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ABC Family: Gone But Not Forgotten

The shows that aren't on air, and weren't on for long, but that were great and will never be forgotten.

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ABC Family: Gone But Not Forgotten
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We’re two months in to Freeform replacing our go to favorite channel for heartwarming television series and even more heart-wrenching movies, ABC Family. It was the premium choice for after-school TV binges. Friday night sleepovers were forever changed by the Friday night line-up of movies that every tween girl knew word for word. As a tribute to the once great channel, I looked up short lived and forgotten -- but still amazingly awesome -- series that ABC Family introduced to us millennials.

1. "Bunheads"

This delightful show that made every one of us flash back to forced dance lessons made us wish that our dance teacher was as cool as Michelle was. Made by the same creator as "Gilmore Girls" we all had such high hopes for "Bunheads" to fill the sassy hole left by Lorelei Gilmore, because our need for a disapproving high society woman was being filled by Fanny Flowers. Fanny, the owner of the dance studio, was played by none other than Kelly Bishop, who also played Emily Gilmore. However, Sutton Foster as Michelle was no replacement for Lorelei, much to all of our disappointment. After two short seasons, filled with humorous mishaps and misunderstandings, the show ended. But thankfully ABC Family offered many substitute series to tickle our funny bone while teaching us how to mature into adulthood gracefully.

2. "Greek"

At the age of 13, "Greek" made me want to pack my bags, kiss my parents goodbye, and head to college. Not only were all of the girls gorgeous, but they were all intelligent women bent on getting a good education -- in between frat parties and worrying about which boy liked them. We envied the sibling love between Casey and Rusty. We hated Rebecca for causing trouble in the Zeta Beta Zeta house. But most importantly, we all wanted to see the sensitive side of Cappie, president of the Kappa Tau Gamma fraternity and overall hottie of the campus. "Greek" taught us that friends do become family, college isn't always a breeze, and that sometimes you've got to let your hair down ... and that you don't always have to have your future planned out to the letter (Thanks Casey!)

3. "Kyle XY"

So what if he doesn't have a belly button and was made in a lab? Kyle was innocent, cute, and made out of perfect boyfriend material. The Tragers made finding a teenage boy in the woods look easy. It was a nontraditional family that made everyone want to find a stray and keep him as a brother. Of course, we could do without Mom being a nosy therapist and an evil science foundation attacking you. Oh, and I think I speak for everyone when I say that every viewer hated Jessie, Kyle's female counterpart. Like, hey girl, we get it you want a mom, but stop messing up Kyle's life to get one! But we tuned in each week to see if Kyle would choose Jessie or longtime crush Amanda, and after the series ended after three seasons with so many cliffhangers that discouraged all hopes of ever finding out what happened to Kyle.

4. "Make It or Break It"

Known for being the reappearance of Candice Cameron as a love interest before "Fuller House," "Make It or Break It" had everything we needed: love, an underdog, hot guys, and amazing gymnastic stunts. Either you felt bad for Payson as she tried to overcome a back injury to return to her one true love, gymnastics, or you were hoping that Lauren fell off of a balance beam so she could stop being such a bitch to everyone. And of course, Emily's pregnancy scare will be remembered in infamy in gymnastic circles worldwide! The only thing that had us coming back for more girl drama each week was Sasha Belov: hot gymnastic coach with a hotter body. He made me believe that learning how to do a back tuck was not only possible, but a step towards greatness. (Full disclosure, I cannot now nor have ever been able to do more than a cartwheel, but Sasha made every girl believe she could be the next Jordyn Wieber.)

5. "The Lying Game"

Did anyone even watch this after the pilot episode? I think it's about twin girls recently aware of each other that switch places and one of them dies, but I really only remember this show as a backdrop to math homework and as an annoying commercial that took away from the shows I was actually trying to watch. Released a bit after the success of "Pretty Little Liars," "The Lying Game" was meant to tide the masses over until the next episode of PLL aired, but was just a nuisance we all avoided.

6. "The Secret Life of the American Teenager"

Praise this show for bringing the viewing world Shailene Woodley! As we watched her -- and her teen pregnancy -- progress on screen, we also learned so much about being in high school. Mostly about the pressures that came with it. Chastity vows, drugs, secret marriages, break ups by the bucket load, this show had everything. It was the ABC Family version of "Degrassi." I would argue that six seasons weren't enough of this show, but I'm pretty sure that its success made the MTV spin offs of "Teen Mom" and "16 and Pregnant" which we all love to hate. So, while it might have been to short, we can't begrudge "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" for ending because it paved a path that we will never be able to come back from.


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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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