My So-Called Life is an American teen drama[3] television series created by Winnie Holzman and produced by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz.

Besides Danes, the show also launched the careers of several other major actors of her generation, including Jared Leto and Wilson Cruz.

Angela Chase (Claire Danes) is a 15-year-old high school student who lives in the fictional Pittsburgh suburb of Three Rivers with her mother Patty (Bess Armstrong), father Graham (Tom Irwin), and little sister Danielle (Lisa Wilhoit).

My So-Called Life dealt with major social issues of the mid-1990s, including child abuse, homophobia, teenage alcoholism, homelessness, adultery, school violence, censorship, and drug use.

To capture contemporary adolescence authentically, Holzman did research and taught classes at Fairfax High School in Los Angeles for a few days.

"[9] In keeping with their desire to portray adolescence authentically, producers looked for actors who were close in age to their teen characters.

[11]  Before Claire Danes was cast, Alicia Silverstone auditioned for the role of Angela and impressed Zwick, and as an emancipated minor could work longer hours, but was not deemed the right fit for "Holzman’s messy high-school universe, which included subplots about drug addiction, bullying, binge drinking, promiscuity, and homosexuality.

[10] The character of Rickie was inspired by Holzman's peers as a teenager, as well as by the 1990 documentary Paris Is Burning, which explores ball culture in New York City.

[10] Jared Leto was supposed to appear in just the pilot episode, but his acting and chemistry with Danes impressed producers and he was upgraded to the main cast.

Critic Joyce Millman said the show "evokes the emotional turbulence of adolescence with breathtaking accuracy" and is also "unusually perceptive in its portrayal of the push and pull of mother-daughter relationships.

"[20] Steven Spielberg lauded the show and called Danes "one of the most exciting actresses to debut in 10 years", likening her to Audrey Hepburn.

[20] In a critical review, Howard Rosenberg of the Los Angeles Times found the teen characters grating and the plot lines to be too neatly resolved, but did praise Holzman's writing and Danes' acting.

Rosenberg wrote, "you also recognize that Holzman has a witty grasp on adolescence and knows a bull’s-eye when she sees one...Another plus is the brooding self-consciousness that seems so genuine in Angela, a credit to Danes’ effortless performance.

Her nervous body language speaks volumes, as do her character's private thoughts, delivered as part of a voice-over narration in the manner of 'The Wonder Years.

The site's consensus reads, "Effectively avoiding cliche and cheesy exposition, My So-Called Life's realistic portrayal of the average American girl is ahead of its time".

[25] On Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average rating, the show has a score of 92 out of 100 based on 19 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".

[21] Time critic James Poniewozik wrote, Angela Chase (Claire Danes) was a fully realized TV teen, smart and perceptive one minute, whiny and unstable the next, ready to burst into red-faced tears after getting jerked around by learning-challenged heartthrob Jordan Catalano.

ET against top-10 hit sitcoms — Mad About You and Friends on NBC, as well as the popular Martin, Living Single and New York Undercover on Fox, possibly contributing to the series' low ratings.

[7][39] The producers said that they could not fault ABC for the creative freedom and support they gave them during production, as there were probably few networks that would have even put My So-Called Life on the air in the first place.

[10] It is generally accepted that the show's cancelation was the result of a variety of factors, including low ratings and scant publicity from the network.

Jordan won't acknowledge his new relationship with Angela, but continues to meet her at school for makeout sessions that he tells her to keep secret.

[12] My So-Called Life is seen as a groundbreaking television show for its realistic portrayal of adolescence and for launching a revolution of teen angst-oriented dramas on primetime TV.

[68][11] It is credited with moving teen dramas away from the soap opera tone of previous shows like Beverly Hills, 90210 and towards a smarter look at everyday teenage life.

[69] On a 2012 list of cult TV shows, critic Melissa Maerz wrote "it was the first teen drama that didn't feel like an after-school special.

"[70] Of the character types explored in the show, Jeff Jensen of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "[Winnie] Holzman took these stock types and made them complicated and real — you didn't need to be a girl to feel Angela's longing for Jordan, didn't need to be gay to connect with Rickie's coming-out journey.

[9] The final episode of the series, "In Dreams Begin Responsibilities" is notable for featuring a moment in which Ricky says out loud that he's gay — "a first for both the character and network television.

[12] In a 2017 article for The Guardian, Soraya Roberts wrote My So-Called Life "not only flirted with gender fluidity before it became a part of the national conversation, it questioned the parameters of conventional maleness," and "was the rare primetime show that candidly discussed teen sex (according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, by 1996 only 12% of shows involved adolescent sexual content) – not only that, teen girl sex.

[11] Numerous showrunners and creators of teen-centered dramas or sitcoms, including Nahnatchka Khan (Fresh Off the Boat), Brian Yorkey (13 Reasons Why), Stephanie Savage (Gossip Girl), and Terri Minski (Andi Mack), have cited MSCL and its impact on them as teens.

[74] My So-Called Life also inspired a German version of the sitcom called Mein Leben & Ich,[16] which ran for 6 seasons and a total of 74 episodes, 25 minutes each.

Factory re-released My So-Called Life on DVD in Region 1 in a six-disc box set with a disc of special features, including an interview with series star Claire Danes.