In the fall of 2004, ABC took a swing at the teen drama genre. Wedged between the end of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the rise of The O.C. , the network premiered Life as We Know It , a show that aimed for raw, unflinching honesty about teenage male sexuality and emotion. It lasted just one season of 13 episodes (though only 10 aired in the U.S.). Yet, nearly two decades later, it remains a cult touchstone for those who found it—a time capsule of mid-aughts angst that was, in many ways, ahead of its time.
It asked a question few shows dare to ask: What if teenage boys actually told us how they felt? The answer, it turned out, was too honest for 2004. But it was, for 13 perfect episodes, life as we rarely get to know it.
The show also boasted an unusually strong adult cast, a hallmark of creator Gabe Sachs and Jeff Judah (writers on Freaks and Geeks ). Dino’s parents were played by Star Trek: The Next Generation ’s Brent Spiner and Twin Peaks ’s Lisa Edelstein—as a bickering, sexually frustrated couple trying to reconnect. Their storyline was just as compelling as the teens’, a rarity in the genre.