Nine Years On, American Vandal Remains One of Netflix's Best

Nine years after its debut, American Vandal remains one of Netflix's most underappreciated series. The mockumentary arrived on Netflix in September 2017 and ran for two seasons. It holds a 98% score on Rotten Tomatoes and 91% on the Popcornmeter. The show satirizes the true-crime boom by following high school students who investigate bizarre misdemeanors.

Season 1 centers on inappropriate drawings on teachers' cars, while Season 2 follows "The Turd Burglar," who put laxatives in the school's lemonade. The storylines are intentionally silly, and the series leans into documentary tropes — interviews, clues and the infamous bulletin board — to ask why true crime fascinates us and whether some real tragedies should be turned into entertainment.

Alongside the satire, the series explores coming-of-age themes: bullying, pranks, parties, dating, friendship and social media trouble. Its cast includes Jimmy Tatro, Taylor Dearden, Griffin Gluck, Tyler Alvarez and Eduardo Franco.

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