The show follows the lives of the members of the Carlin family (Paula, Arthur, Glen, Clay, and Spencer) as they adjust to moving from Ohio to Los Angeles, California.

One of the main focuses include the relationship between Spencer Carlin (Gabrielle Christian) and her bisexual friend, Ashley Davies (Mandy Musgrave).

[5] The guides offered tips and questions about the topics raised in South of Nowhere, especially those centered around sexual identity, to use as discussion starters with teenagers.

The mother, Paula, initiated the move to accept a lucrative job in the emergency room of a Los Angeles hospital.

When she figures out that she is gay, Clay and Arthur support her, while Glen and Paula struggle to understand it at first and take time to realize the error of their ways.

Spencer and Ashley's storylines involve topics of homosexuality, homophobia, peer pressure, religion, romance, and high school.

When Clay discovers that his birth mother chose to give him up for adoption because she was a teen parent, he is hurt by her treatment of him, but they eventually make partial amends.

At the end of the second season, Clay is murdered in a drive-by shooting at prom, deeply affecting his family and friends for the remainder of the series.

Clay's storylines, as well as Sean and Chelsea's, deal with topics of racism, abortion, adoption, teen pregnancy, hate crimes, and stepfamilies.

Glen begins to date the captain of the cheerleading squad, Madison Duarte, and is sought after by colleges for his basketball skills.

As a graduate, Glen plans to join the army, but later decides against it, eventually choosing to work at a sporting goods store.

"[7] He said that Amy Friedman, the creative director of Noggin and The N, "showed no fear about the idea" of a coming-out storyline; her main focus was ensuring that the subject matter was treated respectfully.

[8] Tom Ascheim, the general manager of Noggin and The N, said that South of Nowhere represented how he wanted The N block to present itself.

I love the cast and how they dimensionalized the characters and created real people that you as fans could relate to and feel for as they reflected your own lives.

Love and Respect-Tom Lynch Creator / Executive Producer[12]Rather than cut the season in half, The N gave South of Nowhere a four-week break.

The show returned to Noggin's nighttime lineup in January 2006 with the remaining episodes from the original order to air.

The show is also available for download on Amazon Unbox service and viewable on a compatible PC, TV, or portable video player.

Jill Murphy of Common Sense Media gave the series a four out of five stars stating "An eye-opening portrayal; OK for mature teens.".