No matter how dramatic, over the top and angsty teen melodramas can get, they will always be looked upon by a certain sector of the TV viewing audience with nostalgia, if not outright fondness, several years down the line.
Shows like The CW’s “Gossip Girl” and “One Tree Hill” may be a blip on pop culture’s radar in 2015, but don’t even try to pretend you don’t remember each and every character, storyline and musical montage moment.
In the 2015-16 TV season, you can do more than just remember those times fondly, because several familiar faces from popular teen shows are returning to the small screen, headlining high profile adult dramas across the broadcast networks.
From ABC’s “Gossip Girl” reunion with star Chace Crawford playing polar opposite of Nate Archibald on ABC’s “Oil” and former co-star Ed Westwick who played the infamous Chuck Bass playing serial killer Kent on “Wicked City” to “Glee” club member Melissa Benoist taking flight as CBS’ “Supergirl,” there’s a bevvy of teen series stars returning to broadcast TV.
TheWrap highlights where you can find 9 of your favorite teen show graduates all grown up this season:
Chace Crawford
THEN: Playing Nate Archibald, the Golden Boy of the Upper East Side, on The CW’s “Gossip Girl” (2007-2012).
NOW: Doing a 180 to play Billy Lefever, a down-on-his-luck young man who will do anything to make a buck, including packing up his entire life and moving to a small midwestern town to try to get work in the booming oil fields, on ABC’s “Oil.”
Ed Westwick
THEN: Playing Chuck Bass, the twisted bad boy soulmate of Leighton Meester‘s Blair Waldorf on The CW’s “Gossip Girl” (2007-2012).
NOW: Taking Chuck Bass to about the billionth level, as a sadistic serial killer preying upon unsuspecting women in 1970s Los Angeles, on ABC’s “Wicked City,” slated for midseason.
Scott Michael Foster
THEN: As Cappie, Foster embodied a laid-back slacker frat brother with a heart of gold, on ABC Family’s “Greek” (2007-2011).
NOW: Going from scrappy underdog to troubled rich kid, Foster will play Wick Briggs, the son of Don Johnson‘s oil tycoon, on ABC’s “Oil.”
Jake McDorman
THEN: As Evan, McDorman was the more stereotypical, bro-y fraternity president fighting Scott Michael Foster’s Cappie for the affections of Spencer Grammer’s Casey, on ABC Family’s “Greek” (2007-2011).
NOW: Following in Bradley Cooper‘s footsteps, McDorman will play Brian Sinclair, the latest recipient of the mysterious NZT drug which enhances brain activity to superhuman levels, on CBS’ series adaptation of “Limitless.”
Johanna Braddy
THEN: On ABC Family’s “Greek” (2007-2011), Braddy played Jordan, little sister to Spencer Grammer’s Casey and love interest to Casey’s little brother Rusty.
NOW: On ABC’s “Quantico,” Braddy plays Shelby Wyatt, a woman who may be keeping a deadly secret. Shely is one member of an elite FBI squad and in the future, one of them will be revealed to be a sleeper terrorist responsible for a massive attack on US soil.
Dilshad Vadsaria
THEN: As Rebecca Logan, Senator’s daughter and resident soritity mean girl, on ABC Family’s “Greek” (2007-2011).
NOW: Causing even more trouble as Mary Goodwin, one half of a sibling duo whose scientific ambitions go awry when they bring a bad guy back to life in the body of a younger man, on Fox’s “Frankenstein Code.”
Bethany Joy Lenz
THEN: Playing Haley James, the good girl turned rock star, on The CW’s “One Tree Hill” (2003-2012).
NOW: Welcome to Shondaland! On “The Catch,” Lenz plays Zoe Taylor, who sends her boyfriend to seduce and defraud Mireille Enos. Inevitably, things don’t go off without a hitch.
Jaimie Alexander
THEN: As Jessi, the superpowered, belly button-less, genetically engineered creature beffudling a small town opposite Matt Dallas on “Kyle XY” (2006-2009).
NOW: Another mysterious, potentially not human character, Alexander is the lead on Greg Berlanti and NBC’s “Blindspot.” No clothes, no memories, all tattoos. Status of belly button unknown.
Melissa Benoist
THEN: One of the new kids brought in during the fourth and fifth seasons of “Glee” (2009-2015), Benoist’s Marley Rose was a member of the New Directions, the disbanded original glee club at McKinley High School.
NOW: Up, up and away as Kara Zor-El, the Krytonian superhero lead on CBS’ new comic book adaptation “Supergirl.”