The Best Movies and TV Shows Like The Sex Lives of College Girls

Set at the fictional Essex College in Vermont, the series follows the intertwined lives of four diverse freshman roommates navigating the chaotic realities of young adulthood. Kimberly is a hyper-focused, anxious scholarship student from a working-class background who arrives eager to succeed academically and romantically. However, her plans derail when she immediately begins an ill-advised, secret affair with her married teaching assistant, Nico, eventually leading to academic scandal and financial ruin when her mother discovers the truth and pulls her financial support. Leighton, a wealthy, deeply guarded legacy student from an old-money New York family, initially hides her lesbian identity out of intense fear of familial rejection and social judgment. Over time, she embarks on a journey of self-acceptance, eventually coming out to her formidable mother, shedding her toxic sorority, and stepping into authentic leadership. Meanwhile, Bela, an ambitious, fiercely comedic aspiring comedy writer, dedicates herself entirely to joining the campus’s male-dominated humor magazine, The Catullan. Driven by her relentless ambition, she endures rampant sexism and marginalization before finally breaking away to launch her own feminist humor publication with her peers, though her romantic life remains a messy cycle of impulsive hookups and self-sabotage. Rounding out the suite is Whitney, a talented soccer player and the daughter of a prominent U.S. Senator, who constantly struggles against the suffocating shadow of her mother’s political legacy. Whitney’s college experience is rocked when her intense secret affair with her older, married soccer coach is exposed, blowing up her reputation, threatening her athletic scholarship, and forcing her to rebuild her life from the ground up while reckoning with the consequences of her choices. As these four distinct women grapple with grueling academics, sprawling parties, sexual awakenings, and institutional hurdles, their initial mutual incompatibility deepens into a fierce, protective bond of friendship. They lean on one another through harrowing breakups, mental health crises, disciplinary hearings, and the dizzying highs of reinvention. Throughout their freshman year, the quad learns that surviving Essex requires more than just high grades or campus status; it demands brutal honesty, emotional resilience, and the unwavering support of women who understand the messy, beautiful reality of growing up. They carve out their own identities, making monumental mistakes and unforgettable memories along the way.