Although high school wasn’t quite the Troy and Gabriella experience you had wished for, it was one of the most exhilarating times of your life. Senior year is coming to a close and prom is just around the corner — you’ve picked the perfect dress, secured the best date for the evening and are ready to channel your inner diva. But who will you take inspiration from? 

We’ve taken a look at some of the most memorable proms known to man based on the fictional lives of our favourite TV shows characters. We ranked each episode by how many viewers they received when they first aired in the US.

Grey’s Anatomy

This is a show that has literally attached itself to every generation since it first aired — our grandparents watch it, our parents watch it, we watch it, and it’s guaranteed that our kids will too. Cast your mind back to episode 27 of the second season when on prom night, Camille Travis is rushed to the ER after losing consciousness: she experienced this prior but didn’t want to tell anyone and be seen as ‘the girl with cancer’ again.

It was later revealed that Camille was in fact the niece of the Chief, Richard Webber. As she was missing out on the most important night of her life, he demanded that the interns threw a prom at the hospital where it was mandatory for all staff to attend.

Although the main colors of the prom were silver and white, with over 500 balloons ordered to match, no one stuck to the dress code. Meredith who danced the night away with Finn wore black, while Addison wore a chic lipstick red dress as she danced with McDreamy. Camille rebelled against the rules when she wore a plum dress as she boogied with her uncle.

One iconic dress you’ll remember is Izzie Stevens’, who rocked a pink gown to the hospital. However, she never actually attended as her love-interest Denny suddenly passed away that night after proposing to her the day before. Although this was a devasting moment for all of us, Izzie used the $8.7m she was left from him to set up a free clinic in his name!

In the words of Shonda Rhimes, this year is the time to “dance it out, stand in the sun and be your own person” — so channel your inner Shonda at prom!

Episode: Losing My Religion

Aired: 15th May 2006

Viewing Figures: 22.5 million

Full House

For those of us old enough to remember, Steve Hale’s senior prom was back in season six. Episode 22 of this season was an emotional one for all of us, as he asks D.J. Tanner to be his date for the night who is only a sophomore. They both looked incredible — after D.J. spends hours shopping for prom dresses to try and impress her date.

Despite Becky tagging along with the loved-up couple, the main event ran pretty smoothly. Just kidding! This prom was nothing short of drama. You may remember that Steve Hall was announced as Prom King, but you may have forgotten that his ex-girlfriend Rachel was announced as Prom Queen! Awkward…

D.J. begins to wonder whether the voting had been tampered with by Steve and Rachel’s friends to get them back together as they were once the most popular couple in school. As the winners of the night, Steve and Rachel were required to dance together and Rachel surprises him with a kiss. Girl code! Girl code?!

D.J. sees this unfold and runs out of the building upset, thinking that her relationship with Steve has ended. However, Steve said to Rachel that her kiss meant nothing to him and that he’s in love with D.J. Steve eventually goes to find D.J., and she’s furious! So, decides to kiss Rachel’s boyfriend, Paul…

We’re confident that your prom won’t be that eventful, but if it is, you want to look as good as these girls did back then. Black was the main colour of the evening, with D.J. wearing a Bardot sweet-heart cut dress with ruffles on the sleeves. Becky stood out as always with her leopard print dress while Rachel wore a laced dress.

Episode: Prom Night

Aired: 4th May 1993

Viewing Figures: 20.2 million in US

Beverly Hills, 90210

Let’s take things back to season three to one of the most exciting shows in America. Admit it, you wanted to be part of the BH 90210 gang too. Prom night was so important for these guys and gals, from the planning stages to the actual night of celebration. Looking back, this episode was scandalous!

We all know someone who is adamant they aren’t attending an event, until they’re either begged to go or just show up last minute. In this episode, that’s totally Brenda Walsh. She told Donna she wasn’t going, and when Tony asked her to be his date, she replied ‘whatever’ — how do we please this girl?!

Every character in this series is dramatic. Even Brandon (Brenda’s brother, shock), said he was going to skip the night. However, his friend convinced him to go as he’s part of the crew, so he ended up asking Andrea… What can we say, impromptu romance!

Before the big night, they all went for pre-drinks at David’s house, who was going to prom with Donna. His dad took some pretty awesome photographs on one of those old-fashioned (probably now trendy) cameras that captured the style kings and queens of the evening. They had some alcoholic beverages, even though the school board said that they would ban anyone who was suspected of drinking!

Andrea’s dress had Dirty Dancing vibes with a strapped low-cut black dress accompanied with her signature curls! While Donna wore a slim flower-patterned dark dress that channelled the same tones as David’s suit jacket. Brenda on the other hand, stood out from the rest with a stunning, silver, sparkly dress.

Episode: A Night To Remember

Aired: 28th April 1993

Viewing Figures: 17 million

Glee

We can only dream of having a prom like those at McKinley High School, where there’s an endless choice of jukebox favourites to dance the night away to — or sing to if you’re part of New Directions. Although this episode is focused on junior prom, it was a monumental moment in some of our favourite characters lives and you should definitely be taking some inspiration from the event.

This high school is all about competition and that isn’t just limited to the Cheerios and McKinley Titans. Prom is serious people, and Prom King or Queen status will have you set for life. At the time, favourites for the noble title was Quinn and Finn, followed by Puck and Lauren and then Karofsky and Santana.

Not everyone had a date though. Dateless (New) Directions included Mercedes, Rachel, and Sam who attended as a group. However, those that did partner up were Kurt and Blaine, Artie and Brittany, and Tina and Mike.

As Glee is all about music, there were some pretty awesome songs during the night. But how many of them will we pull out in 2019? Some of the songs that the New Directions performed were Friday by Rebecca Black, Jar of Hearts by Christina Perri — quite a mix!

There was no official set code for the evening, but the girls did dress to impress. Santana wore a ruffled red dress (identical to that dancing emoji we all LOVE), while Quinn wore a Princess Jasmine inspired gown with net straps and diamond chest area. Brittany was as crazy as you’d expect and wore a neon yellow dress with Lauren taking a similar approach — with a bright blue dress. Tina, of course, went all black, while Rachel chose pastel pink and Mercedes going for a bold purple color.

Episode: Prom Queen

Aired: 10th May 2011

Viewing Figures: 9.29 million in US