Television series

Julie and the Phantoms

A joyful supernatural musical about a grieving girl who forms a band with three 1995 ghosts stuck in her garage. It's a bright, energetic show that balances genuine emotional weight with infectious music, teen romance, and comedy. For people who want their heart warmed and their speakers tested.

TVMaze rating4.0

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love musical comedies where a bright, unembarrassed pop energy carries a story with a real ache underneath, the kind of show that makes a rehearsal scene feel like an event.

Skip it if you find ghost comedy and teen-band plotting thin going, or want grown-up stakes; its sincerity is sweet rather than sharp, and the songs carry more than the jokes.

What it asks of you: Nine episodes of about half an hour each make it a single easy evening, and a bouncy pace holds even when the mood turns tender.

If you liked this

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series2019

A meta-theatrical show about putting on musicals, with real songwriting talent, charming chaos, and genuine emotional stakes beneath the sparkle. It understands why people love musicals.

But The self-aware pastiche can feel too clever for its own good, and the production numbers are deliberately intentionally janky in ways that don't always land.

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series poster

Glee2009

Ensemble high school show with fantastic covers, comedy, and surprisingly moving moments about belonging. Early seasons nail the joy of finding your people through music.

But Quality swings wildly between episodes, and it occasionally punches down at its own characters in uncomfortable ways. Later seasons lose focus entirely.

Glee poster

Heartstopper2022

A radiant British teen show about discovering yourself through friendship and love, with genuine sweetness and a visual warmth that makes you believe in hope again.

But The earnestness won't click if you find sincerity without irony exhausting, and it's deliberately low-conflict in ways that some viewers find boring.

Heartstopper poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Julie and the Phantoms

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Clueless1995

Both are teen stories about grief and self-discovery wrapped in bright, musical optimism. Both believe their young characters are worth caring about absolutely.

A 1995 film where a teen finds herself through friendship and kindness in a sunny, colorful world. Sharp, musical in rhythm, and genuinely wise about belonging and self-discovery.

But It's a '90s teen comedy that hasn't aged perfectly in some ways, and if you think fashion and shopping comedies are inherently frivolous, you'll miss why it matters.

Clueless poster
More like this (7)

The Owl House2020

A Disney animated series that builds a rich fantasy world through excellent character work, found family, and music integrated naturally into genuine storytelling. Smart and inventive.

But It's animated, which some people immediately dismiss, and the serialized plotting means earlier episodes feel slight if you binge it all at once.

The Owl House poster

Atypical2017

A warm comedy about a neurodivergent teen and his chaotic family figuring life out together, with real music moments and a kindness that never becomes saccharine.

But The depiction of autism has complicated reception, and some storylines fumble their landing in later seasons. The show is sometimes too comfortable being sitcom-y.

Atypical poster

Bunheads2012

Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino's surprisingly touching show about a dance school, built on witty ensemble dialogue and genuine investment in its young dancers.

But It was cancelled abruptly after one season, so there's no resolution. The dialogue style demands you stay in the room and follow it closely.

Bunheads poster

Ginny & Georgia2021

A mother-daughter show with humor, music moments, and the kind of found-family teen dynamics that land because the writers actually like their characters.

But It trades in some pretty well-worn YA tropes, and the plotting occasionally prioritizes dramatics over believability.

Ginny & Georgia poster

Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist2020

A woman suddenly hears people's true feelings through musical numbers. Sincere, musically sophisticated, with excellent genre variety in its song choices.

But The premise is structurally limiting—it can feel like a musical number happens and then nothing, which wears on you. The show was also cancelled after two seasons.

Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist poster

Parenthood2010

Multi-generational family drama with real weight, humor, and musicians in the cast who get genuine moments to play. It earns your investment slowly and keeps it.

But It's long (six seasons), occasionally melodramatic, and very much designed for people who want deep emotional investment over plot momentum.

Parenthood poster

Heartbreak High2022

Both are ensemble shows about outsider teens finding each other through music and art-making. Both understand that sometimes the most supernatural thing is finding your people.

An Australian high school show about LGBTQ+ teens with a soundtrack woven through narrative, real anger and real joy, and a willingness to let teenage girls be complex and flawed.

But It's more sexually explicit and angrier than Julie and the Phantoms—it doesn't soften its teen stories, which some viewers will find too raw or uncomfortable.

Heartbreak High poster

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