Sure, it's, you know, ewwww when Dad walks in during a makeout scene on One Tree Hill, but that show and others like it, such as The O.C. and Summerland, are must-sees on Katnik's TV.

"I have to see my shows," she says.

Welcome to the new TV nation.

Think television is all about the lives of desperate housewives? Not quite. One of the hottest trends in prime-time viewing is watching teens duke it out for love, money and social status.

From such breakout hits as The O.C. and One Tree Hill to such continuing favorites as Smallville, Everwood and Gilmore Girls, TV is overrun with attractive kids who put the "adult" in "young adult."

But is it too much?

Has teen programming become too risque for an impressionable audience?

Of course, sex, drugs, cheating and lying aren't new topics, but they're arguably more commonplace than on those nights in the mid-'90s when Beverly Hills, 90210 and Party of Five ruled the teen roost.

The new generation of teen programming started in 2000 with such shows as Gilmore Girls, a mother-daughter drama dealing with love and sex.

It was followed in 2001 by Smallville, a modern take on the Superman story in which an adolescent Clark Kent juggles girls along with his action-hero duties.

The O.C. is currently the genre's most high-profile show, with such stars as Mischa Barton, Adam Brody and Rachel Bilson nabbing regular tabloid attention. It's also the most daring, with depictions or suggestions of group sex, cocaine snorting and drunken binges - and that was just in the show's 2004 pilot episode.

Relax and put down the remote - provocative teen shows don't have to be a blush-inducing bad thing.

Or so say their young fans.

A bunch of them got together recently at the downtown nightclub Empire, where the One Tree Hill concert tour was making a stop. They checked out such artists as The Wreckers, Tyler Hilton and Michelle Branch, who were in town to promote their music as well as the popular WB program.

The fans wore black T-shirts emblazoned with sequins that spelled out "I (Heart) Tyler Hilton." Their enthusiasm for the show and its popular singer is so palpable that it buzzes like any crush worth its weight in daydreams.

Amanda Ryan said that, yes, her favorite programs are a little, uh, mature, but chill out, "we can handle it."

Besides, said Ryan, 15, of Sacramento, although her dad often questions her viewing choices, his worries also have opened up several important father-daughter discussions.

For parents, that's the key to understanding - and surviving - such racy programming, said Jenifer Lippincott, a mother of daughters ages 16 and 14 and the author of 7 Things Your Teenager Won't Tell You (Ballantine Books, $14.95).

"The most positive thing about The O.C. is that it's one of the few shows that has as many adult fans as it does teenagers," said Lippincott, on the phone from her office in Weston, Mass.

Although there's plenty on the show that makes her squirm, Lippincott said, she's still a big fan and appreciates the way that its two main adult characters, Sandy and Kirsten Cohen, depict a loving parental relationship.

"It gives us parents who display decent judgments and are pretty involved in their kids' lives," she said.

The show, which recently featured a much-ballyhooed lesbian kiss, got Lippincott and her own daughters talking.

When her kids "groaned" during the scene, Lippincott took it as an opportunity to dig deeper.

"I just asked them questions about their reactions. That's our responsibility as adults - to talk to teens in a dispassionate, nonjudgmental sort of way."

Maybe, but actress Bethany Joy Lenz is embarrassed at the thought of letting her 13-year-old sister watch her show, One Tree Hill.

"She's not allowed to watch it," Lenz said.

"The show is a little racy for a young teen," Lenz said. "Its (story lines) are definitely more promiscuous than anything I encountered in high school."

Still, One Tree Hill takes a responsible approach by balancing questionable actions with consequences, according to Lenz.

"It's not all fun and games," she said.

Furthermore, she says, feedback from adults has been largely positive.

"I hear from people that I would never expect to watch the show - parents and grandparents - (who) all say they really love it."

"O.C." creator Josh Schwartz says he's happy that his show spans generations.

"I've heard from fans that this is an opportunity for them to share something with their parents," says Schwartz, talking from his car while driving in Los Angeles. "Mom and Dad enjoy the show, and the kids can tolerate watching it with them."

And no, Schwartz doesn't think his show is too grown-up, thank you very much - it's got something for everyone, he says.

"The whole notion of 'The O.C.' is that it would appeal to everyone," Schwartz says. "I didn't know anything about demographics when I (created) it. I just thought that showing the parallel lives of parents and their kids was the most organic way to tell the story."

Now, Schwartz knows demographics and can rattle off numbers about viewers in various age brackets: "The O.C.," he says, recently beat "Survivor" among 18- to 34-year-old viewers - no mean feat.

Knowing such numbers helps when it comes to drawing an even bigger audience. Earlier this month, "The O.C." scored a major coup when it got the chance to premiere the trailer for the next "Star Wars" movie, "Revenge of the Sith," during a commercial break as well as to showcase five new Beck songs during the show.

"Our show is a pop cultural sponge and a natural platform for (marketing) tie-ins," Schwartz says.

But while today's teens generally are open to such contemporary marketing moves, that's not the reason they keep flipping the channel back to their favorite shows.

Instead, it's about getting caught up in the drama of a good plot and - even if it's not cool to admit it - sharing something with their ancient elders.

Sarah Carey, "14-ish," of Fresno, says she's glad - really - to spend time in front of the TV with her folks.

"They watch with me. They love my shows," Carey says. "They'll say things like, 'See, this is why you wait to have sex until you're married.' "

Carey laughs. "It's a good way for us to bond."