Television series
Age of Youth
Five female college students with wildly different personalities and ambitions share a house called Belle Epoque. Age of Youth is a warm, funny ensemble drama about friendship, identity and growing up—the kind of show that makes you laugh one moment and quietly devastate you the next. It's for anyone who's ever felt lost in their twenties, or loved someone who was.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you love ensemble stories where five very different roommates bicker, bond and drift through ordinary college-age money worries, with wry humour and quiet sadness sharing the same frame.
Skip it if you want a tight plot with a clear throughline; across 26 hour-long episodes the story wanders, its focus spread thin across five women.
What it asks of you: Settle in for roughly 26 hour-long episodes, with a patient, unhurried rhythm that lets small moments of awkwardness and affection accumulate rather than building toward big set pieces.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Answer Me 19882015
Another nostalgic Korean ensemble about a tight-knit group navigating life's small moments. It has the same gift for finding profound emotion in ordinary conversations and making you care deeply about every character's journey.
But It's set in the past and moves deliberately. If you need constant plot momentum or can't connect with slice-of-life pacing, it may feel slow.
Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo2016
A college ensemble with the same blend of comedy, heart and romance. Features a tight group of friends whose bonds feel earned and genuine, with similarly excellent chemistry across the cast.
But The sports element is genuinely central to the story. If you have no patience for weightlifting sequences, you'll find them repetitive.
Hospital Playlist2020
Five protagonists at different life stages, bound by genuine affection and shared history. It captures that same sense of belonging and the bittersweet reality that life doesn't always unfold as planned.
But It's more melodramatic and medical than Age of Youth. The stakes feel higher, which some find gripping and others find exhausting.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Age of Youth
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Fleabag2016
Both centre on young women learning that growing up means accepting complexity and contradiction. They're both genuinely funny shows that understand heartbreak.
Completely different in tone and setting, but shares Age of Youth's ability to make you laugh and break your heart in the same scene. Both are love letters to messy, real female friendships and self-discovery.
But Fleabag is a British comedy with a cynical edge and sexual frankness. It's rawer and less warm than Age of Youth; some find it bracing, others exhausting.
More like this (7)
Kill Me, Heal Me2015
Korean drama that balances dark material with humour and tenderness. Shows real skill at moving between comedy and genuine emotional vulnerability without feeling manipulative.
But It centres on a male lead with dissociative identity disorder. The handling is respectful but the condition itself can be heavy viewing for some.
Romance Is a Bonus Book2019
An ensemble of women at different ages and stages, each with her own arc. Demonstrates how friendships evolve and deepen, with genuine stakes and character growth.
But The publishing industry setting doesn't serve the story particularly well. Some plot threads feel underdeveloped compared to the friendships.
Peach Girl2017
Japanese drama with a similar texture: young women figuring out who they are, with comedy, romance and real emotional weight. Fresh perspective on the coming-of-age ensemble formula.
But It's Japanese rather than Korean, which means slightly different pacing and tone. Some may find it less polished than Age of Youth.
My First First Love2019
A shared house, five college-aged housemates, messy relationships and genuine affection for each other. Captures that specific moment of life when everything feels possible and fragile.
But It trades some of Age of Youth's warmth for angst and uncertainty. If you want comfort, the melodrama here might irritate rather than move you.
Thirty But Seventeen2018
A smaller cast than Age of Youth, but with similar gentleness and an ensemble feel to the supporting characters. Excellent at finding humour in vulnerability and vice versa.
But The central premise involves a man who's been in a coma for thirteen years. The body-swap premise is unusual and not everyone's cup of tea.
Eighth Grade2018
Both understand that the real drama of growing up is internal. Neither needs high stakes or romance to matter. Both trust the audience to care about ordinary people becoming themselves.
A portrait of a young woman finding her voice and her people. Shot and acted with such naturalism that it feels like documentary. Captures the specific texture of female friendship and self-doubt with rare authenticity.
But It's a 90-minute film rather than a series, and it's set in middle school rather than college. The aesthetic is deliberately mundane and sometimes that reads as nothing happening.
Ping Pong The Animation2014
Both are ensemble stories where the sport or the setting is almost incidental. The real subject is intimacy between people who understand each other without having to explain themselves. Both are quietly masterful at showing growth through friendship.
An anime about two teenage boys and their friendship, but structurally and emotionally it's about the same thing as Age of Youth: how the people we grow up with shape who we become. Visually stunning and genuinely moving.
But It's anime, and it's about competitive table tennis. If either of those feels like a barrier, you'll miss it—but the ping pong is never really the point.
