Life As We Know It

Teen drama that aired on ABC in 2004-2005. The series focused on three guys in High School as they go through issues involving relationships, family troubles, but most prevalent, sex. The series is based on the novel Doing It by Melvin Burgess.

Not to be confused with the 2010 rom-com starring Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel, or the 2006 YA novel Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer.

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Tropes used in Life As We Know It include:

• Alcoholic Parent: Jackie's dad.
• All Women Are Prudes: Jackie in the first episode isn't willing to have sex with Dino just yet. By the time she is ready however, Dino is too shaken from his Heroic BSOD moment earlier that day.
• The Awesome Shrink: Dr. Beiber, played by Peter Dinklage.
• BBW: Debbie. She could also pass as Hollywood Homely.
• Beta Couple: Jonathan and Debbie, and later Ben and Sue.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: And how! This was what separated this show from other teen dramas of the time.
• But Not Too Black: Sue has an African-American father and a white mother.
• Cool Big Bro: Ben's older Black Sheep brother Sam. Made complicated when Miss Young starts hitting on him during the fallout after Ben and Sue's on-stage hookup.
• A Date with Rosie Palms: Jonathan's parents think he's masturbating when he's actually shaving. Although he admits to the fourth wall that he was going to when he was done.
• Dawson Casting: The cast, playing 16-year olds, ranged from 19-22.
• Heroic BSOD: Dino when he finds his mom cheating on his dad with his hockey coach.
• Hollywood Pudgy: Debbie
• Hot Teacher: Miss Young
• Jerk Jock: Hockey player Dino is this. However he's also a...
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite his Jerk Jock moments, Dino shows that he really does love and care for Jackie and his friends and family.
• Like Father, Like Son: Ben's dad also got into a sexual relationship with his teacher when he was in high school.
• A Man Is Not a Virgin: Dino feels this way, and is frustrated when he learns his friends have had sex before he did.
• Raging Stiffie: Dino starts stealing Viagra from Jonathan's dad. He takes them for a "test drive" and they work...while he's wrestling with a guy in gym class.
• Real Song Theme Tune: "Sooner or Later" by Michael Tolcher
• School Play: Played straight with a Romeo and Juliet musical. Ben is made to play Romeo by Miss Young as a way for them to spend more time together opposite of Sue. Eventually, Ben and Sue get closer, ending the play with a real kiss.
  • Oh, and the play is directed by Neil Schweiber.
• Sex Is Cool
• Shallow Love Interest: Zoe to Dino. It is obvious that Dino only likes Zoe because unlike Jackie, she's willing to hook-up or have sex. He doesn't go through with it because he can't stop thinking about Jackie.
• She's All Grown Up: Debbie's cousin Sabrina who went from a stuck-up cheerleader to an alt-girl photographer after a tragic accident. She gets the attention of both Dino and Jonathan, much to Debbie's chagrin.
• Tall, Dark and Bishoujo: Jackie
• Teacher-Student Romance: Between Miss Young and Ben