You might be thinking of the 2013 François Ozon film Jeune & Jolie, or maybe you’re hunting for that specific brand of moody, European television that explores the messy intersection of youth and desire. If you’ve spent any time scrolling through international streaming catalogs lately, you know the young and beautiful tv show aesthetic is practically its own genre now. It’s that specific vibe. High-end cinematography, teenagers making questionable choices, and a soundtrack that makes you want to stare out a rain-streaked window.
But here’s the thing. When people search for a "young and beautiful" show, they are usually looking for one of two things: the literal French title translated into a series format, or the specific wave of "Euphoria-adjacent" dramas that have taken over platforms like Netflix and HBO.
Let’s get real.
Most coming-of-age shows are sanitized. They’re glossy. They feature thirty-year-olds playing fifteen-year-olds with perfect skin and zero existential dread. Then you have the outliers. The ones that actually feel like being young—which is to say, they feel like a car crash in slow motion.
The Ozon Influence: Where the Aesthetic Started
To understand why the young and beautiful tv show trope is so popular, you have to look at its DNA. François Ozon’s Jeune & Jolie (Young & Beautiful) followed Isabelle, a 17-year-old who starts working as a high-end call girl. Not because she needs the money. Not because she’s a victim. Just because she’s exploring the power of her own body and the weird, cold vacuum of adolescence.
It was controversial. People hated it. People loved it.
Television producers saw that tension and realized it was gold. They took that French "ennui" and injected it into series like Skins, Baby, and Elite. If you’re looking for a show that captures that exact spirit, you’re likely looking for the 2018 Italian series Baby.
Baby is essentially the spiritual successor to the "young and beautiful" ethos. Based on a true story from Rome (the "Baby Squillo" case), it follows two girls from a wealthy high school who start living double lives. It’s dark. It’s beautifully shot. It captures that terrifying moment where you realize that being young and beautiful is a currency that the world is all too eager to spend for you.
Why We Can’t Stop Watching These Stories
Why do we keep coming back to this?
Is it voyeurism? Maybe. Honestly, it’s more likely the relatability of the vacuum. There’s a specific kind of loneliness that comes with being a teenager in a digital age. You’re hyper-visible but completely misunderstood.
Shows that fall into the young and beautiful tv show category usually lean heavily into visual storytelling. Think about the color palettes. Deep blues, neon pinks, heavy shadows. They aren’t just trying to tell a story; they’re trying to evoke a feeling.
The Evolution of the "Difficult" Teen Drama
- The British Wave: Skins (UK) broke the mold by showing actual drug use and mental health struggles without the "Afterschool Special" lecture.
- The European Expansion: Shows like Skam (Norway) used real-time social media posts to blur the lines between fiction and reality.
- The American Gloss: Euphoria took the French aesthetic and blew it up with a massive budget, making every frame look like a Vogue editorial.
The problem with many American versions is that they lose the "boredom." In the original French concept of being young and beautiful, there is a lot of sitting around. There is a lot of silence. American TV hates silence. It wants a plot twist every eight minutes.
If you want the authentic experience, you have to go to the source. Look for the creators who aren't afraid to let their characters be unlikable. Isabelle in the original film wasn't a hero. Chiara and Ludovica in Baby aren't exactly role models. That’s the point.
Is the "Young and Beautiful" Trope Harmful?
Critics often argue that these shows glamorize dangerous lifestyles. It’s a valid point. When you wrap a story about exploitation in expensive lighting and indie pop music, the message can get muddled.
However, fans of the genre argue it’s a mirror.
Psychologist Dr. Laurence Steinberg, an expert on adolescent brain development, often notes that the teenage brain is wired for sensation-seeking. These shows aren't creating these behaviors; they are documenting the extreme versions of them. When a young and beautiful tv show hits the mark, it doesn’t make you want to go out and break the law. It makes you feel less alone in your own internal chaos.
What to Watch Next If You’re Hooked
If you’ve finished the mainstays and you’re looking for that specific atmospheric hit, check out these deep cuts:
- Quicksand (Störst av allt): A Swedish series that looks like a high-end vacation ad but is actually a brutal look at a school shooting and the toxic relationship that led to it.
- Ad Vitam: A French sci-fi show where people can live forever, meaning "youth" is now a permanent state, and the actual young people are rebelling against immortality.
- My Brilliant Friend: While it starts in childhood, the later seasons capture the "young and beautiful" era in 1950s Naples with a grit that most modern shows can't touch.
How to Spot a "Fake" Version of This Genre
You’ve seen them. The shows that try too hard.
They use the slang wrong. They make the parents the main characters. They try to "solve" the problems by the end of the episode.
A true young and beautiful tv show doesn’t have easy answers. It usually ends with more questions than it started with. It understands that being seventeen is a temporary insanity that you don't really "fix"—you just survive it.
Key Elements of the Aesthetic:
- The Soundtrack: Usually features artists like Beach House, Lana Del Rey (obviously), or M83.
- The Fashion: Effortless but incredibly expensive-looking.
- The Cinematography: Lots of shallow depth of field. Blurred backgrounds. Close-ups on eyes.
- The Conflict: Internalized. It’s rarely "man vs. nature" and almost always "man vs. his own reflection."
Actionable Steps for the Discerning Viewer
If you’re looking to dive deeper into this specific cinematic world, don't just stick to the Netflix Top 10.
First, change your subtitles. Some of the best "young and beautiful" content is coming out of France, Italy, and Denmark. Dubbing ruins the performance. You need to hear the original cadence of the language to get the vibe.
Second, look up the Director of Photography (DP). If you like the look of a show like Euphoria or Baby, follow the DP. Marcell Rév, for example, is the genius behind the look of Euphoria. Finding other projects these cinematographers have worked on is the fastest way to find your next favorite show.
Third, read the source material. Many of these shows are based on controversial novels or real-life news scandals. Reading the original reports on the "Baby Squillo" case in Rome adds a layer of chilling reality to the show that you won't get from just watching the episodes.
The fascination with the young and beautiful tv show isn't going anywhere. As long as there are people transitioning from childhood to adulthood, there will be a market for stories that treat that transition like the high-stakes drama it actually is.
Stop looking for "relatable" characters and start looking for "honest" ones. The honesty is usually found in the shadows, in the silence, and in the messy, unpolished moments that happen after the party ends. That’s where the real story lives.
