On July 22, 2022, young student Josh Dubin (Logan Marmino) will take his Best Foot Forward in the new kid-centric family show from Apple TV+. Based on the life of the author Josh Sundquist, the new TV show follows Josh’s transition from homeschool to public school and the various ups and downs he faces while trying to adjust to his new surroundings. As if attending a new school wasn’t difficult enough, Josh’s prosthetic leg following a skiing accident presents a series of extra challenges at school.
Best Foot Forward joins an entertaining crop of kid’s TV shows that focus on important rites of passage in a new schoolyard setting that helps the main characters grow confidence, find their voice, and be the best versions of themselves they can be.
10 Young Sheldon (2017-)
Stream On DirecTV
CBS’ popular spinoff of its hit sitcom The Big Bang Theory, Young Sheldon examines the title character’s (Iain Armitage) awkward transition from a nine-year-old elementary school student to a new high-school attendant, doing his best to fit in, make friends, relate to kid’s older than he is, and pursue his dream of becoming a scientist.
The charmingly insightful coming-of-age tale shares a lot in common with Best Foot Forward as both shows deal with the difficulties of social awkwardness, overcoming fears and anxieties of taking on new challenges in a new scholastic environment, and how a new change of scenery can have profound effects, both negative and positive, to the development of a young child finding their way in the world.
9 Boy Meets World (1993-2000)
Stream On Disney+
ABC’s mega-popular adolescent sitcom Boy Meets World follows the scholastic exploits of Cory Matthews (Ben Savage), a clever 11-year-old junior high school student who eventually graduates to high school along with his best friend Shawn (Rider Strong) and girlfriend Topanga (Danielle Fishel) while combating with his teacher and next-door neighbor, Mr. Feeny (Williams Daniels).
For an entertaining and educational show that lasted 7 seasons and 158 episodes, Boy Meets World was way ahead of its time, dealing with every salient adolescent issue about growing up from interracial dating and child abuse to sexual harassment, underage drinking, and more. With compelling characters that credibly capture what it’s like to come of age while attending public school, Boy Meets World and Best Foot Forward are simpatico indeed.
8 Di4ries (July 26, 2022)
Stream On Netflix
Another perfect companion piece to Best Foot Forward includes the brand new Italian Netflix series Di4ies, which is slated to premiere on July 26, 2022, after airing in Italy in May. The series traces Pietro (Andrea Arru), a 12-year-old Galileo Galilei Middle School student who, very much like Josh, begins to bloom when he experiences his first crushes, kisses, friend, enemies, and more in his new school, which is threatened to be shut down.
An insightful glimpse of young school kids at an impressionable age as they grapple with peer pressure, parental expectations, raging hormones, and finding a place among like-minded friends, Di4ies also explores modern-day adolescent classroom dynamics sure that align with Best Foot Forward.
7 The Healing Powers Of Dude (2020)
Stream On Netflix
In a charming blend of Best Foot Forward and Young Sheldon, Netflix’s The Healing Powers of the Dude tracks Noah Ferris (Jace Chapman), a homeschooled, socially awkward 11-year-old who leans on the solace provided by his emotional support dog named Dude to get through the rigors of his new middle school.
While the waggish rapport between Noah and Dude carries the conceit a long way, at its core, the kid’s show is about gaining confidence, facing deep-seated public fears, evolving into a better and more productive person, and how the seeming horrors of middle school can be a real blessing in disguise in the long run.
6 Drake & Josh (2004-2007)
Stream On Hulu
While the titular Drake & Josh are slightly older than Josh in Best Foot Forward, the mega-popular Nickelodeon live-action show is too beloved to omit, especially since it plumbs the same poignant coming-of-age subject matter just for teenagers rather than preteens. Drake Bell and Josh Peck star as two stepbrothers, who, despite their odd-couple dynamic, manage to help each other find their voice.
Best Foot Forward fans will gravitate toward Josh, who does his best to overcome his social ineptitude and awkward personality at school while dealing with a slew of typical adolescent problems. Since both leads play versions of themself, the show has an authenticity that most kid’s shows simply can’t match.
5 Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide (2004-2007) – Stream On Parammount+
Produced concurrently with Drake & Josh, Nickelodeon’s Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide is appointment viewing for Best Foot Forward fans. The show concerns Ned Bigby (Devon Werkheiser), a seventh-grader dealing with the first semester of the school year, slowly compiling a list of hacks that he uses to advise his classmates on how to endure the horrors of junior high.
Hailed as one of the best adolescent TV shows at the time dedicating entire episodes to tackle such deep issues as grades, cheating, popularity, peer pressure, athletic competitions, preteen romances, and more, Ned delivers everything fans can want from an insightfully entertaining kid’s show that teaches its demographic how to successfully navigate a new school environment.
4 Zoey 101 (2006-2008)
Stream On Paramount+
Since Best Foot Forward was co-created by Matt Fleckenstein, it makes sense to point fans in the direction of additional kid’s shows he’s worked on in the past. One show bound to share similar many tonal sensibilities is Zoey 101, on which Fleckenstein served as a writer in 2008. The beloved 200s Nickelodeon show follows Zooey Brooks (Jamie Lynn Spears) as she attends the first day at Pacific Coast Academy.
Much like Josh trying to fit in at his new middle school, the conflict Zoey faces include being the first female to be enrolled at the private all-boys boarding school and the prejudices she must overcome to be accepted by her peers. Nominated for a 2005 Emmy for Outstanding Children’s Program and winner of two Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards, the critical and commercial appeal of Zoey 101 will certainly reach Best Foot Forward fans.
3 Malcolm In The Middle (2000-2006)
Stream On Hulu
Winner of 7 Emmys, very few family TV shows managed to explore the daily rigors of growing up more tenderly and trenchantly than Malcolm in the Middle. For Best Foot Forward fans, Josh has a lot in common with Malcolm, a 12-year-old who is suddenly placed into a class of gifted students due to his genius-level IQ, where he must adjust, adapt, and contend with the daily pressures of living up to his vast intellect.
While later seasons expanded the show’s scope to include more family storylines, the hilariously inventive first-person address to the camera the show became known for helped viewers relate to and identify with Malcolm as he experiences one adolescent hardship after another. As such, the show won a Peabody Award for its cultural impact.
2 Smart Guy (1997-1999)
Stream On Disney+
Boasting a very similar premise that inspired the other TV shows that made the grade, The WB’s Smart Guy follows T.J. Henderson (Tahj Mowery), a 10-year-old child prodigy whose existence is upended when he accelerates from elementary school to high school in a blink.
Far ahead of its time in its exploration of age, class, gender, and racial differences, and the growing pains of coming of age in a new school setting, Smart Guy even tackled prescient issues relating to the internet back in 1998. The show was so influential that Boy Meets World used the same establishing shot of Piedmont High as the establishing shot for John Adams High.
1 Lizzie McGuire (2001-2004)
Stream On Disney+
With a star-making turn from the effervescent Hilary Duff, the excellent Disney Channel show Lizzie McGuire is a great show to watch along with Best Foot Forward. The show concerns Lizzie, a shy and accident-prone 13-year-old doing all she can to navigate junior high and overcome her social anxieties and find her own identity by channeling her much more confident alter ego.
Twice Emmy-nominated for Outstanding Children’s Program, the radiant charms of Duff go a long way, but it’s the encouraging lessons about growing up, staying true to one’s self, and finding acceptance within that will make Best Foot Forward fans respond the most. Like Josh, Lizzie is an adolescent role model like very few others featured on the best kid’s shows around.
About The Author
Comments
Post a Comment