Freaks and Geeks (1999)

The benchmark for this whole list. NBC canceled it after airing 15 of its 18 episodes, and the full season now plays as one of the truest portraits of high school ever put on TV: Lindsay Weir drifting toward the burnouts while her little brother Sam survives with the geeks in 1980s Michigan. The cast reads like a future who's who, with Linda Cardellini, James Franco, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel and Martin Starr all early in their careers. The good news for a newcomer is that the last episode works as a real ending, sending its characters off in a way that feels earned rather than cut short. Watch all 18 in order, including the three NBC never aired.