This classic Nickelodeon show just shot into the Netflix top 10

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Earlier this month Netflix added a selection of classic Nickelodeon shows including Kenan & Kel and Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide, but the streamer’s offering of childhood nostalgia just grew a little bit larger as another Millennial favorite is now available to watch. 

If you grew up in the mid-2000s then chances are you were hooked on the adventures of Zoey Brooks and her friends in the iconic series Zoey 101. And the show’s first two seasons have just been added to Netflix, giving subscribers the chance to return to Pacific Coast Academy and sing along to that classic theme song all over again.  

What is Zoey 101 about?  

Originally debuting in 2005, Zoey 101 follows teenager Zoey Brooks (Jamie Lynn Spears) as she enrolls in Pacific Coast Academy, a Southern California boarding school that just about every Millennial dreamed about attending. 

While there she makes a close-knit group of friends including Chase Matthews (Sean Flynn), Dana Cruz (Kristin Herrera), Michael Barret (Christopher Massey), Nicole Bristow (Alexa Nikolas), Quinn Pensky (Erin Sanders) and Logan Reese (Matthew Underwood). Her young brother, Dustin Brooks (Paul Butcher), also attends the same school throughout the show. 

The comedy series follows the misadventures of Zoey and her pals as they get up to all sorts of mischief from prank wars to running for class president. The will-they-won’t-them romance between Zoey and Chase also become a staple of the series across its four-season run.

In total, the show ran for 61 episodes, concluding with a well-received finale in 2008, but as of right now only the show’s first 25 episodes are streaming on Netflix. If you want to watch the entire series from start to finish, it’s currently available on Paramount Plus

Should you stream Zoey 101?  

If you have fond childhood memories of watching Zoey 101 then this probably isn’t a question, of course, you should revisit the classic Nickelodeon show via Netflix. However, if you’ve never watched the series before, or were too old/young to tune in when it was originally airing it’s perhaps a slightly more tricky question to answer. 

Zoey 101 has held up pretty well, but it’s definitely rooted in the mid-2000s. For starters, that means flip phones galore, and an obsession with blocky mp3 players. Nevertheless, while the technology the characters use, and the fashion, may have become outdated, the show remains pretty watchable. It's especially appealing for young viewers looking for something appropriate but not cartoonish. 

Next: Amazon Prime Video just got a big upgrade to its Watch Party feature and a Netflix show just came back and climbed up the top 10 list

Rory Mellon
Entertainment Editor (UK)

Rory is an Entertainment Editor at Tom’s Guide based in the UK. He covers a wide range of topics but with a particular focus on gaming and streaming. When he’s not reviewing the latest games, searching for hidden gems on Netflix, or writing hot takes on new gaming hardware, TV shows and movies, he can be found attending music festivals and getting far too emotionally invested in his favorite football team.