"The Sex Lives Of College Girls" And 10 Other College TV Shows I'm Begging You To Watch

Mindy Kaling's new HBO series made me realize there are fewer (excellent) college TV shows than I previously thought.

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Mindy Kaling’s new show, The Sex Lives of College Girls (the first two eps of which are now available to stream on HBO Max), takes us into the world of the fictional, elite Essex College. And let me tell you: In an endless sea of TV shows about high school, it's a relief to see one finally sit with the confusing in-between phase of life that follows — and do it well.

Jessica Brooks / HBO Max

At the show's center, are four perfectly mismatched freshman roommates ready to take on the world. Or, at least...who really want to go to a cool party. (Don’t we all!) 

Kimberly (Pauline Chalamet; yes, sister of the one and only Timmy Chalamet) is a naïve scholarship student. Whitney (Alyah Chanelle Scott) is a Senator's daughter/soccer star with a secret love life. Bela (Amrit Kaur) is a sex-positive comedian, “more in theory than in practice.” And Leighton (Reneé Rapp) is a closeted NYC rich girl with a building on campus named after her family.

Jessica Brooks / HBO Max

Think: Never Have I Ever, if Devi and her friends went to college — a show that, at its best, explores feelings about sex and relationships in an honest and diverse way. 

Maybe after jumping in, you too, will wonder what other college-set shows are out there to stream. We've taken the liberty of rounding up the best, so throw that lanyard with your student ID and dorm key on and let's go back to school! 

1. Community (2009–2015)

Yahoo / Courtesy Everett Collection

While NBC comedies Parks and Rec and The Office get more attention for their bingeability, Community is just as fun. Community follows lawyer Jeff Winger (Joel McHale) as he goes back to college after his law firm finds out he lied about graduating from Columbia University. Now enrolled at Greendale Community College, he creates a study group in the hopes of spending more time with new crush Britta (Gillian Jacobs) but gets more than he bargained for when she brings along an eclectic group of friends (Alison Brie, Donald Glover, Yvette Nicole Brown).

Watch it on Netlfix. 

2. Greek (2007–2011)

ABC Family / Courtesy Everett Collection

Perhaps you were glued to your phone, unable to pull yourself away from Bama Rush TikTok. Or you like remembering just how awkward your college years can be. Either way, Greek is perhaps the most accurate display of Greek life on this list. Greek follows brother and sister Rusty (Jacob Zachar) and Casey Cartwright (Spencer Grammer) at Cyprus-Rhodes University. Casey, the popular president of her sorority, is not exactly thrilled when her nerdy little brother shows up for the honors engineering program at her school. But, if being at the same school isn’t bad enough, Rusty joins Greek life, popping Casey’s perfect bubble. And did I mention it has an amazing love triangle between Casey, bad boy Cappie (Scott Michael Foster) and perfect prepster Evan (Jake McDorman)? Team Cappie Forever!

Watch it on Hulu. 

3. Grown-ish (2018–)

Freeform / Everett Collection

Yes, Grown-ish is a spin-off of Black-ish. No, you do not need to watch Black-ish to watch Grown-ish. Grown-ish follows Zoey Johnson (Yara Shahidi), the eldest of the Johnson family's children on Black-ish, as she attends California University of Liberal Arts. While Zoey’s life in Black-ish is pretty idyllic, college turns out not to be as easy as she assumed. The cast is rounded out by a wonderful and hilarious diverse group of friends – bisexual liberal Jew Nomi (Emily Arlook), first-generation Cuban, devout Catholic, and staunch Republican Ana (Francia Raisa), and track star twins Sky and Jazz played by Beyoncé's protégés Chloe and Halle Bailey (you'll see Halle as Ariel in the upcoming live adaptation of The Little Mermaid). And what would a college show be without a love triangle? Trevor Jackson and Luka Sabbat play Aaron and Luca respectively, who, along with Zoey’s friends, help her grow(n-ish) and push her outside her comfort zone. 

Watch it on Hulu. 

4. Scream Queens (2015–2016)

20th Century Fox / Courtesy Everett Collection

Does Season 2 of Scream Queens totally jump the shark? 100%. Is Season 1 (created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, and Ian Brennan, the trio that brought you Glee and The Politician) pure slasher camp fun? 100%. As if it’s not bad enough that the Dean made Kappa Kappa Tau rush open to all students, they now have to deal with a literal murderer who’s, like, obsessed with them. Kappa, run by dictator Chanel (Emma Roberts), her minions Chanel #3 and #5 (Billie Lourd and Abigail Breslin), and Chanel wannabe Hester (Lea Michele) now must deal with the murderer when they have bigger priorities like their popularity and maintaining their bullying regiment.

Watch it on Hulu. 

5. Felicity (1998–2002)

The WB Television Network / Courtesy Everett Collection

It’s been 20 years, and yet I, a curly-haired lady, am not ready to discuss The Haircut. However, I am ready to talk about how adorable a young Keri Russell and future Shondaland heartthrobs Scott Speedman and Scott Foley are. When Ben (Speedman) writes a nice message in Felicity’s (Russell) yearbook at their high school graduation, Felicity changes her college plans and takes off to the University of New York (which is essentially NYU) in the hopes of pursuing Ben. Enter her cute R.A. Noel (Foley). What unfolds between the three of them is a love triangle to top all love triangles. Oh, to be deciding between Speedman and Foley, the dream. And if that wasn’t enough for you, it was created by J.J. Abrams and produced by Ron Howard. 

Watch it on Hulu. 

6. The Magicians (2015–2020)

Syfy / Courtesy Everett Collection

In case college wasn’t dramatic enough, let’s add magic! Quentin Coldwater (Jason Ralph) enrolls at Brakebills University for Magical Pedagogy to train as a magician. Unfortunately, he soon learns that his favorite childhood book series Fillory and Further, is based on truth and potentially dangerous to the entire world. Think: What if you went to college and learned that Harry Potter was real and Voldemort is an actual threat to humanity? Meanwhile, Quentin’s friend Julia Wicker (Stella Maeve) is denied a spot at Brakebill, so she searches for magic outside the school, taking refuge in self-taught witches.

Watch it on Netflix. 

7. Gilmore Girls (2000–2007)

The CW / Courtesy Everett Collection

Gilmore Girls is a show about 1) family and 2) what that family will do to get Rory into college! Four out of the seven seasons take place when Rory (Alexis Bledel) is at *spoiler alert* Yale. And the first three seasons are dedicated to getting her there (okay, fine, Harvard). Without the intense desire to get Rory into an Ivy League, she would not have applied and gotten into Chilton Prep School. Therefore, her mother Lorelei (Lauren Graham) would not have needed to borrow money from her parents/Rory’s grandparents (Emily Bishop and Edward Herrmann) in exchange for Friday night dinners. Thus, the entire premise of the show would not have taken shape! Many have tried, and most have failed at aging the main character from high school to college. Yet, Gilmore makes it work. Does she go home way too much for a college student? Yes! Go to a party, Rory! Enjoy your weekend! If anyone wants to talk about the last four words of A Year In The Life, my DMs are open.

Watch it on Netflix. 

8. Normal People (2020)

Hulu / Courtesy Everett Collection

Were you late for your friend’s birthday party because you cried too much after finishing Sally Rooney’s Normal People? Is this hypothetical based on a true story? Truly, who’s to say! (It is.) Based on the novel of the same name, Normal People follows sometimes friends, sometimes not, sometimes lovers, sometimes not Marianne (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Connell (internet boyfriend Paul Mescal) through the end of high school and four years at Trinity College Dublin. The show, like the novel, weaves in and out of the complex relationship between the two as it explores how far they’re willing to go for each other and if they even should. Watching the show is an emotional rollercoaster, experiencing with them the euphoric high of first love to the beyond heartbroken low of losing it.

Watch it on Hulu. 

9. Dear White People (2017–2021)

Netflix / Everett Collection

Dear White People, created by Justin Simien (and based on his film of the same name), follows a group of students of color at fictional Winchester University, a predominantly white Ivy League College. Logan Browning plays Samantha White, a media student at Winchester and a leader in the Black Student Union. (Tessa Thompson originated the role of Samantha in the film version.) While Samantha is brilliant and strong-willed, she struggles with her own biracial identity and relationship with a white man. Each episode (with a few exceptions) follows the story of one character told through a satirical lens, as the students deal with activism, racism, politics, and simply being college students. 

Watch it on Netflix. 

10. Hello, My Twenties! (2016–2017)

Celltrion Entertainment / Netflix

Perhaps you watched Squid Game and thought to yourself, I’d love to watch another K-drama, except maybe this time with slightly less murder and scary men in masks. May I introduce you to Hello, My Twenties (Age Of Youth in Korea), a South Korean Drama about five very different girls from very different backgrounds living together for college in a share house (dorm) called “Belle Epoque.” Much like The Sex Lives of College Girls, the series explores the girls’ differing views on sex, dating, and relationships and how your socioeconomic background can inform those views. While lighthearted and fun at times, the show doesn’t shy away from serious topics, particularly a poignant plotline about the right to euthanasia. 

Watch it on Netflix.