Movies like High School Scandal (1981)
The best movies like High School Scandal (1981) are The Pregnancy Project (2012), Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020) and I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977). If High School Scandal hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Fallout (2021)7.5/10 from 1,353 votes
- NewestWhen the Waves Are Gone (2023)Released 2023
The Pregnancy Project (2012)
The Pregnancy project tells the real story of Gaby Rodriguez, a seventeen-year-old who attended a Washington state high-school and made her senior school project the treatment of pregnant teenagers by pretending to be pregnant.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNever Rarely Sometimes Always (2020)
A pair of teenage girls in rural Pennsylvania travel to New York City to seek out medical help after an unintended pregnancy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977)
A disturbed and institutionalized 16-year-old girl struggles between fantasy and reality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisMiss Juneteenth (2020)
Turquoise, a former beauty queen turned hardworking single mother, prepares her rebellious teenage daughter for the “Miss Juneteenth” pageant, hoping to keep her from repeating the same mistakes in life that she did.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFifteen and Pregnant (1998)
Based on a true story, 15 year old Tina Spangler discovers she is pregnant. Her choices are abortion, adoption, or a lonely, exhausting life as a single parent. Abandoned by her boyfriend, she turns to her mother. Tina discovers although it has torn her world apart, her pregnancy could re-unite her shattered family and help her find her true purpose in life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDouble Mommy (2016)
After taking a break for the summer before their senior year, Ryan and Jess rekindle their relationship, and find out that Jess is pregnant with twins. When Ryan's mother demands a paternity test, they find out that Ryan is only the father of one baby... The other father is Ryan's best friend Brent, who Ryan discovers date-raped Jess at a party over the summer. With college recruiters and an overbearing father looming over Brent's head, he will stop at nothing to make sure that he clears his name--even if it means getting rid of Jess and her babies!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this2:37 (2006)
A contemporary, ensemble drama that tells the complex tale of six high school students whose lives are interwoven with situations that so many of today's youth are faced with. The story takes place during a normal school day. At precisely 2:37, a tragedy will occur affecting the lives of a group of students and their teachers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIf These Walls Could Talk (1996)
A powerful, intimate portrait of three women living in the same house during different eras who all face unplanned pregnancies. The vignettes follow a recently widowed nurse struggling to take control of her life in the early 50s, a mother of four balancing raising a family and maintaining a career in the 70s, and a student making a difficult decision with the help of one woman that will change the course of both their lives in the 90s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBrotherly Love (2015)
West Philadelphia basketball star Sergio Taylor deals with the pressures of fame while his brother and sister have their own issues with ambition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMom at Sixteen (2005)
Pregnant sixteen year old Jacey's well-meaning mother forces her to keep the birth a secret and decides to raise the baby as her own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHala (2019)
Seventeen-year-old Pakistani American teenager Hala struggles to balance desire with her family, cultural, and religious obligations. As she comes into her own, she grapples with a secret that threatens to unravel her family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Short History of the Long Road (2019)
Nola grew up living in a van with her father, Clint—two nomads against the world. When tragedy strikes, Nola must confront the reality of life on the road alone, learning to own her grief, her past, and her new destination.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this1 Chance 2 Dance (2014)
When a 17-year old aspiring dancer is uprooted in her high school senior year, she finds herself divided between two boys, and she will have one last shot at making her dream a reality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNovitiate (2017)
In the early 1960s, during the Vatican II era, a young woman training to become a nun struggles with issues of faith, sexuality and the changing church.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThirteen (2003)
When 13-year-old Tracy befriends Evie, the most popular girl in school, her life is turned upside down as Evie introduces her to a world of sex, drugs, and money. But it isn’t long before Tracy’s new lifestyle begins to take a heavy toll on her and her family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMean Creek (2004)
Teenagers living in small-town Oregon take a boat trip for a birthday celebration. When they get an idea to play a mean trick on the town bully, it suddenly goes too far. Soon they're forced to deal with the unexpected consequences of their actions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Fallout (2021)
In the wake of a school tragedy, Vada, Mia and Quinton form a unique and dynamic bond as they navigate the never linear, often confusing journey to heal in a world that feels forever changed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPariah (2011)
A Brooklyn teenager juggles conflicting identities and risks friendship, heartbreak, and family in a desperate search for sexual expression.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCall Jane (2022)
A married woman with an unwanted pregnancy lives in a time in America where she can't get a legal abortion and works with a group of suburban women to find help.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Girl in the Book (2015)
The story of a young writer's transformation when her past invades her present.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisWhen the Waves Are Gone (2023)
One of the Philippines' top investigators, Lieutenant Hermes Papauran, faces a deep moral crossroads. As a firsthand witness of the murderous anti-drug campaign conducted by his force, his anxiety and guilt triggers a severe skin disease, and his healing process is fraught by his dark past.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Bangalore Days (2014)
A fun roller coaster ride about three young people, Aju, Divya and Kuttan who are cousins, reach Bangalore to dream, discover & explore!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBad Child (2014)
Masashi, a 15 years old school boy and so-called 'overprotected child', lives with his parents in the suburbs of Tokyo. Poised to graduate from middle school as per his parents' hope and expectations, Masashi experiences an incident during spring break that changes his life forever.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Dahil Tanging Ikaw (1997)
Erika and Cecil are twins who were separated by poverty right after they were born. Each of them is caught up in her own existence, not knowing that somewhere not so far lived a twin. But one day, fate intervened and found a clever way to bring them together.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Diary ng Panget (2014)
A young woman takes a job as a personal maid for a rich young man. The pair do not get along, but soon due to their classmates' games of love, their relationship grows more complicated than before.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBloody Crayons (2017)
A group of friends goes to an island for a short film project when they are attacked by a mysterious killer after playing a game of bloody crayons.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
No. 2 (2006)
A matriarch organizes a feast with her family, in which she will name her successor. The heart has gone out of Nanna Maria's family. There are no parties — they don't even fight anymore...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Palindromes (2005)
Aviva is thirteen, awkward and sensitive. Her mother Joyce is warm and loving, as is her father, Steve, a regular guy who does have a fierce temper from time to time. The film revolves around her family, friends and neighbors.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFish Pen Boys (2017)
A coming of age story of a fishpen boy who is learning to dream big, triggered by his sexual awakening from his boss’ new lover. He starts to find ways to elope with the woman. But his dreams will only produce devastating results, not only for him but also for people around him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Kamunggai (2017)
Lolo Peping built his backyard farm in his hometown in Mindanao, out of vegetable scraps or whatever edible plant life he could find in the garbage heap. His neighbors get free food from his garden while he does all the work. They don’t even bother to pay him or say thank you. So Lolo Peping decided to put a bamboo fence around his garden to keep neighbors out.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like High School Scandal and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like High School Scandal?
The closest matches to High School Scandal are The Pregnancy Project (2012), Never Rarely Sometimes Always (2020) and I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after High School Scandal?
Start with The Pregnancy Project (2012), the closest match to High School Scandal.
What is the highest-rated movie like High School Scandal?
The Fallout (2021), rated 7.5/10 by 1,353 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like High School Scandal?
When the Waves Are Gone (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to High School Scandal chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside High School Scandal, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.