This list was originally published on May 14, 2019. We’ve updated it to include more episodes, just in time for prom.
Prom night is a special rite of passage for high-schoolers, both in real life and for the teens (often played by adult actors) on TV. The dance can be a fun, special event, but it also comes with a fair amount of stress — there’s just so much to worry about: What dress? What tux? What corsage? Who do you ask? Should they ask you? Should you rent a car? Can you even dance? Where will you go afterward? Whether or not you really want to participate, you’ll still feel pressured to try to take part, by your friends, parents, and the looming cultural motifs at large.
Because, really, TV and movies are partly to blame for the massive weight we tend to put on prom night. It’s developed an aura of importance over the decades, being re-created in iterations both realistic and less so, to the point where we feel as if we’re missing a big part of our youth if we give in and skip prom.
We’ve put together a handy list of TV episodes that not only portray prom in all of its glory and drama, but in some cases show characters going against the prom celebrating their own way — for inspiration, if you need it.
“A Night to Remember,†Beverly Hills, 90210 (Season 3, Episode 27)
Beverly Hills, 90210 aired for a decade and holds almost 300 episodes under its expensive designer belt. In that time, the gang got to go to a few dances, but their senior prom remains the most memorable. In “A Night to Remember,†Brenda and Brandon find themselves alone and without a date. Luckily, they both get asked at the last minute, but that doesn’t mean the event is drama-free. While the teens are warned that they’ll be in serious trouble if they are found intoxicated, Donna gets in trouble when she collapses off a glass of pre-prom Champagne. Why was she so drunk? Well, it’s the ’90s — she was starving to fit into her prom dress. This prom episode is worth a watch if only for the beautiful ’90s outfits and huge hair.
“The Prom,†Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Season 3, Episode 20)
In “The Prom,†Buffy is suffering from all the normal teen problems — like wanting Angel to join her at the senior prom like a normal boyfriend. However, after Joyce gives him a talking-to about getting in the way of her future, Angel decides to break up with Buffy for her own good — leaving her dateless. On top of that, the Scoobies are also attempting to not only stop the mayor but prevent a load of hellhounds from being released on prom night, so Buffy is feeling pretty down about having to be the slayer. However, when it’s class awards time, Jonathan gifts Buffy the trophy of “Class Protector†due to a lot of “write-in ballots.†He reads a very sweet speech acknowledging that the students know Buffy has protected everyone in the school — contributing to the 1999 class’s “record-breaking low mortality rate.†Angel even comes through in the end, proving that miracles can happen on prom night.
“The Anti-Prom,†Dawson’s Creek (Season 3, Episode 22)
Yep, you guessed it, it’s another episode where the less popular students take things into their own hands to rally against the Establishment prom. In Dawson’s Creek, Dawson, Joey, and Andie do it for all the right reasons when they learn that the prom committee is against Jack taking Ethan as his date. At the anti-prom, Dawson attempts to win Joey back and make Pacey jealous. There are all kinds of other interpersonal drama between the teens, but ultimately, it’s a pretty heartwarming episode centered on friendship and support for LGBTQ students.
“Just Say Yo,†Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (Season 3, Episode 19)
Around senior year, students have a whole lot on top of prom to deal with. It’s not uncommon, both on TV and in real life, for teens to turn to drugs to relieve the pressure of all of their commitments. In the iconic Fresh Prince episode “Just Say Yo,†Will, with prom drawing near, is starting to feel the effects of juggling his girlfriend, his job, his homework, and basketball practice. One of his classmates notices that he’s tired and offers him some speed to perk him up a bit. Will takes it but, still uncertain, stores it in his locker. At the same time, Carlton is panicking about a pimple, so Will tells him to take vitamins … which leads Carlton to take what he believes is vitamin E from Will’s locker. He ends up taking too much and, dramatically, passes out on the dance floor, but covers for Will when his parents ask where the drugs were from. Will breaks down and confesses the truth, and while this episode is far more about Will’s pressures and his relationship with Carlton, it shows just how far a lot of teenagers go to keep up with everyone’s senior-year expectations of them.
“The One With the Prom Video,†Friends (Season 2, Episode 14)
Regrettable and tasteless fat suit aside (thank you, 1996), the Friends prom episode is full of sweet moments — it’s also the catalyst for the most famous romantic arc in the series: Ross and Rachel. The destined couple spend the early part of the episode bickering, with Rachel insisting that they will never be together despite a recent kiss. When Monica finds a video of herself and Rachel getting ready for senior prom, the gang gathers around to reminisce on their high-school days. The video reveals the extent of Ross’s long-held crush, with him offering to take Rachel to the prom when it seemed like her date stood her up. Her date eventually shows up, and Ross looks pretty disappointed. Rachel is moved by the video, gives Ross a big kiss, forgives him, and kicks off the on-again, off-again TV romance of a generation.
“Prom Queen,†Glee (Season 2, Episode 20)
Would it really be the junior prom for our New Directions gang without a whole heap of drama? After the band playing prom drops out, the glee club is asked to perform. The soundtrack is all very 2011: Rebecca Black’s “Friday,â€Â Christina Perri’s “Jar of Hearts,†and, thrown in for good measure, Black Kids’ “I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You.†The episode is filled with prepwork and promposals, including Kurt asking Blaine to the dance. Blaine is nervous — he was beaten up at his old school shortly after coming out — but he says yes. At the prom, Kurt falls victim to bullying when he is voted prom queen as the result of a write-in vote. He decides to stand up to the bullies and accept his crown, attempting to convince the closeted Dave, who was crowned prom king, to come out alongside him. Dave declines, but the episode ends with Kurt, Blaine, and eventually everyone else dancing together to Abba’s “Dancing Queen.â€
“Valley Girls,†Gossip Girl (Season 2, Episode 24)
Now, nothing has ever gone smoothly on Gossip Girl’s Upper East Side, so why would prom be any different? In “Valley Girls,†Serena convinces Blair to try to go to prom with Nate, just as she had always dreamed. However, despite Blair’s obsessive scrapbook planning, everything inexplicably goes wrong — including the car, hotel reservation, and even Blair’s dress. Chuck denies any involvement, but he does foil a plot by some of the other students to humiliate Blair before admitting that of course he had been messing with her plans. There’s a lot to unpack here, but I guess the lesson to be learned is not to trust anyone with your secret scrapbooks? Especially if they’re not so secretly in love with you.
“Best Prom Ever,†How I Met Your Mother (Season 1, Episode 20)
In “Best Prom Ever,†Marshall and Lily are planning their wedding and have finally found the perfect venue. They need to pull it together in two months, so they start looking for a band. Marshall has a favorite, but Lily won’t give the go-ahead until she’s heard them herself, so she, Barney, and Robin sneak into a high-school prom. Finding themselves back in school, the three reminisce on their teenage days and all of the things they either did or missed out on. So close to getting married, Lily starts to panic about the life she never lived, a life that she fears marriage will make impossible. Robin reassures her and gives her one of the experiences she missed: a big gay kiss. “Best Prom Ever†is a cute episode with some flashbacks thrown in for good measure — what would a prom episode be without nostalgia?
“Morp,†Malcolm in the Middle (Season 7, Episode 21)
Prom generally requires you to have a few things: (a) the money to at least buy a dress or tux, (b) the friends to go with, and (c) to ability to look good while you do it. That leads to a lot of students feeling unwelcome or uncomfortable at prom, which is why a lot of these episodes are actually about people forming their own anti-Establishment alliances. In “Morp,†Malcolm aligns himself with the other unpopular kids to form an anti-prom called morp (yes, it’s just “prom†spelled backward). Elsewhere, Reese gets paid to take a nerdy girl to the senior prom. It’s inspirational to nerds everywhere: You can still have your big night; you just might have to do it your way.
“The Party Favor,†The O.C. (Season 3, Episode 23)
Naturally, Ryan isn’t all that excited for a Harbor High prom. Still, Seth convinces him to go, and attempts to woo Summer into going with him. He gets brutally rejected while the other teens scramble for dates, leading to Summer and Taylor attending with K-Pop stars. Seth takes Anna, upsetting Summer, who gets wasted and falls off the stage after accepting her crown. Still, after an episode full of lies and deceit, Seth confesses everything to Summer and apologizes, leading her to confess her love. Ryan almost kills Marissa’s date for stealing money from the party, making it a full house for The O.C. tropes in this episode. Love! Lies! Deception! Money! Near-death fights! It must be a Newport party …
“Prom Night at Hater High,†One Tree Hill (Season 4, Episode 15)
Who could make prom night more dramatic than the students at Tree Hill High? In this season-four episode, people’s plans start to go up in flames after everyone watches a sex tape of Nathan and Brooke. Upset, Haley asks Nathan for a list of all of his sexual encounters — something that never goes well for anyone. Peyton gives Brooke a black eye and tries to skip prom, but eventually Lucas convinces her … only for Derek to show up and knock her out. It’s all very stressful, but honestly it does serve as comfort: However your prom goes, it really can’t get any worse than this one.
“The Senior Prom,†Saved by the Bell (Season 5, Episode 17)
For all the great teen shows, prom episodes are basically mandatory, and Saved by the Bell is no exception. In this one, the gang needs to raise the money to ensure prom happens at all. However, Zack ruins everything when he finds out Kelly has a date to prom and gets jealous. He sabotages her date, leading her to agree to attend with him … until, of course, she finds out the truth. Getting the date you want to prom leads to some pretty high-tension situations in real life, too, but if there’s one thing to be learned here, it’s that subterfuge isn’t the way to any girl’s heart.
“Prom Night,†That ’70s Show (Season 1, Episode 19)
Across a lot of the media depictions of prom, perhaps the most common trope is that it’s the night people lose their virginities to their significant others. In this That ’70s Show episode, Eric preemptively rents a hotel room for prom night, hoping to take his relationship with Donna to the next step. But the motel room falls below his expectation — it’s too grubby and too loud. Meanwhile, the rest of the gang aren’t having a much better time of it, as Jackie forces Hyde to take her, and Fez convinces himself that his English teacher has a great big crush on him. Basically, everyone’s prom falls short of expectations. It’s a valuable lesson, really, that the more you build these things up in your head, the more disappointed you’re likely to be.