Hillside

Fifteen came out when I was 13, so I was in the target demo. I looked forward to it every week, and then right after would call my friend who also watched it and we'd discuss both how terrible/stupid it was and how we were dying to see what happened next. It was a 30-minute show but we'd talk about each episode for at least an hour.

Out of curiosity, now at age 43, I just watched some of it again, and I have a bit of a different take. It was obviously low-budget and hastily put together - the writing is basic, and the characters are stereotypes. But I do see a lot of good things. For one, the actors were actually the age they were portraying, and the awkwardness was realistic and actually kind of charming. Kids that age are insecure and have trouble striking up conversations and expressing themselves, and that came through clearly. Some of the more seasoned actors (those who played Ashley, Matt, Courtney, Dylan, Arseman and of course Ryan Reynolds who played Billy) actually were pretty talented and got better as the show progressed. And I appreciated that it was about actual everyday issues that teens deal with, basic stuff like homework, family issues, sports, clothes, not fitting in. A lot of higher-budget, slicker and more sensationalist teen dramas like Elite and Euphoria obviously excel at what they do but they're very dark and blatantly unrealistic. "Fifteen" was, at least, trying to meet its audience where it was in an authentic way. And although it's corny at times, it's not overly heavy-handed with moral lessons.

The biggest issue I have in rewatching it is that the kids are overly rude to each other. Almost every conversation seems to end with someone insulting the other and storming off. Most characters seem to be in a never-ending state of joyless worry. But maybe that's realistic; adolescents aren't exactly wellsprings of confidence and happiness.

Overall I think some of the comments here are a little mean and unfair. It was an ambitious project (26 episodes a season??) on a shoestring budget and did the best it could.

Hi, I was a cameraman on "Fifteen" during it's second season, done in Ottawa at CJOH-TV (Ist season-Vancouver, last 2-Orlando); recently found a cast/crew photo which motivated me to look it up on IMDb. Both 15 and You Can't Do That On Television were produced there at the same time, but never on the same days, so I don't think that was where Ryan and Alanis 1st met, but it's a small world after all. We did the whole season's episodes in a few weeks, cramming several sets, along with cameras, booms, etc. into a relatively small space, circumstances which I think might explain the shortcomings in production value, but I'll argue that the cast often did exemplary work in light of their ages and experience at the time. Ryan and Laura's success is no surprise. Anyway, we did crank them out like sausages, but it was a fun show to work and the kids were great.

It's been nearly 10 years since I've seen an episode of this but here's what I remember of it. There were a few characters but the main focus of the show was the relationship between Matt (the basketball star with a drinking problem) and Ashley (the princess). Then, in order of importance, there was Dylan (the guitar playing pretty-boy rebel), Brook the snob, then there was some kid who was Dylan's hanger-on, and another one who was Matt's hanger-on. I think there was some other girl in there who was important but not as easily stereotyped. I forget her name. Then this guy named Chris came along who was a bass-playing rebel who was a more evil version of Dylan. Quite a few other characters came and went each season (most vanishing without an explanation). I now will hang my head in shame for accurately remembering as much of that show as I can. This was the kind of show you would watch but dared not admit to anyone you watched. It was stupid, cheesy, but still quite fun to watch. This was a low-budget version of Degrassi Jr High.

I was 11 when this came out and I absolutely loved it. It came out shortly after 90210, which I also loved. I watched all of the Nickelodeon tv series back then. I found out that Amazon has FIFTEEN season 1 on Prime now so I decided to relive my teen years by re-watching it. Now looking back, I am realizing how corny it was and how BAD the acting was. But wow, did Ryan Reynolds change..from his Billy days. Who would have known that the little guy Billy on Fifteen would be a big time super star. My 11-13 year old self would rate this a 10, but as an adult, I have it a 7.

Fifteen was one of the coolest shows I watched when I was a little kid . And the plots were just like a teen show you would see on MTV . I totally remember the show , but not the episodes . I wish Nickelodeon would bring this show back with re-runs . Now Nickelodeon has c**p such as Catdog and Spongebob . They're not great as they used to anymore . Please bring back Fifteen , Roundhouse , Welcome Freshmen , and all those shows from the early 90s please !