MTV’s Teen Wolf is composed of six seasons, with each building on the mythology established in the one before. Loosely based on the 1985 film starring Michael J. Fox, MTV’s Teen Wolf has a considerably darker twist toward the supernatural world. The series follows Scott McCall (Tyler Posey) after he becomes a werewolf and has to adjust to the knowledge of the existence of supernatural beings in his hometown of Beacon Hills while growing up. Along the way, he builds an unconventional pack that includes more than just werewolves.
While every season of Teen Wolf does still have plenty of humor, they each get progressively darker as the show deals with more than just physical enemies. Fear and acceptance become major themes in Teen Wolf. In fact, in some of the best seasons of Teen Wolf those themes are some of the most prevalent. Of course, fans might not consider any season of Teen Wolf a “bad” season since the series remains compelling throughout all six seasons. Teen Wolf even got a reunion movie with most of the original cast returning on Paramount Plus (where you can watch the entire series) set 15 years after the finale of the series.
6 Season 1 (2011)
● Season 1 of Teen Wolf has 12 episodes
The show’s first season premiered in 2011 and quickly became a hit, but it’s not as loved as other seasons because it includes a lot of setup for the series. It introduced the premise of Scott trying to find ways to fit in and failing. When he becomes a werewolf, he finds that it both helps and hinders this desire.
Throughout the season, Scott and Stiles (Dylan O’Brien) discover that Peter Hale (Ian Bohen) is the Alpha threatening to kill everyone if Scott doesn’t join his pack. Lydia (Holland Roden) is one of the victims of his attacks, but she survives. While Stiles is geeking out over the supernatural, Scott isn’t too happy when it ruins his chances with Allison (Crystal Reed), who happens to be the daughter of werewolf hunters. A lot of moving pieces are put into place in the season, like Lydia being different, that pay off later in the series.
The audience start to get to know the characters here, but they don’t get into the meat of the story just yet. When it comes to every season of Teen Wolf, Season 1 establishes the character dynamics and teases some of the lore, but the bulk of the story is told in later installments of the show.
5 Season 5 (2015- 2016)
● Season 5 of Teen Wolf has 20 episodes
Season 5 kicks off with Lydia showing off her newfound fighting skills in Eichen House. She’s afraid her friends are all going to die, and it becomes clear that this is a flash-forward, a construct the series didn’t usually use very often. It provides a strong start to the season.
The best aspects of this season are the more emotional ones. Malia (Shelley Hennig) starts delving into her past and begins learning about her real mother, the Desert Wolf. New arrival Theo (Cody Christian) also drives a wedge between Scott and Stiles after Stiles accidentally kills a chimera. Their friendship is the foundation of the show, so the cracks in it being exposed is a highlight of the season. Any time the show uses the supernatural to highlight the natural drama works very well.
Season 5b is a true continuation of the first half of the season. Theo continues expanding his pack of chimeras, and now he wants to come for Scott’s pack. He gets into Scott and Stiles’ heads, and it seems that Scott’s pack is dissolving. It’s the first time in the show that fans really thought Scott might lose his pack, which created some great tension for the season. The idea of the chimeras is also a fascinating one, and one that the show doesn’t get to delve much into after the season is over.
The downside to the season is that there are a lot of ideas introduced, like Kira (Arden Cho) learning from the Skinwalkers, that never really get paid off in the show. Many interesting characters are dropped before they have the chance to really contribute to the story as well, making Season 5 of Teen Wolf the season of dropped plots and vanishing characters.
4 Season 2 (2012)
● Season 2 of Teen Wolf has 12 episodes
Scott and Allison can’t stay away from each other in Season 2, so they continue their relationship in secret until her parents discover them. After her mother is bitten and dies, Allison is manipulated by other family members until she turns vengeful, but the one person she can never harm is Scott. This season also introduces new Beta werewolves for Derek (Tyler Hoechlin), along with a new supernatural creature: the kanima. Scott’s mother also learns of the supernatural world when she sees Scott transform before her eyes.
There’s a lot going on in Season 2, but it works. Scott and Allison having a wrench thrown into their relationship elevates the drama outside just the supernatural world. Lydia being the one to talk Jackson (Colton Haynes) through his kanima issues to become a werewolf allows the audience to see her as more than a mean girl. It also allows the audience to understand that Jackson’s treatment of others stems from his own issues with his identity and happiness. All the main characters get their chance to shine. Ending the season with the cliffhanger of new werewolves Erica (Gage Golightly) and Boyd (Sinqua Walls) running away only made fans more interested in tuning in for the next season as well.
Season 2 of Teen Wolf is one of the most suspenseful of the show. It’s also the one that worked to change up the character dynamics a bit more, forcing the group of main characters to work with others they might not always trust, like Derek’s new Beta wolves. The fact it isn’t the best of every season of Teen Wolf only shows how much stronger the remaining seasons are.
3 Season 6 (2016-2017)
● Season 6 of Teen Wolf has 20 episodes
Season 6 has to spend some of its story time working around the absence of Dylan O’Brien, which it does in a really great way. It still makes Stiles a major part of the story in the first half of the season by having him abducted by the Ghost Riders, otherwise known as the Wild Hunt or Riders of the Storm. This means that Scott and his friends forget him, but not before he professes his love for Lydia. Stiles reunites with Peter Hale in a waystation, who has also been forgotten, while his mother reappears in the normal world. Scott, Malia, and Lydia eventually realize they’ve forgotten Stiles and make it their mission to get him back.
All of this means that Season 6a makes for a fascinating first half since much of the Ghost Rider story is a big mystery for the audience. There’s a lot for them to learn, and a lot for them to pay attention to. Even with fan-favorite Stiles going missing, he even remains a focus of the season, but it’s not just Stiles. The show also takes the time to build on the mythology of banshees, putting some of the focus on Holland Roden’s Lydia, and really allowing the actress to do more than just “scream.”
The second half of the season also takes an interesting approach to the supernatural. The final batch of Teen Wolf episodes doesn’t make supernatural beings the biggest threat in the show, but instead, scared humans. As more humans learn about the supernatural, they see people like Scott and his pack as threats. It’s a great commentary on herd mentality, and it really ups the stakes for the characters as the very people they’ve been trying to keep safe in Beacon Hills are suddenly the ones after them.
2 Season 4 (2014)
● Season 4 of Teen Wolf has 12 episodes
Season 4 takes viewers on a totally new adventure in a new setting for a few episodes: Mexico. After Allison’s death, the Argents leave Beacon Hills, which means a new family of hunters gets a brief introduction, though the group ends up with an even larger problem when Kate Argent (Jill Wagner) turns out to be a werejaguar and the mysterious Benefactor starts paying out for the assassinations of supernatural creatures. The season also explores Derek’s past, Kira becomes part of Scott’s pack, and Lydia and Stiles help Malia integrate into human society. Scott, on the other hand, is learning how to take care of Liam (Dylan Sprayberry), his first Beta.
Season 4 is really the season of backstory for viewers and so much more is learned about Derek and Lydia especially. It starts to flesh out some of the gaps left in the storytelling in earlier seasons. It also brings back some of the comedy missing from the third season with Liam added to the mix, which is a nice reprieve from the darkness of the show that fans responded well to.
One of the most fascinating mysteries of the show is just who the Benefactor is. The idea of a deadpool for the main characters provides a thriller angle for the season, but also some interesting commentary on just how threatening the different characters are. Malia, for example, doesn’t have a big price on her head, but Scott is worth a much larger amount of money than most of his pack. It allows the audience to see how Scott and his friend are viewed by others in the show.
1 Season 3 (2013-2014)
● Season 3 of Teen Wolf has 24 episodes
When audiences examine every season of Teen Wolf, Season 3 is far and away the best of the six. It expands on the mythology of the show, successfully integrates new characters into the series, shakes up the cast dynamic, and it showcases the acting abilities of its main cast. In particular, Dylan O’Brien is a standout of the season, going from comedic relief to dramatic player.
The first part of Season 3 introduces a new pack: the Alpha pack, led by Deucalion. Scott needs to build up his own pack to defend himself, but that’s easier said than done when other wolves in town have run away. Decalion and his pack members are very interested in Scott. The Darach is also a new supernatural threat for Scott and his friends, and one that allows for the show to expand on the mythology of the Druids, and their relationship with werewolf packs.
The two-pronged threat of the Alpha Pack and the Darach means that the adrenaline of the season never fades. It’s fast-paced with a lot of interesting new characters introduced, and a lot of new plot pieces to move the story forward. Things like Lydia discovering her abilities and Allison’s relationship with Isaac (Daniel Sharman) deepening add to the season instead of distracting from the antagonists. Scott also becomes a True Alpha, which is a season highlight.
The second half of Season 3 sees Stiles becoming possessed by the nogitsune, essentially becoming evil. But, by the end of the season, Scott and his friends are able to help Stiles return to himself. To see a character who had been the comedic relief for so long to get the spotlight in a more dramatic fashion helped to shift the tone of the show. Stiles was a fan-favorite from the first season, but Season 3b gives him even more depth.
This season also introduces Kira, whose family history connects to the Oni and the nogitsune’s formation. Allison figures out how to kill the Oni, but in their big face-off, one of them kills her. She dies in Scott’s arms, revealing that she still loves him. While there is a lot of death and loss in Teen Wolf, Allison’s demise is the one felt the most by fans. Combined with the emotional storyline for Stiles, it makes the season one of the hardest-hitting and all-around the best Teen Wolf season.
