Teen Drama Links for December 6, 2022

Teen drama fans craving new coming-of-age stories should head to the movies.

That’s where I recently saw Armageddon Time and The Fabelmans. Directed by James Gray and Steven Spielberg, respectively, both films are semi-autobiographical stories about their childhoods. Both movies have Jewish themes and deal with antisemitism. And both, as I’ve previously mentioned, have bonafide teen drama connections.

Armageddon Time stars Banks Repeta, son of Nina Repeta (Bessie, Dawson’s Creek) and Mike Repeta (assistant camera, Dawson’s Creek / camera operator, One Tree Hill). Nina and I spoke about Banks’ blossoming career in our interview nearly two years ago, and it’s amazing that he’s now in a movie getting awards season buzz and making year-end top 10 lists (see one such list below). It’s also incredible the amount of emotion Banks conveys in his face, especially given that he’s only in his early teens.

That brings me to The Fabelmans, which stars Michelle Williams (Jen, Dawson’s Creek), someone else who conveys so much emotion in a single look. Besides Williams, The Fabelmans has a really appealing young cast, though I have to admit its high school storyline actually felt out of place with the rest of the family-focused film. But that portion intrigued me enough that I wish it was a separate teen drama movie or show.

Like Armageddon Time, The Fabelmans is also in the awards season conversation and considered one of the year’s best films. But it also has an additional teen drama connection. Being a retelling of Spielberg’s upbringing and the origins of his directing career, Dawson Leery would absolutely love this film. It’s about a fictionalized version of his icon, and it’s about a passion for movies and moviemaking. And, since getting Dawson’s reaction is impossible (being a fictional character and all), I’d just love to know what Kevin Williamson and James Van Der Beek think of it.

All that said, I can’t say I loved either movie, though I loved Banks and Williams’ performances. I’m eager to see if Oscars or other awards come calling in the months ahead. I’ll certainly share the news if they do.

Teen Drama Links for December 6, 2022

Listicle Links

Reminder: All lists and articles relate to the teen dramas or teen drama stars in some way.

• “14 Celebs Who Did A HUGE Favor For Other Celebs Before They Were Super Famous” (BuzzFeed)

• “I’m Sorry, But These 23 Main Characters Were Actually The Worst Part Of Their Show” (BuzzFeed)

• “25 People Who Were Kids In Christmas Movies And Are Adults Now Because That’s How Time And Aging Works” (BuzzFeed)

• “17 Celebs Who Went To Regular School While Working” (BuzzFeed)

• “People Are Sharing The Most Romantic Lines Ever Spoken In The History Of Television” (BuzzFeed)

• “One Tree Hill: 10 Quotes That Perfectly Sum Up Brooke Davis As A Character” (Screen Rant)

• “Aaron Tveit’s Best Movies and TV Shows, Ranked” (Movieweb)

• “10 Harsh Realities Of Rewatching Gossip Girl” (Screen Rant)

  • A lot of good points here.

• “Gossip Girl: Georgina’s 10 Best Quotes” (Screen Rant)

• “‘Gossip Girl’ Cast: Where Are They Now?” (Us Weekly)

• “‘Gossip Girl’ Cast’s Dating History: Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Penn Badgley and More” (Us Weekly)

• “‘Gossip Girl’: Meet the Cast” (Entertainment Tonight)

• “Gossip Girl Has Become The Monet De Haan Show In Season 2 & Fans Love It” (Elite Daily)

• “The Anonymous Instagram Account That’s The Gossip Girl of the Publishing World” (Observer)

• “40 Best Christmas Episodes of Your Favorite TV Shows” (Parade)

• “15 Shows Like Gilmore Girls That You Really Should Watch” (Slashfilm)

• “9 Shows Like ‘Virgin River’ Fans Should Watch While Waiting on Season 5” (Wide Open Country)

• “Star Wars: 8 Actors Who Could Have Been Great As Anakin Skywalker” (Movieweb)

• “Our 23 Favorite LGBTQ+ Books of 2022” (Them)

• “The 10 Best Movies of 2022” (TIME)

• “The 52 Most Shocking Cast Exits Announced in 2022” (TVLine)

• “2022 in Review: The 20 Best Shows” (TVLine)

• “2022 in Review: The 10 Worst Shows” (TVLine)

• “Inside Line: Scoop on Stargirl, Titans, The Cleaning Lady, New Amsterdam, Criminal Minds, Sex Lives and More!” (TVLine)

• “The Agents of NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles and NCIS: Hawai’i Meet Cute in BTS Crossover Photos — 2023 First Look” (TVLine)

• “Best Lines of the Week (November 25-December 1): ‘Never Let Her Date a Drummer!’” (TV Insider)

• “From ‘Spoiler Alert’ to ‘The Whale’: December’s must-see queer content” (NBC News)

  • Spoiler Alert is based on TVLine founder Michael Ausiello’s memoir, which I read years ago. I plan on seeing the movie when it opens wide this month.

• “I Loved Seeing Black Characters In Wednesday — But They Deserved Better” (Refinery29)

• “Home Run King Barry Bonds Once Displayed His Skills in Another Field Amid a Cameo on a Popular Television Series” (Essentially Sports)

• “A very Wilmington Christmas: Holiday movies, songs and TV shows with Port City ties” (StarNews Online)

  • Related: 2022 Holiday Movies with Teen Drama Stars (TDW)

• “Celebrities Who Wore NSFW Prosthetic Body Parts On Screen: Eric Dane, Adam Demos and More” (Us Weekly)

Best of the Rest

• Pluto TV, which streams “Beverly Hills, 90210,” is now available in Canada. (The Wrap)

• Watch the trailer for the third season of “Emily in Paris,” created by Darren Star (creator, Beverly Hills, 90210) and starring Lily Collins (Phoebe, 90210). (YouTube)

• “Dawson’s Creek” was a question on “Jeopardy!” last week. (J! Archive)

• Watch the full Gotham Awards presentation to Michelle Williams (Jen, Dawson’s Creek), including her speech, where she paid tribute to Mary Beth Peil (Grams, Dawson’s Creek). (YouTube)

• Busy Philipps (Audrey, Dawson’s Creek), who attended the Gotham Awards with Williams, revealed Peil was supposed to be there too, “but she didn’t feel well.” (Instagram)

• On the red carpet for the Gotham Awards, Williams revealed why she often brings Philipps to events. (Page Six)

• Williams is participating in this year’s “Actors on Actors” series. (Variety)

• Williams, Seth Rogen (Bob, Dawson’s Creek), additional Fabelmans cast members and Spielberg will receive the Vanguard Award at the Palm Springs International Film Awards in January. (The Hollywood Reporter)

• The final season of the “The Flash,” executive-produced by Greg Berlanti (executive producer, Dawson’s Creek), will premiere in February. (TVLine)

• Mike White (producer, Dawson’s Creek) was interviewed on NPR about his career and “The White Lotus.” (NPR)

  • Late to the party: I’m only just realizing that Jon Gries, who appeared on “Beverly Hills, 90210,” is part of “The White Lotus” cast.

• Maggie Friedman (producer, Dawson’s Creek) did interviews for the final season of “Firefly Lane,” which features India de Beaufort (Miranda, One Tree Hill).

  • “‘Firefly Lane’ Creator and Stars Break Down That Cliffhanger Season 2 Part 1 Ending” (The Wrap)

  • “Firefly Lane Season 2: All Your Questions About the Midseason Finale, Answered” (Glamour)

• Jon Kasdan (writer, Dawson’s Creek) did more interviews for “Willow.”

  • “How Jonathan Kasdan Discovered the Heart of Disney’s New ‘Willow’ Series From Val Kilmer’s 80s ‘Surfer Boy’ Rogue” (Variety)

  • “‘Willow’ Creator Jonathan Kasdan Talks the Series’ Origin and the Case for More of Emilia Clarke’s ‘Solo’ Character” (The Hollywood Reporter)

  • “Willow queer romance ‘never received any resistance,’ says series creator Jonathan Kasdan” (Entertainment Weekly)

  • “The original babies from Willow cameo in the new Disney+ series” (Entertainment Weekly)

  • “How Jonathan Kasdan’s Approach For Willow Was Affected By Harry Potter” (Slashfilm)

  • “‘Willow’ Interviews with Ellie Bamber, Tony Revolori, Jon Kasdan And More!” (Cinemablend)

• So, this happened: “Ben McKenzie Wants ‘The O.C.’ Cast to Be on ‘The White Lotus’ — and Rachel Bilson and Melinda Clarke Agree!” (People)

• Scary: Rachel Bilson (Summer, The O.C.) obtained a restraining order against an alleged stalker. (The Blast)

• Watch Chris Pratt (Che, The O.C.) in the new Guardians of the Galaxy 3 trailer. (YouTube)

• And listen to Pratt and Rogen in the new Super Mario Bros. Movie trailer. (YouTube)

• Watch Ashley Benson (Riley, The O.C.) in the trailer for Angry Neighbors. (YouTube)

• Bella Thorne (Young Taylor, The O.C.) was named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list. (Forbes)

  • The judging panel included Gail Berman, who was an executive at FOX during the “O.C.” days.

• McG (executive producer, The O.C.) will direct and produce the Netflix movie Family Leave. (Deadline)

• McG has signed a development deal with Fox Entertainment. (Deadline)

• Angel Falls Christmas, one of last year’s holiday movies starring Chad Michael Murray (Lucas, One Tree Hill) and Jessica Lowndes (Adrianna, 90210), is not only now on Amazon but became one of the service’s most-watched movies on its first day. (TV Guide)

  • Also, I want to note that this movie aired last year on GAC Family, a network now rightly under fire. As many of our teen drama stars affiliated with the channel stay quiet or defend it, I encourage you all to read this very powerful statement from actor Neal Bledsoe, who appeared in an episode of the original “Gossip Girl.” (Variety)

• “Sun Records,” starring Murray and Trevor Donovan (Teddy, 90210), is now streaming on Paramount+. (Saving Country Music)

• Jana Kramer (Alex, One Tree Hill) revealed she’ll be appearing on “Chicago Fire.” (Instagram)

• Tyler Hilton (Chris, One Tree Hill) opened up about “Losing ‘Sweet, Talented, Hilarious’ Friend Aaron Carter.” (ET Canada)

• Bevin Prince (Bevin, One Tree Hill) was on the “1on1 with Jon Evans” podcast. (WECT)

  • A lot of outlets — including WECT itself — have wrongly said this is Prince’s first interview since losing her husband, but that isn’t true. She did two prior interviews that I shared last month. (TDW)

• “Dahmer,” starring Evan Peters (Jack, One Tree Hill), is now the “Third Netflix Series To Cross 1B Hours Viewed.” (Deadline)

• Watch Blake Lively (Serena, Gossip Girl) in a new Betty Buzz commercial. (Instagram)

• Taylor Momsen (Jenny, Gossip Girl) opened up about her “band’s ‘rebirth,’ processing grief, and whether she’ll ever act again.” (Elle)

• James Scully spoke adoringly about “You” co-star Penn Badgley (Dan, Gossip Girl). (Page Six)

• Joshua Safran (executive producer, Gossip Girl / creator, Gossip Girl spinoff) shared a Spotify playlist featuring music from season 2 of the new “Gossip Girl.” (Twitter)

• Also: Safran “Says the Season 2 Finale Reveals a Major Hint About Next Season.” (PopSugar)

  • As the piece notes, “Gossip Girl” hasn’t actually been renewed yet for a season 3.

• Promotion for the new season of the “Gossip Girl” spinoff included Kristen Bell (Gossip Girl, Gossip Girl) voicing announcements on the New York City subway. (Outfront Media)

• Amanda Warren (Camille, Gossip Girl spinoff) was given an honorable mention for “Performer of the Week” for her work in the “Gossip Girl” spinoff’s season 2 premiere. (TVLine)

  • Reminder that Warren also appeared on one episode of the original “Gossip Girl.”

  • ICYMI: Here’s my reaction to episodes 2.01 and 2.02. (TDW)

• Ryan Eggold (Ryan, 90210) will star in Amazon’s new Cross series. (Deadline)