Celebrate Spring Break With ‘Gilmore Girls,’ ‘The O.C.’ & More Iconic Episodes

For popular teen dramas and sitcoms of the late ’90s and 2000s, the spring-break-gone-awry plot line remains as timeless and wonderfully cringe-worthy as recounting a blurry night out with old friends.

Beloved protagonists may find themselves in precarious first-time situations they may not have otherwise found themselves in if they didn’t, say, take the cramped van ride to Florida from Yale (Gilmore Girls) or find themselves in a beachy movie-musical at the behest of Frankie Avalon (Sabrina the Teenage Witch). While we love to remember our favorite characters for their triumphs and intrapersonal growth across our comfort series, these episodes offer something simpler to admire in our rewatches: good, old-fashioned, sometimes regrettable spring break antics.  

As we officially leave winter behind to welcome spring, we’ve compiled some of the most memorable spring break episodes to celebrate the equinox and, hopefully, serve as a reminder of the good, bad, and cringey you may look back on after your seasonal trip to the beach!