The Most Popular Mystery Shows for Teens

While the mystery genre was made popular by classic authors like Agatha Christie and P.D. James and mystery stories featuring Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, it’s become an incredibly popular medium for teen-focused television and media over the years. Teen mystery shows require new layers and enough twists and turns to keep younger audiences engaged, and when lies and murder are thrown into the mix, this compelling mystery subgenre quickly becomes engaging for audiences of all ages.




A great mystery keeps viewers guessing from beginning to end with intriguing plotlines and compelling characters. With the success of streaming and the uptick in content, shows have started combining different genres with mystery hoping to add their spin to the genre. Doubling as thrillers, satires, and even supernatural epics, teen mystery shows have become increasingly popular with various demographics, but which are the best among them?

Updated on August 12, 2024, by Arthur Goyaz: Teen mysteries tend to address a dark subtext with a milder, nonchalant approach that a high school/college scenario enables. From detective stories with a supernatural twist to teenagers who team up to investigate more sensitive topics, there’s something for everyone when it comes to teen mysteries. This list has been updated to meet CBR’s most current standards for formatting, as well as to include even more recommendations of teen mysteries on TV!



20 Outer Banks is a Treasure Hunt TV Show

No. of Seasons

IMDb Rating

Rotten Tomatoes Score

3

7.5

72%

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Outer Banks is set along the coast of North Carolina and follows a group of teenagers led by community underdog John B. Together, they intend to track down a long-lost treasure somehow connected with John B’s father’s disappearance. Outer Banks can be described as The O.C. with a mystery twist: the Netflix teen show recreates the same cozy coastal atmosphere and the class struggle storyline of the classic 2000s show but includes an adrenaline-fueled treasure hunt in the middle.


Outer Banks isn’t trying to subvert any tendencies of the teen mystery genre, but its original premise of teenage treasure hunters — despite how absurd it gets — leads the narrative in many unpredictable directions. The show has its share of explosive moments, turning the initially local conflict into a multi-border police pursuit and an ambitious gold-digging adventure with millions of dollars at stake.

Outer Banks Netflix Poster

Outer Banks

Release Date
April 15, 2020

Cast
Chase Stokes , Madelyn Cline , Madison Bailey , Rudy Pankow

Seasons
4

19 Veronica Mars is a Coming-of-Age Detective Story

Veronica Mars taking a picture.


No. of Seasons

IMDb Rating

Rotten Tomatoes Score

4

8.4

92%

It’s safe to say that most teen mystery shows wouldn’t exist today if it weren’t for Veronica Mars, a detective series centered around the titular character, a high-schooler who moonlights as a private investigator. Veronica was an ordinary teenager who hung out with the school’s most popular group until the murder of her best friend, a tragedy that pushes Veronica into the criminal underworld in an attempt to unveil her friend’s true killer.

Veronica Mars is an incredible character-driven story, following the ups and downs of Veronica’s life as she struggles to balance a steady academic life with her detective duties. There’s an array of supporting characters to back up her journey: the great majority of them are as fascinating as they are mysterious, adding to the show’s trust-no-one appeal. Following Veronica Mars‘ success, a film was released in 2014 and a one-season revival brought beloved characters back in 2019.


Veronica Mars TV Show Poster

Veronica Mars

Release Date
September 22, 2004

Cast
Kristen Bell , Jason Dohring , Enrico Colantoni , Percy Daggs III

Seasons
4

18 Scream Queens is as Thrilling as It is Funny

The Chanels at their sorority in Scream Queens.

No. of Seasons

IMDb Rating

Rotten Tomatoes Score

2

7.1

77%

Scream Queens is a Ryan Murphy TV show that deserves more love. Sadly, its magnificent ensemble cast and the darkly comical take on slashers weren’t enough to save the show from being canceled in Season 2. Following a semi-anthology format, Scream Queens is centered around members of a sorority trying to evade a vicious serial killer running loose on campus.


Constantly on the verge of comedy, Scream Queens conducts its serial killer mystery with a unique satirical tone. The show’s self-aware humor needles the current state of slashers and millennial ignorance, all that with a good dose of blood and absurd violence. No other teen mystery show dared to get as campy as Scream Queens did, even if its foolish chaos cost the show a few more seasons.

Scream Queens TV Show poster

Scream Queens

A semi-anthology series that centers on characters being terrorized by a serial killer in different locations, including a university and a hospital.

Release Date
September 22, 2015

Cast
Emma Roberts , Jamie Lee Curtis , Skyler Samuels , Lea Michele , Glen Powell , Diego Boneta , Abigail Breslin , Keke Palmer , Oliver Hudson , Nasim Pedrad , Lucien Laviscount , Billie Lourd

Seasons
2

Creator
Ryan Murphy, Ian Brennan, Brad Falchuk

17 Dark is a Mind-Bending Teen Mystery with Multiple Timelines

Louis Hofmann as Jonas Kahnwald with a yellow raincoat in Dark.


No. of Seasons

IMDb Rating

Rotten Tomatoes Score

3

8.7

95%

Dark starts with a father taking his own life and a young boy’s disappearance; two crimes that act as the catalysts for a grisly time travel show. Soon, a group of different German teenagers find themselves at the center of a mind-bending mystery involving several generations and horrific crimes. When it comes to teen mysteries, Dark is the darkest of all, no pun intended. That’s because the show introduces an intricate web of multiple timelines and family generations against the backdrop of a German town fated to doom.

Even though the main mystery unfolds from the teenagers’ POV, Dark depicts many versions of these characters traveling through time and unveiling a dangerous conspiracy. No matter what year characters find themselves in, teen recklessness keeps causing mayhem in any time and space. Dark makes for a complex, yet short teen mystery show, running for only three seasons and delivering a thought-out finale.


Dark Netflix Poster

Dark

Release Date
December 1, 2017

Cast
Louis Hofmann , Karoline Eichhorn , Maja Schöne , Jordis Triebel

Seasons
3

16 Buffy the Vampire Slayer Marked a Generation

No. of Seasons

IMDb Rating

Rotten Tomatoes Score

7

8.3

85%

Buffy the Vampire Slayer revolutionized the teen genre by flirting with the occult and the supernatural in a high school setting. Intended for young and mature audiences alike, the show follows Buffy Summers, a teenager destined to slay vampires, teaming up with the school’s underdogs to free the world from evil.


Although Buffy the Vampire Slayer is remembered for being one of the most binge-worthy fantasy shows of all time, mystery permeates every episode of its teen narrative. Following a procedural structure connected by glimpses of each season’s “bid bad,” Buffy delivers plenty of exciting stand-alone mysteries centered around all sorts of monsters, from demons to werewolves. In addition, the show has its share of vampire romance, witchcraft, and high school drama to spice up every new case.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV Show Poster

Buffy The Vampire Slayer

A young woman, destined to slay vampires, demons and other infernal creatures, deals with her life fighting evil, with the help of her friends.

Release Date
March 10, 1997

Cast
Sarah Michelle Gellar , Nicholas Brendon , Alyson Hannigan , Anthony Head , James Marsters , Michelle Trachtenberg , Charisma Carpenter , David Boreanaz

Seasons
7 Seasons

Creator
Joss Whedon

15 Paper Girls Delves Into Time Travel


No. of Seasons

IMDb Rating

Rotten Tomatoes Score

1

7.3

87%

Related

10 Best Time Travel TV Shows, Ranked

TV shows like Life On Mars and Outlander perfectly showcase the joys and frustrations of journeying across different periods.

Paper Girls is an amazing science fiction show created by Prime Video that, unfortunately, was canceled before its time. The show follows four girls who work as paper girls and end up in the middle of a time travel war. The girls will have to uncover a whole mystery surrounding their very own identities, which are closely tied to the cataclysmic conflict at hand.


Paper Girls is based on the terrific comic book of the same name and is an outstanding TV series. The show keeps the audience engaged because everyone wants to see where the story is going to end. Unfortunately, Prime Video canceled the series, but fans of this teen mystery show can still read the comic book series.

Paper Girls 2022 on Prime video created by Stephany Folsom

Paper Girls

Four young friends’ paper routes are disrupted on Hell Day 1988, when they unknowingly time travel to 2019. While searching for a way home, they come face-to-face with their adult selves and learn how to work together to save the world.

Release Date
July 29, 2022

Cast
Camryn Jones , Sofia Rosinsky , Fina Strazza

Seasons
1

Production Company
Amazon Studios, Legendary Television, Plan B Entertainment

14 One Of Us Is Lying Sensationalizes the Detention Trope

No. of Seasons

IMDb Rating

Rotten Tomatoes Score

2

6.9

90%


Adapted from Karen M. McManus’ novel of the same name, One of Us IsLying centers on a group of five students who enter detention, with only four exiting. After a student dies from an allergic reaction, the four students left in detention become the main suspects in a murder investigation. Did one of them kill him, or is the killer still out there?

While a classic murder mystery lies at its core, One of Us Is Lying finds its success in modernizing The Breakfast Club’s detention trope and layering it with several mysteries. Each episode successfully pushes the audience in different directions, and even after revealing who killed Simon, it introduces another mystery. While One of Us Is Lying got canceled after two seasons, the Peacock series does the book justice.

One of Us Is Lying Peacock Poster

One Of Us Is Lying

Five high school students walk into detention, but only four walk out alive, thrusting the survivors into a gripping murder mystery. Each of the remaining students—an athlete, a brain, a criminal, and a princess—becomes a suspect, and their secrets are exposed as they scramble to prove their innocence. As they delve deeper into the investigation, they uncover hidden truths and form unlikely alliances, all while navigating the treacherous waters of high school dynamics. The series weaves a compelling narrative filled with suspense, drama, and intricate character development, keeping viewers hooked until the very end.

Release Date
October 7, 2021

Creator(s)
Erica Saleh

Cast
Annalisa Cochrane , Chibuikem Uche , Marianly Tejada , Cooper van Grootel , Barrett Carnahan , Jessica McLeod , Mark McKenna , Melissa Collazo , Sara Thompson , Alimi Ballard

Main Genre
Mystery

Writers
Erica Saleh


13 Pretty Little Liars Lays Out A Complicated Web of Lies and Secrets

No. of Seasons

IMDb Rating

Rotten Tomatoes Score

7

7.4

81%

Based on Sara Shepard’s novel series of the same name, Pretty Little Liars follows a group of four friends who find themselves the victim of an anonymous stalker named “A” after the disappearance of their friend Allison. A never-ending mystery until the last episode, Pretty Little Liars is filled with lies, affairs, and murders, adding maturity to the teen genre that’s rarely been seen.


In later seasons, Pretty Little Liars became much darker and at times frightening for younger teen audiences. However, the series has gone down in history as one of the best teen mystery shows, with its reboot bringing the main mystery to a modern, more internet-obsessed setting.

Pretty Little Liars main cast in triangles on promo image

Pretty Little Liars (2010)

Four friends band together against an anonymous foe who threatens to reveal their darkest secrets, while also investigating the disappearance of their best friend.

Release Date
June 8, 2010

Creator
I. Marlene King

Cast
Troian Bellisario , Ashley Benson , Shay Mitchell , Lucy Hale

12 Riverdale Added A Mysterious Twist to Archie Comics

No. of Seasons

IMDb Rating

Rotten Tomatoes Score

7

6.5

81%


Even though Riverdale has been widely criticized for its all-over-the-place storylines, the show had a truly great first season that perfectly mixes teen romance and tension. During this season, Riverdale gave the audience a Gothic-like murder mystery combined with the beloved characters from Archie Comics, which made for an awesome teen mystery series.

In the first season of Riverdale, Betty, Archie, Veronica, and Jughead get entangled in the mystery of Jason Blossom’s death. The show carefully paints the different characters of Archie Comics as potential murderers, while also giving the audience great character development, romance, and friendship. It’s truly a shame that CW didn’t continue to provide this level of quality in the following seasons of Riverdale.

Riverdale TV Show Poster

Riverdale

Release Date
January 26, 2017

Cast
Lili Reinhart , Camila Mendes , Cole Sprouse , K.J. Apa , Madelaine Petsch , casey cott , Mädchen Amick

Seasons
7


11 The Society Ended Too Early

The Society's teens looking to the left.

No. of Seasons

IMDb Rating

Rotten Tomatoes Score

1

7.1

86%

Created by Christopher Keyser, The Society features a group of classmates who are left to learn how to survive on their own after discovering their entire town has disappeared upon returning from a field trip. With no one in charge, they must rule themselves, and while this sounds ideal to most teenagers, they quickly discover they’re not cut out for the responsibilities that come without guidance from those far more experienced with life.


While the series was canceled after one season as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, it remains a fan-favorite and one of Netflix’s best original series. The Society takes the classic “Lord of the Flies” story, but adds a science-fiction element that elevates the tone of the story and the mystery beneath it. Along with its unraveling mysteries, The Society remains a heartwarming coming-of-age story and received praise for its role in improving the representation of the ASL community.

10 Cruel Summer Is Full of Secrets and Drama


No. of Seasons

IMDb Rating

Rotten Tomatoes Score

2

7.4

94%

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Starring Olivia Holt and Chiara Aurelia, Cruel Summer tells the story of a girl’s disappearance, and the girl who seemingly took her place over three summers. A neatly closed first season gave rise to a brand-new mystery in Season 2, which stayed in the 90s setting with the story of a love triangle that ends with a brutal murder.


As Cruel Summer unfolds, each character’s secrets are revealed, leaving audiences constantly wondering what truly happened. Jumping between several timelines can be difficult to accomplish, but Cruel Summer manages to do so with ease in both seasons. Although two solid mysteries left many viewers wishing for more, the show’s high costs led to a bitter cancellation.

Cruel Summer TV Show Poster-1

Cruel Summer

Release Date
April 20, 2021

Cast
Chiara Aurelia , Olivia Holt , Froy Gutierrez , Harley Quinn Smith

Seasons
2

9 13 Reasons Why Showed The Dark Side of High School

No. of Seasons

IMDb Rating

Rotten Tomatoes Score

4

7.5

35%


13 Reasons Why is another teen mystery show that should have ended much sooner, but that had a truly excellent first season. The series follows Clay Jensen (Dylan Minnette), a high school student, as he listens to the tapes left by Hannah Baker (Katherine Langford) after she took her life.

While the plot of 13 Reasons Why seems pretty straightforward, characters keep digging further into the lives of others, uncovering several terrible things that happen on the school grounds and that lead to multiple tragedies in the show: the circumstances that caused Hannah’s sad death are only the first of many mysteries. 13 Reasons Why isn’t only a great teen mystery, but it also reflects on the difficulties teenagers have to face often in their daily life.

13 Reasons Why Poster

13 Reasons Why

Release Date
March 31, 2017

Cast
Dylan Minnette , Amy Hargreaves , Mark Pellegrino , Christian Navarro

Seasons
4


8 Yellowjackets Takes Survival TV Into Teen Territory

No. of Seasons

IMDb Rating

Rotten Tomatoes Score

2

7.8

97%

A survival story at its core, Yellowjackets finds its strength in its unfolding mysteries and its great cast of characters. Jumping between two time-frames, Yellowjackets follows a high-school soccer team whose plane crashes in the wilderness, leaving them stranded for over a year, as well as their adult lives 25 years later as their pasts continue to haunt them.


Since it first premiered, Showtime’s Yellowjackets has been all the rage, with fan theories consuming the internet left and right. Along with navigating the wilderness and learning to survive, there’s a mysterious force at play that the girls struggle to understand and even 25 years later continue to run away from.

No. of Seasons

IMDb Rating

Rotten Tomatoes Score

4

8.7

92%


Arguably the series that catapulted Netflix to immense fame, Stranger Things took the world by storm immediately after its release, expanding its fan base with each season. A supernatural mystery and coming-of-age story rolled into one, Stranger Things takes place in the town of Hawkins, Indiana during the 1980s where a group of kids battles an alternate dimension known as the upside down. Viewers watch the characters in Stranger Things grow old and evolve as their enemies only get deadlier.

Stranger Things’ creators, the Duffer Brothers not only found success thanks to their great writing and fascinating story, but its nod to ’80s pop culture and real-life inspiration from historical events. While the fourth season offered more insight into character backgrounds and origin stories, fans are anxiously awaiting answers to certain mysteries that remain.


6 The Midnight Club Is The Perfect Teen Horror

No. of Seasons

IMDb Rating

Rotten Tomatoes Score

1

6.5

86%

Related

The Midnight Club’s Ghosts Have an Explanation – And It’s Surprisingly Romantic

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One of the great Netflix horror shows by Mike Flanagan, The Midnight Club follows a group of terminally ill teenagers who end up together at Brightcliffe Hospice. While the teenagers struggle to accept their imminent deaths, they get together at night to tell each other horror stories.

At the same time, the teenagers unfold a series of terrible events that occurred at Brightcliffe Hospice while trying to find a magical cure for their illnesses. The Midnight Club is an outstanding show that explores ideas about mortality. It discusses the inevitability of death through terrifying scenes and a supernatural element at the center of the story.

5 American Vandal Is A True Crime Mockumentary

Image from American Vandal on Netflix depicting the show's protagonists.


No. of Seasons

IMDb Rating

Rotten Tomatoes Score

2

8.1

98%

An anthology true-crime mockumentary series, American Vandal centers on high school “investigators” as they delve into different incidents that riddle their towns. Though canceled after two seasons, American Vandal‘s first season remains a classic. After twenty-seven cars are found vandalized with phallic images, Dylan Maxwell is accused of the crime and expelled from school.

Wanting to prove his innocence, two students launch an investigation into what happened. American Vandal finds its strength in adding humor to the classic true-crime documentary genre. Though Documentary Now explored mockumentaries first, American Vandal is the first to run with a season-long story arc designed specifically for teen audiences.


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American Vandal Netflix Poster

American Vandal (2017)

A true-crime satire that explores the aftermath of a costly high school prank that left twenty-seven faculty cars vandalized with phallic images.

Release Date
September 15, 2017

Cast
Tyler Alvarez , Griffin Gluck , Jimmy Tatro , Travis Tope

Main Genre
Comedy

Seasons
2

4 School Spirits Combines the Supernatural With High School

Rhonda, Wally, Maddie and Charley standing in a classroom in School Spirits.

No. of Seasons

IMDb Rating

Rotten Tomatoes Score

2

7.6

83%

One of Paramount Plus’ most popular teen series from 2023, School Spirits is a supernatural mystery that stars Peyton List as Maddie, a high-schooler stuck in the afterlife while trying to solve her own disappearance. Though no stranger to acting, School Spirits offers Peyton List a huge breakout role, showcasing her impressive talents in the leading role.


School Spirits offers a refreshing take on the afterlife genre, using what Nancy Drew and The Sixth Sense do best. With the season one finale leaving behind a huge cliffhanger, fans continue to voice their theories online, leaving much anticipation for season two. Shortly after the show premiered, Paramount+ announced it had already been picked up for a second season, reportedly releasing this year.

3 Wednesday Gives New Depth To A Beloved Character

No. of Seasons

IMDb Rating

Rotten Tomatoes Score

1

8.1

72%


The spin-off of the iconic The Addams Family series, Wednesday follows the title character (played by Jenna Ortega) after she’s expelled from her regular high school and gets enrolled in Nevermore Academy, a special school for outcasts. Soon, Wednesday finds herself in the middle of a murder spree going on in her small town and uses her psychic abilities to discover the guilty party.

Wednesday is a great coming-of-age story that combines perfectly the iconic horror and comedy for which The Addams Family is known. While the show makes people genuinely laugh at Wednesday’s antics and become attached to the lovable cast of characters, the audience will also get hooked on the murder mystery as they try to discover what’s going on in Wednesday’s school.

Wednesday holds an umbrella in Netflix's Poster.

Wednesday

Follows Wednesday Addams’ years as a student, when she attempts to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart a killing spree, and solve the mystery that embroiled her parents.

Release Date
November 23, 2022

Cast
Jenna Ortega , Hunter Doohan , Percy Hynes White , Christina Ricci

Main Genre
Comedy

Seasons
2

Creator
Alfred Gough, Miles Millar


2 Chilling Adventures Of Sabrina Played With The Occult

No. of Seasons

IMDb Rating

Rotten Tomatoes Score

4

7.4

82%

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Based on the Archie comic book series of the same name, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina follows the beloved Sabrina Spellman as she juggles her two worlds as a human and a witch. A Netflix fan-favorite and one of the great witchy TV shows worth a watch, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina finds its strength in its horror and supernatural mystery roots and coming-of-age element. With Sabrina’s sixteenth birthday approaching, she’s faced with a choice to embrace her heritage as a witch or give it all up for a mortal life with her boyfriend Harvey Crinkle.

With two seasons split into four parts, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina had a successful run on Netflix. The series was unfortunately canceled as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, leaving many fans disappointed that it wouldn’t continue. Balancing the series’ dark elements with witty comedy, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is a refreshing twist on witchy stories, and is led by a remarkable cast.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina Netflix Poster


1 The CW’s Nancy Drew Has Everything a Mystery-Loving Teen Could Ask For

No. of Seasons

IMDb Rating

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score

4

6.7

86%

Nancy Drew has been a teen mystery staple since the 1930s, when the character created by Edward Stratameyer made her first appearance in the fictional young adult novel, The Secret of the Old Clock. Over the years, the titular character has gone on to appear in a lot of media productions, but in 2019 The CW gave her a brand-new series of her own.


Following 18-year-old Nancy Drew as she recovers from the emotional trauma of her mother’s death, she’s put off college (and crime-solving) for the time being. When she finds herself drawn into the murder of Tiffany Hudson, Nancy has no choice but to clear her name alongside her coworkers at The Claw Restaurant. That means resuming the one thing that’s defined her as a person all her life: solving the mystery. As she delves deeper into the case, she discovers it’s tied to an old murder that’s become an urban legend over the years, but Nancy doesn’t believe in the paranormal. She knows there’s a worldly answer to the mystery; all she needs to do is solve it.

Nancy Drew TV Poster

Nancy Drew

Young Nancy Drew makes plans to leave her hometown for college after high school graduation, but finds herself drawn into a supernatural murder mystery.

Release Date
October 9, 2019

Cast
Kennedy McMann , Alex Saxon , Riley Smith , Leah Lewis

Main Genre
Mystery

Seasons
4

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