A crash course in the turbulence of being a teen is always on the schedule for the students at Hartley High School in this 1990s series set in Sydney.

The series is based on the lives of a group of students who attend the fictional Hartley High School in Sydney. Praised for its willingness to tackle gritty issues, from drugs to romance to religion to shoplifting and homelessness, it has starred some names well-known to Australian television, especially Peter Sumner and Rebecca Smart, and it has bred new talent like Callan Mulvey.—Enoch Law <[email protected]>

"Heartbreak High" is a hip, realistic series about the lives of teenage students and their families and teachers at Hartley High, an inner-city high school within a multiracial area. "Heartbreak High" was originally a stage play which producer Ben Gannon turned into a successful film, "The Heartbreak Kid," in 1993. The show captured more than 70% of the youth audience in its first five weeks of broadcast in Australia.