Television series
The Next Step
A Canadian teen drama following competitive dancers at a studio as they navigate friendships, rivalries, and the pressure to win. Shot mockumentary-style with talking-head interviews, it's energetic and soap-opera-ish in the best way — high stakes that matter deeply to its characters even when they're about dance-offs. For anyone who loved the ensemble chaos of glee or wants to see real dancing instead of just hearing about it.
If you liked this
Glee2009
A template for the teen ensemble drama with musical performance at its heart. Follows a ragtag group finding belonging through performance, with similarly intense interpersonal drama and genuine stakes that shift week to week.
But The show's tone wildly varies across its run and some seasons fumble what made it special. Also heavier on singing than dancing, if that matters to you.
Dance Academy2010
An Australian series about dancers at an elite academy balancing artistry with competition. Same mockumentary confessional style, same ensemble of teens with real chemistry, same sense that dance is both their passion and their problem.
But Darker in tone than The Next Step — it deals with eating disorders and serious injury — so the energy is more consistently grave rather than soap-opera fun.
Bunheads2012
Amy Sherman-Palladino's love letter to competitive dance. Follows a former Las Vegas dancer running a ballet studio and her students. Sharp dialogue, genuine affection for dance as an art form, and the same sense of a studio as its own small society.
But Only lasted two seasons and ends mid-arc. The writing is wordier and faster-paced than The Next Step, which some will love and others will find exhausting.
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River2015
Both use the mockumentary confessional as their central visual language, but River deploys it for emotional excavation rather than soap-opera momentum. It's what happens when that format grows up.
A British drama structured as a series of interviews and conversations — same confessional/mockumentary DNA as The Next Step but applied to grief and memory. Shows how that visual style can hold weight and sadness, not just teen chaos. A masterclass in what the form can do.
But It's slow, introspective, and emotionally difficult in ways The Next Step never is. Only six episodes and doesn't resolve neatly. If you need catharsis or closure, you won't find it.
More like this (7)
Friday Night Lights2006
If you love the ensemble sports-drama formula, this is the gold standard. High school athletes, small-town stakes, documentary-style shooting, friendships that crack under pressure. The sport changes but the emotional DNA is identical.
But It's football, not dance, and the show is far more grounded and serious in its realism. If you watch for the glamour of performance, you won't find it here.
Godless2017
A western miniseries about a town run by women. Like The Next Step, it's a drama where a group of people must work together toward something larger than themselves, with trust and loyalty constantly tested.
But It's a western with violence and adult themes, not a teen dance drama. The tone is grimy and cynical rather than energetic and hopeful.
The Spectacular Spider-Man2008
A Nickelodeon series about competitive high school show choir. Musical performances, ensemble drama, the same tight-knit group bonding and fracturing under pressure. Lower budget than The Next Step but genuine heart.
But It's aimed at a younger audience, so the writing and emotional complexity are lighter. Some will find it too safe or simplified compared to the teen-targeted Next Step.
Pretty Little Liars2010
A teen ensemble drama with mockumentary confessionals, mystery as a through-line, and constant interpersonal chaos. If you loved the talking-head style and the sense that friendships are fragile, this has that in spades.
But It's not about dance at all — it's a mystery thriller — and the show becomes increasingly convoluted and untrustworthy with its own plot by the end.
High School Musical 22007
The obvious ancestor of this kind of story: teens discovering passion through performance, the blend of drama and musical sequences, school as the entire universe. Wildly fun, genuinely well-made, and the chemistry between leads is real.
But It's a film, not a series, so no room for the ensemble chaos to develop. Also, it's a product of Disney's early 2000s sensibility, which reads dated now.
Dirty Dancing1987
The Next Step's characters are dancing the same language Dirty Dancing established: that dance is how you say what you can't say with words, and why winning matters less than who you become doing it.
The film that made dance matter to cinema. It's not a teen drama, but it's built on the same principle: dance as a language for desire, rebellion, and class conflict. Watching it after The Next Step shows you where the DNA comes from.
But It's a 1987 romance, not an ensemble series, and the gender politics are exactly as dated as you'd expect. If you need contemporary sensibility, don't look here.
The Bear2022
Both use the ensemble at high pressure as their core engine. The Next Step asks what happens to friendship under competitive stress; The Bear asks the same question but answers it darker and louder.
A series about a group of people working in a high-pressure environment, bonded by their shared purpose, where competition and love exist in the same space. The ensemble dynamics, the confessional moments, the sense of a small world under siege — all mirror The Next Step's structure.
But It's about a restaurant kitchen, it's brutally intense and often painful to watch, and the dialogue is rapid and hard to follow. If you want escape rather than catharsis, it will exhaust you.
People
Cast
Writing
- Frank van KeekenCreator
Production
- Amy WrightCo-Executive Producer
- Andree BagosyCo-Executive Producer
- Brad VermuntCo-Executive Producer
- Duana TahaCo-Executive Producer
- Emma CampbellCo-Executive Producer
- Jan CaruanaCo-Executive Producer
- Chloe van KeekenCo-Producer
- Mitchell T. NessCo-Producer
- Rachel SchaeferCo-Producer
- Amy WrightConsulting Producer
- Jay PrychidnyConsulting Producer
- Amy ColeExecutive Producer
- Aubrey ClarkeExecutive Producer
- David FortierExecutive Producer
- Frank van KeekenExecutive Producer
- Ivan SchneebergExecutive Producer
- Jon RutherfordExecutive Producer
- Nick NantellExecutive Producer
- Romeo CandidoExecutive Producer
- Shaleen SanghaExecutive Producer
- Andree BagosyProducer
- Brad VermuntProducer
- Jan CaruanaProducer
- Jim CorstonProducer
- Laurie McLartyProducer
- Mark ReidProducer
- Laura HarbinSupervising Producer