Gen Z may not be as interested in sex on TV, but they're not the only ones watching YA shows

Showrunners like Justin Noble, Julie Plec, and Greg Berlanti weigh in on the current state of teen TV.

By Mary Kate Carr | December 6, 2024 | 1:09pm

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TV News Julie Plec

Gen Z may not be as interested in sex on TV, but they're not the only ones watching YA shows

There is no longer a hub for young adult television series, but all hope is not lost, according to a new Deadline report. Vampire Diaries boss Julie Plec says YA TV has always been cyclical; teen TV titan Greg Berlanti sees a huge opportunity for one of the current platforms to step up and become a YA destination. But do teens even want the same things out of their TV shows anymore? Much has been made about Gen Z being sex averse; a UCLA study suggested that this generation wants to see more friendship and platonic relationships on screen. But some showrunners would argue it’s a mistake to cater to just one generation specifically.

“It’s hard to balance that piece of demographic information against the hungry YA audience that is not Gen Z,” Plec said to Deadline. “That’s where a lot of buyers/developers get confused, I think. Because YA content is not exclusively adored by YA-aged audiences. If you only make a show for one age of the audience, you’re closing doors to an extraordinary amount of fans of the genre.”

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This line of thinking will ring true to all the adults out there who regularly re-watch Gilmore Girls every year. And by that token, many of those interviewed for the Deadline say it doesn’t make sense to chase particular youth trends (like those on TikTok) or imitate current slang, because then the shows risk feeling dated and inaccessible for other audiences.

“I think for some reason we’ve conditioned ourselves into thinking that it’s coming-of-age content, and I think that the implication of that is that, by the end…you figure out exactly who you are, and you’re done. I think that’s so not true,” Justin Noble, co-creator of The Sex Lives Of College Girls, told the outlet. “I’ve learned new things about myself this week, probably this morning. I think it’s interesting to examine that content that we aspire to see where people are learning more about themselves …and that doesn’t need to stop because you’re out of high school, or you’re out of college, or you’re out of your young adult years, or whatever. We can always be figuring out who the happiest, best versions of ourselves are. It’s inspirational TV at the end of the day to see characters figuring it out.”