News Roundup: Gossip Girl, 90210, Dawson’s Creek and The O.C.

6 01 2010
  • Leighton Meester (Blair, Gossip Girl) was mysteriously absent from the People’s Choice Awards when Cobra Starship performed Good Girls Go Bad. In her place was Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls.
  • Neither Blake Lively (Serena, Gossip Girl) nor GG won in the categories they were nominated for at the PCAs.
  • Kellan Lutz (George, 90210) presented an award at the PCAs.
  • The Vampire Diaries, which was created by Kevin Williamson (creator, Dawson’s Creek), won Favorite New TV Drama at the PCAs.
  • Covert Affairs, starring Peter Gallagher (Sandy, The O.C.), has been picked up by USA.




Fun Fact

6 01 2010

Take a minute and consider the names of almost all the teen dramas.

Beverly Hills 90210

Dawson’s Creek

The O.C.

One Tree Hill

90210

Apparently teen drama creators have a thing for titles based on locations. Granted, those locations–Beverly Hills, a–um–creek, Orange County, Tree Hill and, again, Beverly Hills–are (for the most part) integral to the premise of each show.

The lone outcast is Gossip Girl, which easily could’ve been called Upper East Side if it weren’t for the fixation on that never-seen-but-often-heard character also known as Gossip Girl. And, of course, the precedent established by the book series.

Details, details.





News Roundup: One Tree Hill, 90210, Gossip Girl and More

5 01 2010
  • As of tomorrow at 4pm, SoapNet will begin reairing One Tree Hill’s first season.
  • MTV summed up the latest news on The Notebook musical, which Bethany Joy Galeotti (Haley, One Tree Hill) talked about in the podcast I posted yesterday.
  • Matt Barr (Ian “Psycho Derek” Banks, One Tree Hill) will appear on Friday Night Lights. Have you read my interview with him?
  • Starpulse has a brief interview with Ryan Eggold (Ryan, 90210).
  • Jessica Walter (Tabitha, 90210) voices a character in Archer, a new animated show on FX premiering next week.
  • On Sunday, SoapNet is airing This Time Around, which stars Brian Austin Green (David, Beverly Hills 90210).
  • SoapCentral has an interesting article on Vanessa Marcil (Gina, Beverly Hills 90210) possibly returning to General Hospital. The article also mentions Marcil starring in the webseries The Bannen Way, which also features Autumn Reeser (Taylor, The O.C.).
  • Jezebel has a look at the Gossip Girl comic book/graphic novel.
  • Blair (Leighton Meester, Gossip Girl) is out of the Girl on Top tournament.
  • Josh Schwartz (creator, Gossip Girl & The O.C.) is now on Twitter. Added him to the Twitter Directory.
  • Worth noting, as Zap2it did, that The Secret Life of the American Teenager, starring Shailene Woodley (Kaitlin, The O.C.), and Make It Or Break It, produced by Paul Stupin (executive producer, Dawson’s Creek), did significantly better in the ratings last night than Gossip Girl and 90210 typically do.




News Roundup: 90210, One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl and More

4 01 2010
  • I really liked this tweet from Tristan Wilds (Dixon, 90210).
  • Michael Steger (Navid, 90210) is now on Twitter. Wilds and Matt Lanter (Liam, 90210) both confirmed it. Added him to the Twitter Directory.
  • Jessica Walter (Tabitha, 90210) will star in a TV Land show called Retired at 35.
  • I Want To Marry Ryan Banks, starring Jason Priestley (Brandon, Beverly Hills 90210), Emma Caulfield (Susan, Beverly Hills 90210) and Cameron Bancroft (Joe, Beverly Hills 90210) is referenced in an article on The Bachelor.
  • Thank you to Anthony for confirming that Caulfield is on Twitter. Added her to the Twitter Directory.
  • Stephanie Beacham (Iris, Beverly Hills 90210) appears on the UK’s Celebrity Big Brother. In the interview, she also talks about recovering from cancer. Thank you to Kendal for sending me the article.
  • A new One Tree Hill Connection podcast features an interview with Bethany Joy Galoetti (Haley, One Tree Hill).
  • PEOPLE.com has an interview with Leighton Meester (Blair, Gossip Girl) about her music career.
  • Josh Schwartz (creator, Gossip Girl) says he’s happy his other show Chuck isn’t competing against GG. More brief GG talk here.
  • Sebastian Stan (Carter, Gossip Girl) will star in a film called The Apparition.
  • James Van Der Beek (Dawson, Dawson’s Creek) has joined the cast of Mercy, which also stars Michelle Trachtenberg (Georgina, Gossip Girl).
  • Kerr Smith (Jack, Dawson’s Creek) appears in a group video interview about Life Unexpected.
  • Mischa Barton (Marissa, The O.C.) will appear on an episode of Law & Order: SVU.




TDW Look Back, Pt. 5

3 01 2010

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

ORIGINAL POSTS: Teen Dramas: The Evaluation (5/28/09), Teen Dramas: The Evaluation Results (6/1/09)

WHY I LOVE THEM: Technically you guys can voice your opinions any time you want by simply leaving a comment, but polls are a great way for me to find out what you think on specific subjects. With sets for each of the current teen dramas, it was TDW’s own little awards show, recognizing the best and worst of the past season. Then taking the winners of the 3 separate evaluations and putting them head-to-head in a final round was a great way to compare the shows and find out what you guys thought was the best of the best in the 08-09 teen drama season.

WHERE I’LL GO FROM HERE: I started doing polls weekly, one question per current show, which lets me know what you guys think on a more frequent basis. I’ll definitely do another season-end evaluation when the time comes and might even do a survey for the site itself. I’d like to know what parts of TDW you like, what you think can be improved, etc. so keep your eyes peeled for that.

That does it for reflections on TDW Year One. Thank you for making this anniversary and every day a special one.

Here’s to a bigger and better year for Teen Drama Whores everywhere.





Six Degrees of Teen Dramas

2 01 2010

New to Six Degrees of Teen Dramas? Here’s how to play!

Last Week: Anne Hathaway

This Week:

Harrison Ford

Enjoy!





TDW Look Back, Pt. 4

2 01 2010

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

ORIGINAL POSTS: Teen Drama Twitter Accounts (8/18/09), Twitter Directory (9/5/2009)

WHY I LOVE THEM: I joined Twitter before I even conceived of TDW but it’s ended up becoming  priceless tool. Through Twitter I’ve not only been able to promote the hell out of the site but, more importantly, it’s connected me to dozens of fellow teen drama fans. Unfortunately, there’s also a dark side with more than 100 accounts falsely claiming to be teen drama stars, duping (in some cases) thousands of fans. I’ve more or less made it my business to let people know which accounts are fake and which are real. Though it’s a very frustrating task, I like to think I’m providing a service, one that gives both the real actors and the true fans the respect they deserve.

WHERE I’LL GO FROM HERE: While it’s always a pleasure to find an account that is truly legitimate, there’s more and more fakes springing up every week. I will continue to do my best to keep up, updating the Twitter Directory accordingly. But I need your help: please don’t follow fakes, please let me know when you’re unsure about an account and please spread the word!





TDW Look Back, Pt. 3

1 01 2010

Part 1, Part 2

ORIGINAL POSTS: Exclusive: Executive Producer Charles Rosin Reflects on 90210’s Early Years (10/4/09) and Exclusive: Executive Producer Paul Stupin Revisits Dawson’s Creek (11/15/09)

WHY I LOVE THEM: When I first started this site, I never dreamed I’d be interviewing anybody, much less the creators of the teen drama genre. (And major props go to Michael Cudlitz for being the first to agree to an interview!) These are the people that came up with the characters, cast the stars, generated the storylines. Sure, there’s also writers, story editors, casting agents. But these “showrunners,” as they’re called, shape the vision, connect the dots and generally turn a bunch of small parts into the large thing we’ve come to know and  love as teen dramas. There’s no greater treat than to hear about the decisions from the decision-makers themselves.

WHERE I’LL GO FROM HERE: Well, I’d like to fill in the holes. That means, Josh Schwartz (The O.C., Gossip Girl), Mark Schwahn (One Tree Hill) and Rebecca Sinclair (90210), step right up because I’m ready and willing to interview ya. And while I’ve already interviewed a number of others, the pool of teen drama role players is seemingly infinite. I’ve had the privilege of interviewing most of the current main stars in person when I interned at PEOPLE in ’08 but I hope to one day be able to do it again explicitly for TDW. And, of course, all the stars of yesteryear, too.





News Roundup: 90210, One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl and The O.C.

31 12 2009
  • Noticed that the finalized artwork for the Beverly Hills Season 9 DVD is significantly different from the preliminary art, and both are significantly different from the original photo. First the original photo was altered to photoshop in Luke Perry (Dylan). Then they decided to also add in Vanessa Marcil (Gina) and cut out Vincent Young (Noah). This makes the second season in a row with Young missing from the cover art, even though he was a regular the entire season, unlike Perry, Marcil and even Jason Priestley (Brandon) and Tiffani Amber Thiessen (Valerie). Missing in all three photos, however, is Daniel Cosgrove (Matt) who was also a regular that season, albeit not from the beginning (though he is in one of the faded background images). Expect me to still be griping about this when the set is released on February 2nd.
  • ABC News has an interview with Candy Spelling (wife of Aaron, mother of Tori; Beverly Hills 90210).
  • Digital Spy has an interview with Matt Lanter (Liam, 90210). Some of it is outdated for us, since the show is just premiering in the country where the site is based. Most interesting is that he says he’s pretty sure there’s going to be a season 3–and then is bold enough to say the show could last “four or five years.”
  • They also have an interview with Jessica Lowndes (Adrianna, 90210), which also covers things we’ve already seen but also has spoilers.
  • MTV made New Year’s resolutions for Ryan (Ryan Eggold, 90210), Dan (Paul Johansson, One Tree Hill) and Jenny (Taylor Momsen, Gossip Girl). Zap2it and The Wrap have good resolutions for The CW.
  • Star News has a brief article on Brett Claywell (Tim, One Tree Hill) and the amazing work he’s been doing on One Life to Live. It’s truly remarkable.
  • Blair (Leighton Meester, Gossip Girl) is still in the running in the Girl on Top tournament.
  • You can vote for Blake Lively (Serena, Gossip Girl) and Chace Crawford (Nate, Gossip Girl) as the stars you would kiss on New Year’s Eve.
  • The new season of The Secret Life of the American Teenager, starring Shailene Woodley (Kaitlin, The O.C.), premieres Monday on ABC Family.




TDW Look Back, Pt. 2

31 12 2009

Part One

ORIGINAL POSTS: The Essential Teen Drama Love Triangles (1/31/09) and All-Time Favorite Couples (2/16/09)

WHY I LOVE THEM: It’s no secret that my favorite aspect of teen dramas are the romances, which are often accompanied by love triangles. My favorite characters, moments, quotes, etc. are tied up in these heartbreaking, angst-filled, passionate love affairs that I can’t help but relive over and over again (thanks, SoapNet and YouTube!). Like with most of TDW, these posts do both you and me a favor: I get an excuse to obsess some more over my favorite triangles and couples (it’s “research”) and give everyone else a handy-dandy guide to the messy thing known to hardcore viewers as “ships.”

WHERE I’LL GO FROM HERE: Aside from these two series, or TDW Originals as I like to call them, I have about 20 others already done and a document with ideas for at least 20 more. I used to do them a lot more frequently in the first 6 or so months and I’d like to kick up the pace again. If you have any ideas for a series topic, feel free to let me know.