Television series

On My Block

Name: On My Block
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Crime
Released: 2018
Cast: Diego Tinoco, Jason Genao, Sierra Capri, Brett Gray, Jessica Marie Garcia

Coming-of-age

A tight-knit crew of South Central LA teens navigate first days of high school, first crushes, and a buried-treasure mystery, while gang violence hovers at the edges of their block. On My Block moves fast between jokes and real dread — funny and romantic one scene, gut-punching the next — and it never talks down to its characters or its audience. Best for anyone who wants teen comedy with actual stakes attached.

TVMaze rating

3.2

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you love teen friendship stories where the jokes come fast and the stakes feel real, and you don't mind a show that treats a block's dangers and its kids' banter as one world.

Skip it if you want a tidy, self-contained story, since the series keeps circling the same corner's pressures and its episodes sprawl across four seasons.

What it asks of you: Half-hour episodes that move at a loose, chatty pace, so you settle into the friend group's rhythm rather than chasing one plot at speed.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Stranger Things2016

Same engine as On My Block — a tight crew of teens, one impossible mystery, and jokes flying even as the stakes escalate. It proved neighborhood kids and big adventure aren't opposites.

But The supernatural plot and small-town Indiana setting are a world away from South Central's very real dangers.

Freaks and Geeks1999

The gold standard for teen ensemble writing — funny, awkward, and quietly devastating without ever feeling like an after-school special. On My Block owes it a real debt.

But Cancelled after one season, and its slower, more naturalistic pace might feel tame after On My Block's cliffhangers.

Boyz n the Hood1991

The film On My Block is in direct conversation with — South Central, friendship, and the ever-present threat of violence, told completely straight, no comic cushion.

But It's a tragedy from the outset with none of the show's joke-first tonal balance, and it hits much harder.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from On My Block

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Cooley High1975

The direct ancestor of Boyz n the Hood and On My Block itself — the same warm teen friendship colliding with sudden tragedy, decades before either existed.

A landmark 70s black coming-of-age comedy that invented the tonal trick On My Block runs on: laughing hard right up until it breaks your heart completely.

But Low-budget 70s filmmaking and dated slang may feel creaky to eyes used to slicker modern shows.

Superbad2007

If it's the banter and chaotic teenage horniness you loved more than the crime plot, this is that exact energy distilled into one long, filthy, hilarious night.

But Pure comedy — none of the danger, family stakes, or neighborhood weight that gives the show its edge.

Everything Sucks!2018

Another short-lived Netflix teen ensemble with a big heart, awkward crushes, and a real feel for what it's like to be young and figuring yourself out.

But It's 90s suburban nostalgia — much gentler stakes, with nothing like the gang shadow hanging over every episode.

Grand Army2020

Brooklyn teens juggling ambition, trauma, and each other, with the same willingness to let a joke sit right next to something genuinely painful and unresolved.

But Heavier and more explicit about trauma, with less comic relief around to soften any of the blows.

Never Have I Ever2020

Mindy Kaling's warm, fast, funny teen dramedy — all the friend-group chemistry and romantic chaos, minus the constant undercurrent of real danger.

But Suburban San Fernando Valley problems operate on a completely different scale than what Monse and Cesar are up against.

Atlanta2016

Donald Glover's surreal, funny, sometimes frightening look at black life and hustling — the tonal whiplash between comedy and dread will feel very familiar.

But Adult, loosely plotted, and often deliberately strange — a big tonal leap from the show's more grounded teen storytelling.

Snowfall2017

Set decades earlier in the same city, tracking a young dealer's rise during the crack epidemic — a way to trace how the neighborhood's dangers got here.

But A much darker, slower-burn crime drama with none of the show's teen-comedy warmth to lean on.

The Interrupters2011

This is what the stakes in On My Block look like with the jokes stripped away — real Chicago violence-interrupters trying to stop the exact tragedy the show dramatizes.

A quietly devastating documentary following former gang members who now talk young people out of retaliation — the real version of the danger the show only gestures at.

But No plot, no comic relief, just unscripted grief and courage — a considerably heavier, slower watch.

The Boondocks2005

Same neighborhood anxieties and sharp teenage voice, refracted through biting animated satire instead of teen drama — Huey and Riley are Cesar and Ruby's argumentative older cousins.

A furiously smart animated satire about black American life seen through two kids' eyes — savage, hilarious, and unafraid to say what On My Block only implies.

But The satire is blunt and provocative by design — it'll offend before it charms if you're not braced for it.