Undercover High

Nostalgia has no place in this eye-opening series that makes lab rats out of seven adults willing to subject themselves to the ups and downs of high school for a second time. You might think that having safely put to rest their own teen years would render them somewhat impervious to the insecurities their new acquaintances experience, but that's definitely not the case. It's evident from the start that what they see and hear among their new peers has an impact on them, and not always in a positive way. Through the adults' unique perspective, viewers come to see how race, projected class, and social striations (jocks, nerds, the popular kids, etc.) influence these teens and how, through it all, social media plays a dominant, and often invasive, role in their interactions with each other.

Kudos to the creators who drummed up a diverse cast not only with regard to race, gender, and geographical background, but also in general high school experiences of their own. Among the adult students are a self-professed teen bully, a gay man whose sexuality made his teen years difficult, a teen mom, and a man whose learning disability caused self-esteem issues. Their unique perspectives -- and their determination to use their personal experiences to help inspire the teens they meet -- add some much-needed feel-good moments to a show that can be difficult to watch at times, especially from a parent's seat. Even so, it's important to remember the role of shock value in a heavily edited "reality" series like Undercover High that ultimately presents a proportionally small slice of the teens' broader lives.