Surfs up

A lot of people in the industry know I have a particular love for Australian teen/YA series. And I don’t know whether it’s the accents, the beautiful coasts or the stunning surfing—but I have fallen hard for Netflix series Surviving Summer. Aussie hitmaker Werner Film Productions (Dance Academy, Crazy Fun Park) dropped the second season of this live-action show in September, and its romance/coming-of-age story picks up with Aussie surf hopefuls and spunky Brooklyn-born expat Summer navigating new waves and relationships. Season two tackles bullying, finding your voice and teamwork through the lens of competitive surfing.
Back to school

Another teen romp from down under that really impressed me in 2023 was Heartbreak High, also from Netflix. Australia’s Fremantle and Dutch studio NewBe are behind this eight x 50-minute series that premiered in September 2022. It openly discusses sex, growing up and emotional trauma, tracking the fallout that happens when everyone at school discovers each other’s hookups. Heartbreak High picked up a Kids: Live Action International Emmy in November, and Netflix has renewed it for a second season that will drop sometime in 2024.
Everything Now

While I obviously have a fondness for Australian teen dramas, my favorite new series of 2023 actually comes from the UK. Netflix’s Everything Now is a powerful and not-at-all-clichéd live-action take on a 16-year-old girl’s struggle with anorexia. From how hard recovery is, to clearing up misconceptions (it certainly shattered several of mine about eating disorders), the series does a stellar job of illustrating how people are more than their diagnoses. This is one of London-based Left Bank Productions’ only shows for younger audiences—the studio is much better known for its work on Outlander and The Crown.
Walking into something new

Me with The Long Walk (note the shelf of Stephen King books behind me. You caught me, I’m a King superfan).
Heading into 2024, I’ll be keeping an eye on the recently announced Lionsgate adaptation of one of my all-time favorite books, Stephen King’s seminal YA novel The Long Walk.
For the uninitiated, The Long Walk (1979) is basically a proto Hunger Games that tracks a group of teens competing in a twisted walking challenge—those who stop are instantly killed. Fittingly, Francis Lawrence, the director of 2023’s The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, is attached.
The Long Walk has changed hands a few times over the course of its lengthy journey to the big screen. But I’m betting that it could become the next hit film franchise for teens.
Top image is Ryan Tuchow moderating the Putting the AI in Animation panel at the Ottawa International Animation Festival in September.