Yes, It's A Teen Show, But Don't Let That Make You Feel Awkward.

Show: Awkward., which airs Tuesdays at 10 PM on MTV.

Plot: High school nobody Jenna Hamilton (Ashley Rickards) gains notoriety for a slip and fall that reads like a failed suicide attempt, but over two painstaking seasons manages to turn around her reputation (somewhat) and move from being a sidepiece for Matty McKibben (Beau Mirchoff) to his actual, in-public girlfriend.

Soapy Intrigue: It's all soapy intrigue in high school, right? Though Jenna's social status has climbed a bit as a result of dating Matty, she's still being tormented by school megabitch Sadie (Molly Tarlov); meanwhile, Sadie's family is going through tough economic times, which makes her bitchier than ever. Jenna's best friend Tamara (Jillian Rose Reed) is happily dating Jake (Brett Davern), Jenna's boyfriend for all of Season 2 and Matty's best friend. Jenna, for some reason, keeps confiding things in Jake that would be better told to either of the two people in this quadrangle, which leads to easily avoidable misunderstandings and scraps. Also, Matty's having on-and-off problems with his parents -- particularly his mother -- who disapproves of Jenna in general and of Jenna and Matty's sex life in particular.

What It Will Remind You Of: It reminds me of the clever but short-lived TV series adaptation of 10 Things I Hate About You, but since no one watched that but me, let's call it a contemporary, more-comedic Carrie Diaries.

What’s Best About It: Beau Mirchoff is not only attractive and a good actor, he's also naturally funny; God gave to this boy with both hands. I also like the way Jenna and her mother, Lacey (Nikki DeLoach), are both actively working on their relationship, which suffered a pretty significant, barely forgivable rift at the end of Season 1.

What’s Worst About It: I've made my peace with the fact that every show has to have its protagonist narrate the proceedings, but Jenna's voice-overs often go on so long that Rickards has time to cycle through, like, seven different facial expressions while she's supposedly thinking. Also, Guidance Counselor Val (Desi Lydic) has outlived her usefulness.

But If I Save It Until Friday, Don’t I Risk Having Someone Spoil It For Me Before I Watch It? Only if you follow a lot of high school students on Twitter.

Finally, And Most Importantly, Do the Female Leads Wear Cute Outfits? Sadie has some very cute clothes, and Tamara makes smart choices with her accessories. But with this show, the more salient question is the one Mark Blankenship raised last week in this space with regard to Elementary: 

Finally, And Most Importantly, Does The Hunky Male Lead Take His Shirt Off? The answer here is yes. Yes, Matty is shirtless a lot. And for your records and peace of mind, Beau Mirchoff is twenty-four years old, so enjoying such moments will not get you put on any watch lists.