Saagar Kote
Netflix’s ‘Minerva Academy’ (also known as ‘Minerva – La scuola’) is an Italian drama series set at the strict, titular military high school in Naples, where students live under rules that leave little room for ordinary teenage life. The students have no phones and are expected to refrain from romantic relationships. Among the students is Salvo (Ciro Minopoli), who is determined to discover what happened to his missing best friend. He is joined by Vincenzo (Biagio Venditti), who hopes to build a military career like his father, and Camilla (Margherita Buoncristiani), a privileged girl from Milan with a lack of discipline.
While the students face rivalry, family pressure, and demanding military training, they are pushed to question their ambitions and choices. The academy also challenges the officers and teachers responsible for shaping the young cadets. For the students, life at Minerva becomes a difficult journey toward adulthood and self-discovery. Created by Ivano Fachin, Giovanni Galassi, and Tommaso Matano, the show delves deep into the complexities of youth. The following shows, similar to ‘Minerva Academy,’ feature institutional settings, conflicted characters, life-altering events, and the tribulations of student life.
6. The A List (2018-2021)
In ‘The A List,’ Mia Blackwood (Lisa Ambalavanar) travels to an isolated summer camp, and her arrival is overshadowed by Amber (Ellie Duckles), a captivating newcomer who almost immediately becomes the center of attention. Mia finds herself pushed aside as Amber wins over the other campers, turning what initially seems like a straightforward social rivalry into something increasingly disturbing. Unable to understand how Amber exerts such a powerful influence over everyone around her, Mia begins questioning whether there is more to the newcomer than meets the eye.
The camp’s secluded setting makes it difficult for Mia to distance herself from the situation, leaving her increasingly isolated as her suspicions grow. With Dan Berlinka and Nina Metivier lending their creative voices, the British thriller series is an engaging and mysterious saga. Both ‘The A List’ and ‘Minerva Academy’ place young characters in environments where the rules and circumstances imposed by authority figures shape ordinary teenage life. The settings create a contained world where friendships, rivalries, and personal conflicts intensify.
5. Rebelde (2022)
‘Rebelde’ is set at the prestigious Elite Way School, where students’ ambitions extend beyond the classroom. Jana Cohen (Azul Guaita Bracamontes), Luka Colucci (Franco Masini), M.J. Sevilla (Andrea Chaparro), Andi Agosti (Lizeth Selene), Guillermo Alvarez (Jerónimo Cantillo), and Estebán Torres (Sergio Mayer Mori) enter a competitive environment where musical talent offers them a chance to establish themselves. The school’s Battle of the Bands becomes a major opportunity, but their plans are complicated by an incident and the presence of a secret society operating within the institution. While the students pursue their musical goals, their ambitions become increasingly entangled with their personal lives.
Meanwhile, former student Celina Ferrer (Estefanía Villarreal), now the school’s director, oversees an environment where competition, secrets, and relationships make life tougher than imagined. Shaped under the direction of Santiago Limón, the Mexican drama series is a sequel to the eponymous telenovela. The student rivalries in ‘Rebelde’ closely connect with the competitive atmosphere of ‘Minerva Academy.’ Jana and the others compete for recognition through music, while Salvo, Vincenzo, and Camilla navigate rivalries and expectations within a demanding military academy.
4. Olympo (2025)
Jan Matheu, Laia Foguet, and Ibai Abad are the creative team behind ‘Olympo,’ a Spanish sports drama series about ambition, rivalry, and the price of success. At the Pirineos High Performance Center, Spain’s most talented young athletes train under intense pressure to reach the highest level of competition. Among them is Amaia Olaberria (Clara Galle), the captain of the synchronized swimming team, who has always fought to maintain her high ranking. But her position is suddenly threatened when Núria Borges (María Romanillos), her close friend and teammate, begins to achieve results Amaia never expected from her. Núria is not the only athlete making remarkable progress, and the pattern soon makes Amaia suspicious about what is really happening inside the training center.
As Amaia searches for answers, her investigation forces her to look beyond the competition and question the people she trusts. The deeper she goes, the more she risks her career and her understanding of the world she has worked so hard to succeed in. ‘Olympo’ and ‘Minerva Academy’ examine the pressure placed on young people who are expected to excel. Amaia fights to preserve her position among Spain’s top athletes, while the students at Minerva confront demanding training, family expectations, and uncertainty about their futures.
3. One of Us Is Lying (2021-2022)
‘One of Us Is Lying’ begins when a detention session at Bayview High ends with one student dead and four others under suspicion. Simon Kelleher (Mark McKenna), who runs a gossip app that exposes his classmates’ secrets, dies after appearing to suffer an allergic reaction. Still, investigators determine that his death was not accidental. Addy Prentiss (Annalisa Cochrane), Bronwyn Rojas (Marianly Tejada), Nate Macauley (Cooper van Grootel), and Cooper Clay (Chibuikem Uche) were all present when Simon died, making them the focus of the investigation. Rather than simply waiting for the authorities to uncover what happened, the four teenagers begin investigating the case themselves while attempting to prove their innocence.
While their search continues, the students are forced to deal with the secrets surrounding Simon’s death and the suspicion directed toward each of them. The Eric Saleh creation is a mystery drama series adapted from Karen M. McManus’ eponymous novel. Along the lines of ‘Minerva Academy,’ the show turns a school environment into the setting for a deeper mystery. Bayview High becomes the center of an investigation after Simon’s death, while Salvo’s search for his missing best friend brings unexpected chaos into the world of Minerva.
2. Blood & Water (2020-)
In ‘Blood & Water,’ a South African crime drama series, Puleng Khumalo (Ama Qamata) enters the prestigious Parkhurst College with a secret purpose. For years, she has been haunted by the kidnapping of her infant sister, Phume. When Puleng encounters popular student Fikile Bhele (Khosi Ngema), an uncanny resemblance leads her to suspect she may have finally found her missing sister. Puleng transfers to the school to investigate Fikile up close, but her search quickly becomes more complicated than expected. The deeper she digs, the more secrets she uncovers about the people around her, making it increasingly difficult to separate her search for Phume from the hidden lives of those at Parkhurst.
As Puleng gets closer to the truth, the prestigious school becomes the setting for a much larger web of secrets and personal discoveries. Directed by Nosipho Dumisa-Ngoasheng, Daryne Joshua, Travis Taute, and Thati Pele, the narrative intertwines personal investigations with the pressures of institutional life, akin to ‘Minerva Academy.’ Puleng’s decision to enter Parkhurst specifically to investigate her missing sister is similar to Salvo’s search for his missing friend.
1. Elite (2018-2024)
Created by Carlos Montero and Darío Madrona, ‘Elite’ or ‘Élite’ is a Spanish drama series that follows scholarship students Samuel García (Itzan Escamilla), Nadia Shanaa (Mina El Hammani), and Christian Varela (Miguel Herrán). They journey into the privileged world of Las Encinas, an exclusive private school for wealthy teenagers. Their arrival places them alongside influential classmates such as Marina Nunier Osuna (María Pedraza), and the stark differences between their backgrounds quickly create friction. While the students become caught up in personal issues, tensions within the school continue to grow. The lives of the scholarship students take a much darker turn when Marina is found dead, transforming the school into the center of a murder investigation.
The students must now contend with suspicion while their relationships and secrets become increasingly important to understanding what happened. The clash between different social worlds develops into a mystery that exposes the hidden tensions beneath the polished image of Las Encinas. Both ‘Elite’ and ‘Minerva Academy’ revolve around prestigious schools where students from different backgrounds are brought together. Las Encinas is defined by wealth and privilege, while Minerva Academy creates a highly selective environment shaped by military discipline. In both shows, the students deal with expectations that extend beyond ordinary teenage life.
Read More: Where is Minerva Academy Filmed?
