As Told by Ginger (Seasons 1–3)

As Told by Ginger (2000) is an American animated series about the misery and politics of middle school, and you can watch online on iFILM. Redheaded Ginger Foutley wants one thing: to finally get noticed in the school pecking order.

Created by Emily Kapnek for Nickelodeon, the show was unusually honest for kids' TV of its era. Ginger quietly envies popular Courtney Gripling but won't ditch her oddball friends to climb the social ladder. A second thread follows her little brother Carl, a gleeful menace running schemes around the neighborhood.

What set it apart is that everyone actually grows up: the kids change grades, fall out, fall in love and shift season to season, which cartoons back then almost never allowed. It's a warm, faintly melancholy series that hits hardest if you survived your own awkward years. Stream every season of As Told by Ginger online on iFILM.