Ranking The WB’s 15 Best Shows, 30 Years After the Broadcast Network’s Debut

A successor of sorts to Dawson’s Creek — right down to the filming locations in Wilmington, North Carolina — One Tree Hill began as a soap about basketball bros, of all things. But more recently — especially with a behind-the-scenes podcast and an in-development Netflix revival — it’s been the One Tree Hill women who have reclaimed the narrative.

The Mowry twins might not be feeling so sisterly at the moment, but TV audiences watched them play twin siblings of different backgrounds for two seasons on ABC and another four on The WB. The fourth-wall-breaking series reunited the fictional teens Tia and Tamera, who’d been separated since birth, and personality-clash comedy ensued.

There’s a reason the Reba cast reunites on screen time and time again: Their chemistry endeared TV viewers to the sitcom’s characters — even Reba McEntire’s onscreen philandering ex-husband, played by Christopher Rich, and his younger second wife, played by Melissa Peterman. But it’s McEntire who, in a Golden Globe-nominated role, was the heart of the show.

Just one of the Wayans family’s many onscreen reunions, The Wayans Bros. is the very first show ever aired on The WB. As Shawn and Marlon Williams — two brothers who run a newsstand steps away from their father’s diner — Shawn and Marlon Wayans sharpened their comedic talents on the sitcom and, according to Marlon, even beat Friends in some markets.

The titular New Mexico locale is the setting for this drama, in which, yes, extraterrestrials did crash-land on Earth, and they’re now living as teenagers (played by Jason Behr, Katherine Heigl, and Brendan Fehr) in the UFO-obsessed town. And these ETs form powerful alliances — and swoon-worthy romances — with human teens as they try to survive this often-hostile planet.

After a family tragedy, an NYC doc (played by Treat Williams) moves his kids (played by Gregory Smith and Vivien Cardone) to a small Colorado town to chart a new beginning. This emotional drama boasted heavy-hitter talent: Emily VanCamp, Chris Pratt, and Sarah Drew got their start on the show, joining established stars like Marcia Cross, Scott Wolf, and Anne Heche.

As a certain other WB character kept the demonic underworld at bay in the fictional Sunnydale, the trio of Charmed witches did so in San Francisco. Despite headline-making backstage drama, this record-breaking female-led series — backed by EP Aaron Spelling — proved that the sisterhood is even more powerful than the Power of Three.

Though Supernatural only aired one season on The WB, we have the network to thank for greenlighting a show that would run another 14 seasons on The CW. Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki play brothers continuing the family business of demon-hunting, and they go to hell and back in their quest, with fans following along and passionately debating the narrative choices.

A one-season-wonder co-created by WB wunderkind Greg Berlanti, Jack & Bobby centered on two young brothers (played by Matt Long and Logan Lerman), one of whom would become the U.S. president decades later. This affecting family drama — featuring Christine Lahti as the boys’ mother — took an inventive turn with documentary-style clips about the life of the future President McCallister.

Before J.J. Abrams became a sci-fi filmmaker, he co-created a more down-to-earth story of a young woman (played by Keri Russell) who follows a boy (Scott Speedman) to college in NYC, only to fall for another boy (Scott Foley). An iconic love triangle was born, with fans taking sides (before reuniting in contempt of Felicity’s mid-run pixie cut).

If the tortured, centuries-old vampire Angel (David Boreanaz) can’t save his soul, he might as well do so for the downtrodden of Los Angeles as an immortal private investigator in this moody, noir-ish Buffy offshoot, a rare example of a spinoff that differentiates itself from the original and proves itself a worthy follow-up.

Not all heroes wear capes, and this Superman origin story had a famous “no tights, no flights” rule as it tracked Clark Kent’s (Tom Welling) evolution from an adolescent grappling with his destiny to an adult keeping his heroic alter-ego hidden. Along the way, Smallville evolved from a teen drama to a full-fledged superhero series and gave us our favorite-ever Lex Luthor.

They might be a lesson in parent-child codependency, but Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Rory (Alexis Bledel) are a mother-daughter pair who’d probably be best friends even if they weren’t related. They process everything aloud — often at breakneck speed while they guzzle coffee by the gallon — and fans lap up every word. (Bonus: This show introduced us to Melissa McCarthy.)

Speaking of chatty characters, we’ve come to the teen drama every millennial remembers. For six seasons, James Van Der Beek, Katie Holmes, Michelle Williams, and Joshua Jackson had us hooked on the love lives of four young adults growing up together in a New England town. Decades later, the Creek crew is still all over screens, and we’re still talking about Dawson’s crying face.

You had to know which WB series would stick its stake at No. 1. Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Buffy Summers — high schooler by day, “Chosen One” monster hunter by night — was an action heroine at a time when there were far too few in a show that became a cultural phenomenon far bigger than its scandal-ridden creator. With the help of allies both immortal and otherwise, Buffy kept the Hellmouth at bay, while Buffy toggled effortlessly between comedy, drama, horror, and even song and dance. For the WB, this was the high note.