Teen Drama Links for December 8, 2020

This week I’ve been thinking more about the concept of loyalty and fandom. Some fans have a favorite show and follow those producers and actors wherever they go, whatever they do. I’m not necessarily that person.

As I’ve already explained, I believe there is a difference between being a fan and being a sycophant. But I understand why, for example, there is the whole “Shondaland” concept, with “Grey’s Anatomy” fans subsequently also becoming fans of virtually every other show Shonda Rhimes has produced. Or, as another example, I get why viewers follow, say, Kristen Bell from show to show.

And that’s why I’m wondering whether news below about two former teen drama producers will intrigue fans. Will simply having produced one of our favorite shows in the past be enough to get you to watch their new shows in the future? I myself won’t make any decisions until we get some trailers…

Teen Drama Links for December 8, 2020

• This was fun and clever: “If You Can’t Figure Out Which Teen Drama I’m Talking About From These Descriptions, Sorry, You’re Not Allowed To Watch Them Anymore.” (Buzzfeed)

  • It was actually kind of challenging! I only got seven correct out of nine (though one of them I got wrong was factually inaccurate), but that was still enough for me to be declared a “teen drama EXPERT!” I won’t disagree.

• This quiz asking “How Much Random And Basic Celeb 101 Knowledge Do You Have?” features a teen drama question. (Buzzfeed)

  • As a former entertainment journalist, I’m quite mad at myself for getting two questions wrong.

• I decided to watch four of this year’s holiday movies starring teen drama stars. My favorite was Too Close for Christmas, followed by Feliz NaviDAD, USS Christmas, and Dear Christmas.

  • Too Close for Christmas stars Chad Michael Murray (Lucas, One Tree Hill) and Jessica Lowndes (Adrianna, 90210).

    • He called working with her “fantastic.” (HollywoodLife)

      • Of possibly doing something with Hilarie Burton (Peyton, One Tree Hill), he said, “A year ago, we had a conversation, and I’ll just say it was a good conversation… We just don’t know what that’s going to be yet.”

  • Feliz NaviDAD stars AnnaLynne McCord (Naomi, 90210).

  • USS Christmas stars Trevor Donovan (Teddy, 90210) and was filmed in Wilmington, North Carolina, where “Dawson’s Creek” and “One Tree Hill” were shot.

    • I didn’t realize this at first, but this movie also features Paul Teal (Josh, One Tree Hill).

  • Dear Christmas stars Jason Priestley (Brandon, Beverly Hills, 90210).

• On last week’s “9-OH! News,” I discussed the “9021OMG” podcast and shared some teen drama connections. (YouTube)

• The “Beverly Hills 90210 Show” Patreon has released some interesting subscriber-only podcasts since launching last month. (Patreon)

  • The first one focused on season 9’s “You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello” with the episode’s writers, Gretchen J. Berg and Aaron Harberts. Most interesting to me was they confirmed they never had any plans to bring back Shannen Doherty (Brenda, Beverly Hills, 90210) in seasons 9 and 10, with Harberts also expressing how much he loved Kelly (Jennie Garth, Beverly Hills, 90210) and Dylan (Luke Perry, Beverly Hills, 90210) together.

  • Dan Attias, who directed 20 episodes of the show as well as an episode of “The O.C.,” appeared to discuss season 1’s “East Side Story.”

  • Melanie Smith (Alyssa, Beverly Hills, 90210) talked about her one-episode role in season 3, as well as her stint on “Seinfeld.”

  • Leslie Bega (Marianne, Beverly Hills, 90210) opened up about her involvement in the pilot and detailed her time on “The Sopranos.”

    • During the chat, Charles Rosin (executive producer, Beverly Hills, 90210) revealed he wanted to develop storylines for Bega’s character and was disappointed to learn there weren’t intentions to keep her beyond the pilot.

  • Clips of Garth and Paige Moss (Tara, Beverly Hills, 90210) discussing their season 6 storyline previously appeared on the main podcast, but now the whole thing was released just for subscribers.

• Garth has partnered with Stylecon to sell shirts and sweatshirts with Kelly’s iconic season 5 quote, “I choose me.” (Instagram)

  • Garth hasn’t made clear whether she’s profiting off this. The quote, for the record, was written by Jessica Klein (executive producer, Beverly Hills, 90210).

    • In contrast, Murray, for example, often offers Lucas-inspired merchandise, but it’s always to raise money for charitable organizations, like St. Jude’s.

  • Also odd is that the only products Stylecon is offering are these.

• The trailer for “The Masked Dancer” features Brian Austin Green in his role as one of the panelists. And he’s looking mighty sharp in his fancy suits. (TVLine)

  • As I previously noted, Ashley Tisdale (Nicole, Beverly Hills, 90210) is also a panelist.

• The trailer for Fatale starring Hilary Swank (Carly, Beverly Hills, 90210) was released. The movie will open in theaters on December 18. (Deadline)

  • I am just going to say it: Please do not go to the movies. It is not safe. Period.

• Shiri Appleby (Renee, Beverly Hills, 90210), Kerr Smith (Jack, Dawson’s Creek), and Arielle Kebbel (Vanessa, 90210) participated in a virtual “Life Unexpected” reunion that raised funds for Fair Fight, which advocates for fair elections. (YouTube)

• “In Honor of Its 12,000th Episode, 12 Stars Who Appeared on ‘The Young and the Restless’” features Eddie Cibrian (Casey, Beverly Hills, 90210), Adam Brody (Seth, The O.C.), and Penn Badgley (Dan, Gossip Girl). (People)

  • Also included is Eva Longoria who, like Cibrian, appeared on one episode of “Beverly Hills, 90210,” but her character was simply named “Flight Attendant #3.”

• So, “It’s Time To Decide Once And For All Who Would Win Out Of These Iconic Queen Bees,” at least according to these polls, which include characters from “Beverly Hills, 90210,” “The O.C.,” “One Tree Hill,” “Gossip Girl,” and “90210.” (Buzzfeed)

• Busy Philipps (Audrey, Dawson’s Creek) seems to be channeling her season 6 hairstyle for a new role. (Instagram)

• “Dawson’s Creek” is listed in “17 Of The Best Teen Shows You Can Stream On Netflix.” (Buzzfeed)

• “16 TV Teachers Who Seemed Completely Normal But Were Actually The Worst” includes teachers from “Dawson’s Creek” and “Gossip Girl.” (Buzzfeed)

• In an article on “Gilmore Girls,” it’s asserted, “While the series shared a glossy visual aesthetic with other WB shows from the era, like the teen dramas ‘Dawson’s Creek’ and ‘One Tree Hill,’ the writing set it apart.” (New York Times)

  • One of the show’s directors is quoted as saying, “The scripts were ‘very sophisticated and brilliant, and we were on this new network that was teenybopper shows.’” Teenybopper? This wasn’t the Disney Channel…

    • And this director, Jamie Babbit, went onto direct one episode of “Gossip Girl” and two episodes of “90210,” so her diss seems a bit hypocritical to me.

• This headline made me chuckle: “I Think About George Lucas’s Cameo on ‘The O.C.’ a Lot.” (The Cut)

  • Michael Lange, who directed the episode with Lucas, spoke with me about it at length in our 2010 interview. (TDW)

• This quiz promises, “Plan A Chrismukkah From ‘The O.C.’ And We’ll Tell You If You Belong With Seth Or Ryan.” (Buzzfeed)

  • I got Seth: “You and Seth are a match made in heaven! Bad boys are great, but you prefer the cute, nerdy guys any day. You and Seth would bond over your love for comics and superhero movies. He’d treat you like a queen and give you amazing kisses in the rain — just be prepared to hear him talk a lot!” Well… I’m actually a Ryan girl, so…

• On a related note, “The O.C.” is included in this: “8 of the best Hanukkah-themed TV episodes to watch.” (Insider)

  • Tomorrow’s essay for premium TDW subscribers will relate to this topic as well.

• Bella Thorne looked back at her role as Young Taylor on “The O.C.” (PeopleTV)

• Rachel Kaplan, who helped develop “The O.C.” and “Gossip Girl” as the vice president of drama development for Warner Bros. Television, has started her own production company and signed a deal with WBTV. (Deadline)

• “I’m Genuinely Curious Which Of These TV And Movie Brothers You Think Is The Hottest” naturally includes the Scott Brothers of “One Tree Hill.” (Buzzfeed)

  • Also included is Jensen Ackles (CJ, Dawson’s Creek) in his “Supernatural” role and Badgley’s character in John Tucker Must Die, which also starred Sophia Bush (Brooke, One Tree Hill). That’s in addition to featuring Paul Wesley (Donnie, The O.C.) and Jackson Rathbone (Justin, The O.C.) as well.

• Bevin Prince (Bevin, One Tree Hill) has moved back to Wilmington and opened an outdoor cycling studio. (StarNews)

• Matt Barr (Psycho Derek, One Tree Hill) has been cast on “Walker,” The CW’s reboot of “Walker, Texas Ranger.” (Entertainment Weekly)

• John A. Norris (co-producer, One Tree Hill) will be the showrunner for IMDb TV’s “Motorheads,” which is being described as a teen drama. (Deadline)

• “The best Christmas movies on Amazon Prime right now” includes 2013’s Christmas on the Bayou and 2018’s The Christmas Contract, both of which starred “One Tree Hill” cast members. (Entertainment Weekly)

  • Another film listed stars Denise Richards (Robin, Beverly Hills, 90210 / Denise, BH90210), while another featured stars Dean Cain (Rick, Beverly Hills, 90210) and Kristy Swanson, who co-starred with Perry in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

  • While named one of the “best” above, Christmas on the Bayou is named one of the “worst” in “Binge this: Who's best in the battle of the TV Christmas movies?” Christmas in Mississippi, starring Jana Kramer (Alex, One Tree Hill) is declared the “best.” (The Advocate)

• Apparently, “That Iconic ‘Gossip Girl’ Thanksgiving Scene Is Trending On TikTok.” (Buzzfeed)

  • Reminder: You can look back at all of the teen drama Thanksgiving episodes. (TDW)

  • Also: Jason Derulo’s “Whatcha Say” is based on Imogen Heap’s “Hide and Seek,” which was first used to great success in “The O.C.” and was featured this year in “Normal People.”

• My Serenate heart loved “18 Reasons Why Nate And Serena From ‘Gossip Girl’ Should Have Been Endgame.” (Buzzfeed)

• Here’s another quiz: “Which ‘Gossip Girl’ Character Are You Based On The Wild Brunch Party You Throw?” (Buzzfeed)

  • I got Nate: “Well, if it isn't the golden boy! Like Nate, you're easygoing, friendly, and can get along with almost anyone. You sometimes feel misunderstood or insecure — you wonder if people really like the real you. You’re a true friend and a hopeless romantic with a heart of gold.” Those last two sentences are pretty darn accurate, I must say!

• This one is more of a test: “Each Main Character Of ‘Gossip Girl’ Has Dated A Lot But Can You Identify These 16 Significant Others?” (Buzzfeed)

  • I thought it was going to be really hard, but I surprisingly got a perfect score: “If no one has told you this yet, I will. You're one of the biggest ‘Gossip Girl’ fans ever! You're the type of person who can watch the show countless times and always be amused. Well done!” Ha!

• I thought this was creative: “We Pretended To Be Gossip Girl And Wrote A Grievance Letter To 2020.” (Elle India)

• Kristen Bell (Gossip Girl, Gossip Girl) was among the stars honored during the “MTV Movie & TV Awards: Greatest of All Time” special. (MTV)

• Armie Hammer (Gabriel, Gossip Girl) will star in “The Offer,” a TV series about the making of The Godfather, for Paramount Plus. (Variety)

• Jennie Snyder Urman (co-executive producer, 90210) is developing two dramas for CBS. (Deadline)

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