I just finished reading a post entitled, “TV Shows Surrounding College Life, Just Doesn't Work” by Lisa Hoang. The premise of the article is that sitcoms based on kids in their high school years have been successful (Saved by the Bell, One Tree Hill, Dawson’s Creek, etc), but as soon as these shows make an attempt to move towards the inevitable college life, they tank.

There are a number of reasons why this theory is true. Often times, the characters move to college because;
a.) As much as the show’s producers would like us to believe that they can remain in a perpetual state of adolescence, the actors age and start to look more ridiculous than the “seventeen year old” stars of the O.C.
b.) When the characters move to college, their character’s usually lose context in a new world.

As one user commented, “A certain Corey, Topanga, and Feeney beg to differ - Boy Meets World.”

This is true. Boy Meets World managed to pull off the high school to college transition with relative ease. How they did it; they introduced a few new characters, but the kids were also at a college geographically close to home so that the old characters could remain relevant.

Here is the other solution: Make a show that skips the high school years and goes straight to college.

The proof: Undeclared.

Though most people probably never had the pleasure of watching the series, it was a great show that fell prey to the indecision of the networks, which constantly shifted the shows time slot. The inconsistency made it hard for the viewers to follow the evasive show.

The show was the product of the comedy Godfather, Judd Apatow, at a stage when he was still relatively under the radar. The show starred Apatow’s usual suspects Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Jason Segal among others, playing freshmen living the college dorm life.

Though it only lasted one season, the show was fantastic. It defies the college=shitty television theory, though the ratings wouldn’t indicate as much. Look at Arrested Development and The Office (in it’s first two seasons); neither did well in ratings and flirted constantly with the sitcom graveyard.

The series is available on DVD and I’m sure that you can find it on iTunes or some other online venue.