticizing people, especially women and girls, who are perceived to violate expectations of behavior and appearance regarding issues related to sexuality. The term is used to reclaim the word ''slut'' and empower ...

, and sexuality. The first season premiered on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

in early 2014. The second season premiered online July 26, 2015; the first episode of the second season subsequently went viral on YouTube. A third and final season premiered online November 5, 2017. Since its release, ''Teenagers'' has amassed more than 15 million combined views online and has received numerous accolades, including an

Indie Series Award The Indie Series Awards (formerly the Indie Soap Awards) is an annual event hosted by ''We Love Soaps'', based in Los Angeles, California, honoring the best in independently produced, scripted entertainment created for the Internet. The ceremony ...

, several IAWTV Award nominations, and a

Canadian Screen Award The Canadian Screen Awards (french: link=no, Les prix Écrans canadiens) are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media ( web series ...

nomination.

Background

''Teenagers'' initially attracted media attention because its cast included former ''

'' stars Chloe Rose and

. Louis Chunovic of ''Playback'' published a piece on the series, writing that "the young creators of ''Teenagers'' had to have plenty of luck, pluck, talent, and grit to get this far. And that portends a Hollywood ending". M. H. Murray—who wrote, directed, and edited the series—began working on the concept in 2013 when he was 19 years old and in

film school A film school is an educational institution dedicated to teaching aspects of filmmaking, including such subjects as film production, film theory, digital media production, and screenwriting. Film history courses and hands-on technical training ar ...

. When interviewed about his inspirations for ''Teenagers'', Murray said: Speaking to ''

IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...

'', Murray claimed that he created the series as a response to "white-washed" teen-driven television that he watched while growing up, such as ''

One Tree Hill One Tree Hill may refer to: * "One Tree Hill" (song), a 1987 song by U2 referencing One Tree Hill, New Zealand volcanic peak * ''One Tree Hill'' (TV series), a 2003–2012 American drama series named for the U2 song ** ''One Tree Hill'' (soundtr ...

''; he also criticized what he perceived as a lack of

people of color The term "person of color" ( : people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is primarily used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is primarily associated with, the U ...

and

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

characters on television that weren't "evil, damaged, or hyper-sexualized". Murray has cited Issa Rae's web series '' The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl'' and Larry Clark's 1995 film ''

Kids Kid, Kids, KIDS, and K.I.D.S. may refer to: Common meanings * Colloquial term for a child or other young person ** Also for a parent's offspring regardless of age * Engage in joking * Young goats * The goat meat of young goats * Kidskin, lea ...

'' as inspirations for the series. All three seasons of the series were filmed in and around Mississauga on a shoe-string budget. The first two seasons of the series were funded "out of pocket". Murray approached actor

Emmanuel Kabongo Emmanuel Kabongo (born December 25, 1986) is a Canadian actor and producer. Born and raised in Zaire before it became the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kabongo immigrated to Canada with his family in the 1990s. He began his acting career as a ...

with the scripts and asked him to help produce the series, and they subsequently cast the rest of the characters together using actors from

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. Sara Tamosauskas co-wrote the first season alongside Murray. Kabongo ultimately served as executive producer for the first season, in addition to acting in all three seasons of the series. For the second and third seasons of the series, ''

Orphan Black ''Orphan Black'' is a Canadian science-fiction thriller television series created by screenwriter Graeme Manson and director John Fawcett and starring Tatiana Maslany. The series focuses on Sarah Manning, one of several genetically identical ...

'' director T.J. Scott served as executive producer. Garrett Hnatiuk, who portrays Porky in the series, co-wrote the second season with Murray. Murray wrote the third season by himself.

Plot

The series presents various storylines and characters in the form of

. The central storylines of the first season revolve around Bree (Chloe Rose), who loses her

virginity Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

to someone with

chlamydia Chlamydia, or more specifically a chlamydia infection, is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium '' Chlamydia trachomatis''. Most people who are infected have no symptoms. When symptoms do appear they may occur only several we ...

, and T (Emmanuel Kabongo), who struggles with racism and bullying. The first season also focuses on a love triangle between T, Olive (Dana Jeffrey), and Jeremy (Nick Stojanovic), while the second and third seasons focus more on the female characters in the series, most notably a

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

relationship between Olive and Sara (Allyson Pratt).

Cast and characters

Release

Since its release, ''Teenagers'' has amassed more than 15 million combined views on YouTube over the course of three seasons.

Season 1

The first season consists of eight episodes. The first two episodes premiered on a dedicated

YouTube channel YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most v ...

on January 19, 2014. The premiere was covered by online

blog A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...

s as well as traditional media outlets in Toronto. Upon release, it was voted number one in the "Indie Series Of The Week" poll by WeLoveSoaps.com users for the week of January 19 to 25, 2014.

Season 2

The second season consists of nine episodes. The first episode of the second season premiered online July 26, 2015, and subsequently went viral; it has since been viewed over 6 million times on YouTube. The remaining episodes were released on a weekly basis throughout the summer.

Season 3

On November 16, 2016, a

prologue A prologue or prolog (from Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "word") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier story that ...

episode was released on YouTube, alongside an Indiegogo campaign, seeking funds to complete the third season. The campaign ultimately raised over $22,000. A trailer was released on October 25, 2017. The third season, which consists of four episodes, excluding the prologue, premiered at the Carlton Cinema on November 1, 2017. The first episode was released online November 5, 2017.

Reception

Critical response

''Teenagers'' has received positive reviews from critics and has frequently been compared to the ''Degrassi'' franchise and the UK television series ''Skins''. In an interview with CBC's ''q'' radio show, Murray refuted ''Degrassi'' comparisons, saying that while he "respects" the show, he believes that ''Teenagers'' is "a fresh take on that experience". Further, CBC wrote: "Murray ... is telling gritty and authentic stories about teens because he believes we gloss over youth and under represent the realities of young people living on the margins of mainstream society". ''Now'' called the series "sexy" and "provocative", concluding that "because it’s not held hostage by the same rules as big network television shows, it pushes the boundaries". Patrick Dennis Jr. of ''Urbanology Magazine'' dubbed it "''Degrassi'' meets

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

". Susie Stone of culturestarved.com wrote: "I saw humans. Shattering and trembling, but at times so quiet and beautifully real. I saw short spurts of what is really happening in the teen world. This series is evocative, sweet, daring, and scary". Kyrie Scarce of TalkNerdyWithUs.com wrote: "If the story elements of sex, drugs, and wild parties sound too familiar, don’t worry—the joy of ''Teenagers'' lies in its execution, where psychological honesty is the name of the game". Jen McNeely of shedoesthecity.com described the

cinematography Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to focu ...

and

post-production Post-production is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording individual program segments. The ...

as "slick and impressive".

Accolades

Since its release, ''Teenagers'' has won several accolades. In 2016, Murray and Hnatiuk won the award for Best Screenplay at the

Vancouver Web Series Festival The Vancouver Web Series Festival, also known as the Vancouver Web Fest, is a web series festival based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is known as the first ever Canadian festival dedicated solely to entertainment and programming cr ...

and Ablack won the

for Best Supporting Actor – Drama. Kabongo was nominated for Best Performance in a Series Produced for Digital Media by the

Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is a Canadian non-profit organization created in 1979 to recognize the achievements of the over 4,000 Canadian cinema of Canada, film industry and television in Canada, television industry professionals ...

for his work in the second season. In 2017, the series received six IAWTV Award nominations. In 2018, the series received three nominations at the 9th annual Indie Series Awards, including Best Drama Series. Also that year, at the 5th annual Vancouver Web Series Festival, ''Teenagers'' won the award for Best Canadian Series, which came with a $5,000 prize.

References

External links

''Teenagers''
on