During an earlier era on television, teens hung out at the malt shop or the burger joint. But today their meeting place is the mall - and many of them work there.

What better place to set an earnest new miniseries aimed at teen viewers?

“Summer Stories: The Mall,” a three-part edition of the “ABC Afterschool Special,” premieres at 4 p.m. today (on Channel 13), with additional segments scheduled for the same time April 2 and 16 . The network calls it the first miniseries designed for this viewing period.

Like the Nanuet Mall of Rockland County, N.Y., where it was primarily filmed, “Summer Stories” has a scrubbed feeling, a vague artificiality. It falls somewhat short of conveying the grittiness of teen reality, particularly in language.

But bearing in mind its target audience, the miniseries does address some of the challenges facing young people today.

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The third principal story involves Diane (Jorjan Fox), a former drug abuser struggling to stay clean while being pressured by a former drug-dealing boyfriend to resume their relationship.

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