Sort by Popularity - Most Popular Movies and TV Shows tagged with keyword "after-school-special"

1. Strangers with Candy (1999–2000)

TV-14 | 22 min | Comedy

A 46-year-old ex-drug addict returns to high school as a freshman.

Stars: Amy Sedaris, Paul Dinello, Stephen Colbert, Greg Hollimon

Votes: 6,624

2. Rubberface (1981 TV Movie)

PG | 48 min | Comedy, Drama

This film was shot in Canada and released there as, "Introducing...Janet." Janet is an overweight girl who has a knack for making the other children in school laugh...by making fun of her ... See full summary »

Directors: Glen Salzman, Rebecca Yates | Stars: Lynne Deragon, Adah Glassbourg, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Helene Udy

Votes: 982

3. The Wave (1981 TV Movie)

TV-G | 46 min | Drama

An experiment in an American High School where students learn how easy it is to be seduced by the same social forces which led to the horrors of Nazi Germany. Based on a true story.

Director: Alexander Grasshoff | Stars: Bruce Davison, Lori Lethin, John Putch, Johnny Doran

Votes: 3,402

4. Please Don't Hit Me, Mom (1981 TV Movie)

60 min | Drama, Family, Sport

A babysitter realizes that one of the children she looks after is being physically abused by his mother.

Director: Gwen Arner | Stars: Patty Duke, Nancy McKeon, Lance Guest, Sean Astin

Votes: 131

5. Kelly (1981)

94 min | Adventure, Drama, Family

A young girl from a broken home who is having problems in school and her personal life decides to run away and live with her father in the wilderness.

Director: Christopher Chapman | Stars: Robert Logan, Twyla-Dawn Vokins, George Clutesi, Elaine Nalee

Votes: 60

6. Secret Lies of the Gossip Teen (2020– )

22 min | Comedy

At Beehole Hollow High School, students are accustomed to secrets, lies and scandal -but when the Queen B of Beehole High finds her reign is threatened and students start turning up dead, things get a little complicated.

Stars: Hayley Abbott, Natalie Abbott, Dillon Dewitt, Joshua Hancock

7. Islands (1984 TV Movie)

55 min | Drama

Drama about a troubled teenager who is sent to a summer cabin to help a woman, who turns out being her actual birth mother.

Director: René Bonnière | Stars: Louise Fletcher, Ingrid Veninger, Barbara Gordon, Jim Bearden

8. Hands Upon the Heart (1991)

90 min | Biography, Drama

Stories about the African-American experience in the 20th Century.

Directors: David Dowe, Bill Pratt | Stars: Phillip Brogdon, Douglas Brown, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee

9. ABC Afterschool Specials (1972–1997)
Episode: Rookie of the Year (1973)

60 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

An 11-year-old girl encounters opposition when she joins her brother's Little League Baseball team, which happens to be all male.

Director: Larry Elikann | Stars: Jodie Foster, Ned Wilson, Dennis McKiernan, David Perkins

Votes: 88

10. ABC Afterschool Specials (1972–1997)
Episode: The Bridge of Adam Rush (1974)

60 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

12-year-old city boy adjusts to a new way of life when his mother remarries and moves the whole family to the country.

Director: Larry Elikann | Stars: Lance Kerwin, James Pritchett, Barbara Andres, Ray Bellerman

Votes: 21

11. ABC Weekend Specials (1977–1995)
Episode: The Escape of a One-Ton Pet (1978)

TV-Y | 70 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

Add a Plot

Director: Richard C. Bennett | Stars: Stacy Swor, James T. Callahan, Kenia Borell, Richard Yniguez

Votes: 16

12. ABC Afterschool Specials (1972–1997)
Episode: Amy & the Angel (1982)

Not Rated | 45 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

Amy, a depressed seventeen year old high school girl, is visited by her guardian angel Oliver after wishing she had never been born. Oliver shows Amy how important she is to the people in her life.

Director: Ralph Rosenblum | Stars: Helen Slater, Albert Macklin, James Earl Jones, Gail Strickland

Votes: 61

13. ABC Afterschool Specials (1972–1997)
Episode: The Great Love Experiment (1984)

60 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

Teenagers lure a timid girl into a made-up experiment that gets her involved in affectionate ways.

Director: Claudia Weill | Stars: Tracy Pollan, Kelly Wolf, Peter Kowanko, Esai Morales

Votes: 28

14. CBS Schoolbreak Special (1984–1996)
Episode: Hear Me Cry (1984)

60 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

Two high school sophomores decide to make a suicide pact.

Director: Joanna Lee | Stars: Robert MacNaughton, Lee Montgomery, Elinor Donahue, Bibi Besch

Votes: 30

15. CBS Schoolbreak Special (1984–1996)
Episode: Babies Having Babies (1986)

56 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

Five pregnant teenage girls meet up at a group counseling session and begin to discuss their situation and feelings amongst each other.

Director: Martin Sheen | Stars: Akosua Busia, Renée Estevez, Lori Loughlin, Claudia Wells

Votes: 46

16. CBS Schoolbreak Special (1984–1996)
Episode: Little Miss Perfect (1987)

45 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

Upset over having to move to a new neighborhood, a teenage girl develops bulimia as a way to cope with her problems.

Director: Marsha Mason | Stars: Diane Baker, Mary Tanner Bailey, Pat Petersen, April Lerman

Votes: 31

17. CBS Schoolbreak Special (1984–1996)
Episode: The Girl with the Crazy Brother (1990)

Not Rated | 44 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

Teenage girl struggles to cope when her brother is diagnosed as suffering from schizophrenia.

Director: Diane Keaton | Stars: Patricia Arquette, Billy Jayne, John Apicella, Jordan Brady

Votes: 33

18. CBS Schoolbreak Special (1984–1996)
Episode: Two Teens and a Baby (1992)

Adventure, Comedy, Drama

Two teenage brothers are stunned when their mother announces that she is pregnant.

Director: David J. Eagle | Stars: James Calvert, Robert Picardo, Sandy Faison, Maureen Flannigan

Votes: 13

19. ABC Afterschool Specials (1972–1997)
Episode: Me and My Hormones (1996)

60 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

Three women of various generations deal with the many changes taking place in their lives.

Director: Melissa Gilbert | Stars: Robin Strasser, Stuart Damon, Courtney Peldon, Marion Ross

Votes: 19

20. ABC Afterschool Specials (1972–1997)
Episode: Can a Guy Say No? (1986)

60 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

A 17-year-old boy finds that looks can be deceiving when he becomes friends with the prettiest girl in school; despite her beauty, she's very unhappy and has low self-esteem.

Director: Thomas Schlamme | Stars: Steve Antin, Heather Langenkamp, Christa Denton, Khrystyne Haje

Votes: 30

21. ABC Afterschool Specials (1972–1997)
Episode: Hewitt's Just Different (1977)

60 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

16-year-old mentally retarded teen attempts to make friends with other kids in the neighborhood.

Director: Larry Elikann | Stars: Moosie Drier, Perry Lang, Peter Brandon, Gloria Stroock

Votes: 34

22. ABC Afterschool Specials (1972–1997)
Episode: Seasonal Differences (1987)

45 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

The separation of church and state is examined when a Christmas Nativity scene, being displayed at a high school, sparks debate and protest from the student body.

Director: Tom G. Robertson | Stars: Megan Follows, Timothy Owen Waldrip, Uta Hagen, Melba Moore

Votes: 21

23. ABC Afterschool Specials (1972–1997)
Episode: First the Egg (1985)

87 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

A group of high school students take part in a parenting class where their first assignment is to 'parent' an egg.

Director: Robert C. Thompson | Stars: Justine Bateman, Jimmy McNichol, Chris Hebert, Elizabeth Huddle Nyberg

Votes: 19

24. ABC Afterschool Specials (1972–1997)
Episode: The Rag Tag Champs (1978)

60 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

14-year-old baseball player and his uncle/baseball manager find themselves at odds over the philosophy 'Winning Is Everything'.

Director: Virgil W. Vogel | Stars: Larry B. Scott, Glynn Turman, Madge Sinclair, Shannon Terhune

Votes: 14

25. CBS Schoolbreak Special (1984–1996)
Episode: The Emancipation of Lizzie Stern (1991)

Adventure, Comedy, Drama

After her mother announces her plans to move the family to another state, a 16-year-old girl decides to seek legal emancipation.

Director: Susan Rohrer | Stars: Tammy Lauren, Karen Valentine, Stephen Brown, Dennis Parlato

Votes: 23

26. ABC Afterschool Specials (1972–1997)
Episode: It Must Be Love, 'Cause I Feel So Dumb (1975)

60 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

A 13-year-old boy has a crush on a cheerleader at his school and dreams up creative ways to try to impress her.

Director: Arthur Barron | Stars: Alfred Lutter III, Vicky Dawson, Denby Olcott, Matthew Anton

Votes: 33

27. ABC Afterschool Specials (1972–1997)
Episode: Cindy Eller: A Modern Fairy Tale (1985)

44 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

A contemporary remake of "Cinderella" aimed at a pre-teen audience, for an ABC (American Broadcasting Company) Afterschool Special.

Director: Lee Grant | Stars: Pearl Bailey, Kyra Sedgwick, Jennifer Grey, Kelly Wolf

Votes: 36

28. ABC Afterschool Specials (1972–1997)
Episode: Date Rape (1988)

54 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

Teenage girl is raped after accepting a date from the most popular boy in school.

Director: Jesús Salvador Treviño | Stars: Danielle von Zerneck, Reed Diamond, John Karlen, John Savage

Votes: 22

29. ABC Afterschool Specials (1972–1997)
Episode: Schoolboy Father (1980)

60 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

High school senior discovers his summer girlfriend has given birth to his child, and decides to fight for custody.

Director: Arthur Allan Seidelman | Stars: Rob Lowe, Dana Plato, Sharon Spelman, Nancy McKeon

Votes: 89

30. ABC Afterschool Specials (1972–1997)
Episode: A Town's Revenge (1989)

60 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

A teenager who tries to convince his town to farm without using pesticides finds many of the residents resistant to change.

Director: Helen Whitney | Stars: Keith Coogan, Elizabeth Franz, Brian Smiar, Donna Haley

Votes: 13

31. CBS Afternoon Playhouse (1978–1983)
Episode: I Think I'm Having a Baby (1981)

60 min | Drama, Romance

Laurie is 15 and she thinks she's pregnant. Her boyfriend doesn't care. Her mother doesn't know. Why did it happen? And whom can she turn to?

Director: Arthur Allan Seidelman | Stars: Jennifer Jason Leigh, Shawn Stevens, Samantha Paris, Shane Sinutko

Votes: 64

32. ABC Afterschool Specials (1972–1997)
Episode: Mom's on Strike (1984)

Adventure, Comedy, Drama

An ABC (American Broadcasting Company) Afterschool Special, about an overworked housewife, who, as the title suggests, goes on strike, in order to persuade the rest of her family to share household chores.

Director: Joan Darling | Stars: Mary Kay Place, Stephen Keep Mills, Yeardley Smith, George Gaynes

Votes: 169

33. CBS Schoolbreak Special (1984–1996)
Episode: Welcome Home, Jellybean (1984)

Adventure, Comedy, Drama

A CBS Schoolbreak Special about a 12-year-old mentally-challenged girl whose parents decide to remove her from the institution where she was raised, and try to give her a home life.

Director: Robert Mandel | Stars: Dana Hill, Deborah May, Burke Byrnes, Christopher Collet

Votes: 40

34. ABC Afterschool Specials (1972–1997)
Episode: Just a Regular Kid: An AIDS Story (1987)

60 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

Teenaged boy discovers he has been afflicted with AIDS after a blood transfusion.

Director: Victoria Hochberg | Stars: Christian Hoff, Florence Henderson, Ronny Cox, Wallace Langham

Votes: 19

35. ABC Afterschool Specials (1972–1997)
Episode: Out of Step (1984)

Adventure, Comedy, Drama

Teenage girl wants to be a successful dancer, and has a chance to try out for a dance troupe. But fear of failure may keep her from auditioning.

Director: Jeffrey Hornaday | Stars: Terry Donahoe, Johann Carlo, Laura Dean, Charles McGowan

Votes: 16

36. CBS Schoolbreak Special (1984–1996)
Episode: The War Between the Classes (1985)

Adventure, Comedy, Drama

Racial discrimination is examined when a social studies teacher assigns his students to play 'The Color Game', which divides the class into different social classes.

Director: Michael Toshiyuki Uno | Stars: Kale Browne, Jan Gan Boyd, Don Michael Paul, Robert Ito

Votes: 30

37. CBS Schoolbreak Special (1984–1996)
Episode: My Past Is My Own (1989)

Adventure, Comedy, Drama

Two black teenagers are sent through time to experience how blacks were treated during the civil rights movement.

Director: Helaine Head | Stars: Whoopi Goldberg, Phill Lewis, Allison Dean, CCH Pounder

Votes: 35

38. ABC Afterschool Specials (1972–1997)
Episode: Sara's Summer of the Swans (1974)

60 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

Teenage girl is forced to confront the problems involving her mentally challenged brother.

Director: James B. Clark | Stars: Heather Totten, Christopher Knight, Priscilla Morrill, Betty Ann Carr

Votes: 52

39. CBS Schoolbreak Special (1984–1996)
Episode: American Eyes (1990)

30 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

Korean boy, who has been adopted by an American family, decides to attend a Korean-American summer camp to learn more about his heritage.

Director: Herb Stein | Stars: Jason Scott Lee, Brian Krause, David Ogden Stiers, Concetta Tomei

Votes: 18

40. ABC Afterschool Specials (1972–1997)
Episode: Daddy, I'm Their Mama Now (1982)

26 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

12-year-old girl assumes responsibility for her two little brothers, after the passing of their mother.

Director: Jeff Bleckner | Stars: Mallie Jackson, Trey Wilson, Betty Beaird, Jason Lively

Votes: 31

41. ABC Afterschool Specials (1972–1997)
Episode: What Are Friends For? (1980)

60 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

Two 12-year-old girls going through a divorce make a pact never to divorce their friendship.

Director: Stephen Gyllenhaal | Stars: Melora Hardin, Dana Hill, Susan Adams, Michael Currie

Votes: 63

42. CBS Schoolbreak Special (1984–1996)
Episode: But He Loves Me (1991)

Adventure, Comedy, Drama

A teenage girl starts dating the most popular boy in school, and everything is wonderful until he starts being violent towards her.

Director: Strathford Hamilton | Stars: Kelli Williams, Donovan Leitch Jr., Douglas Barr, Season Hubley

Votes: 99

43. ABC Afterschool Specials (1972–1997)
Episode: Too Soon for Jeff (1996)

43 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

A high school senior finds his future plans turned upside down when his girlfriend tells him she is pregnant.

Director: Victor Du Bois | Stars: Freddie Prinze Jr., Jessica Alba, Wendy Phillips, Ed Begley Jr.

Votes: 171

44. ABC Afterschool Specials (1972–1997)
Episode: Tattle: When to Tell on a Friend (1988)

60 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

The tale of four friends who are members of a high school swimming team, and the threat to those bonds when two of them experiment with cocaine.

Director: Gabrielle Beaumont | Stars: Allison Smith, Katharine Ross, Tammy Lauren, Amy Benedict

Votes: 30

45. CBS Afternoon Playhouse (1978–1983)
Episode: Year of the Gentle Tiger (1979)

Drama, Romance

Asian teen is determined to win his father's respect by winning the gold medal in Judo at the Junior Olympics.

Director: Dennis Kane | Stars: Keenan Shimizu, Anthony Candell, Jeff Edmond, Henry Calvert

Votes: 6

46. ABC Afterschool Specials (1972–1997)
Episode: A Family Again (1988)

60 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

A family comes to grips with their own grief after the eldest daughter is killed.

Director: Camille Thomasson | Stars: Jill Eikenberry, Michael Tucker, Tonya Crowe, Rob Stone

Votes: 62

47. ABC Afterschool Specials (1972–1997)
Episode: Wanted: The Perfect Guy (1986)

60 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

Sensing his mom is lonely and looking for companionship, a 13-year-old places a personal ad for 'The Perfect Guy'

Director: Catlin Adams | Stars: Ben Affleck, Madeline Kahn, Pam Potillo, Keith Szarabajka

Votes: 67

48. ABC Weekend Specials (1977–1995)
Episode: The Big Hex of Little Lulu (1979)

TV-Y | 60 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

Two-part sequel to the 1978 ABC Weekend Special, based on the Marjorie Henderson Buell comic strip. In this one, Lulu Moppet wants to start an all-girls hockey team, but is short on funds ... See full summary »

Director: Robert Chenault | Stars: Lauri Hendler, Annrae Walterhouse, Robbie Rist, Kevin King Cooper

Votes: 22

49. ABC Afterschool Specials (1972–1997)
Episode: Divorced Kids' Blues (1987)

60 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

A 15-year-old struggles through the politics of divorce as his parents split up.

Director: Art Wolff | Stars: Lauri Hendler, Ronee Blakley, Ken Sylk, Stephen Mailer

Votes: 13

50. ABC Afterschool Specials (1972–1997)
Episode: A Family of Strangers (1980)

Adventure, Comedy, Drama

A widower with two daughters marries a divorcee with one daughter, creating a blended family. Will they all get along?

Director: Robert Fuest | Stars: Danny Aiello, Maria Tucci, Lauri Hendler, Laura Dean

Votes: 23