Teen Drama Links for January 11, 2022

“The CW’s Parent Companies Put It Up for Adoption in a Teen-Drama Twist.”

That’s the genius headline from Vulture following last week’s The Wall Street Journal report that “WarnerMedia and ViacomCBS Inc. are exploring a possible sale of a significant stake or all of the CW Network.”

The CW, of course, was created in 2006 when The WB merged with UPN. It continued to air The WB’s “One Tree Hill,” then launched “Gossip Girl” in 2007 and “90210” in 2008. At the time, the network was strongly targeting young women before evolving in the years that followed to become more known for comics-inspired fare. In the roughly 16 years since its debut, The CW itself has never been profitable, but its parent companies were able to save money by using its own studios to produce its shows and were able to make money by selling international rights and streaming rights to the programs.

But in recent years, the streaming landscape has changed considerably, and the network’s “values to its owners has diminished” while “their priorities shift to their new platforms, Paramount+ and HBO Max,” according to WSJ’s follow-up report. In a memo to employees, CW chairman and CEO Mark Pedowitz insisted it’s “too early to speculate what might happen,” and added:

“So, what does this mean for us right now? It means we must continue to do what we do best, make The CW as successful and vibrant as we have always done. We have a lot of work ahead of us — with more original programming than ever, this season’s expansion to Saturday night, our growing digital and streaming platforms — and we thrive when we come together and build The CW together.”

Frankly, there won’t be any impact on our core teen dramas, since those no longer air on the network. But Greg Berlanti (executive producer, Dawson’s Creek), Josh Schwartz (creator, The O.C. / creator, Gossip Girl / executive producer, Gossip Girl spinoff), and Stephanie Savage (executive producer, The O.C. / creator, Gossip Girl / executive producer, Gossip Girl spinoff) could all be impacted down the line as they currently produce multiple CW shows.

And it’s why I appreciate Vulture’s headline so much. The CW may not be the teen drama destination that it once was, but this is still a pretty soap-worthy development.

Teen Drama Links for January 11, 2022

• “16 Celebrities Who Supported Trump In 2020 And What They Say About Him Now” (BuzzFeed)

• “21 Songs That Were Absolutely, 100% Perfect Choices For These TV Moments” (BuzzFeed)

• “32 Impeccably Executed Hero-To-Villain Transformations From TV And Movies” (BuzzFeed)

• “17 Kid Characters Who Made The Show Or Movie They Were In Insufferable” (BuzzFeed)

• “19 Times TV And Movie Series Started A Storyline And Realized Halfway Through They Hated It...So They Completely Dropped It And Pretended It Had Never Happened” (BuzzFeed)

• “25 Controversial 2000s Opinions Millennials Secretly Agree With, Even If They Are Incredibly Unpopular” (BuzzFeed)

• The return of “Euphoria” — season 2 premiered on Sunday, but I haven’t watched yet — has prompted a few references to our teen dramas in stories like the below…

  • “‘Euphoria’ again pushes boundaries with its latest dreary injection of teen angst” (CNN)

  • “‘Euphoria’ Is Back & It’s Still Peak Gen Z Yassification” (Refinery29)

  • “‘Euphoria,’ Gen Z’s teen classic, returns” (TheGrio)

  • “7 Shows Like HBO’s ‘Euphoria’” (Decider)

• “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “Dawson’s Creek” are ranked in “10 Best Teen Shows Of The 1990s.” (CBR)

• Tori Spelling (Donna, Beverly Hills, 90210) announced she and the rest of her family are battling COVID-19. (Instagram)

  • That is presumably why there was no “9021OMG” last week and again this week.

• “Emily in Paris,” created by Darren Star (creator, Beverly Hills, 90210) and starring Lily Collins (Phoebe, 90210), has been renewed for seasons 3 and 4 at Netflix. (Deadline)

• David Arquette (Diesel, Beverly Hills, 90210) is doing a lot of press for Scream 5.

  • “David Arquette Spray Paints Bozo in Brooklyn” (The New York Times)

  • “David Arquette on Returning to ‘Scream,’ Bozo the Clown and the Review That Makes Him Laugh” (Variety)

  • “David Arquette on 25 Years of ‘Scream’” (Live with Kelly and Ryan)

    • There are multiple video clips from Arquette’s appearance on the show’s YouTube page.

  • “They Screamed, We Screamed. Now They’re in ‘Scream’ Again.” (The New York Times)

  • “David Arquette & Oliver Hudson” (Watch What Happens Live)

  • “Scream Cast Answers Questions About Being on Set” (The Drew Barrymore Show)

    • There are multiple video clips from Arquette’s appearance on the show’s YouTube page.

• The red carpet premiere of Scream 5, which was executive-produced by Kevin Williamson (creator, Dawson’s Creek) and filmed in Wilmington where “Dawson’s Creek” and “One Tree Hill” were shot, has been canceled due to the pandemic. (Deadline)

• Missed this last month: Arquette and Scott Foley (Cliff, Dawson’s Creek) are co-starring in the film adaptation of The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry. (Deadline)

  • Lucy Hale (Hadley, The O.C.) is both starring in and executive-producing the movie.

• Berlanti is interviewed in “Anatomy of TV hit ‘You’: right book, creators, global reach.” (The Associated Press)

  • “You,” of course, stars Penn Badgley (Dan, Gossip Girl).

• Peter Bogdanovich, the director of The Last Picture Show, which played a pivotal role in one of my favorite “Dawson’s Creek” episodes, died last week at age 82. (The Hollywood Reporter)

• Oliver Hudson (Eddie, Dawson’s Creek) made the media rounds to support FOX’s “The Cleaning Lady.”

  • “Elodie Yung, Oliver Hudson talk about ‘The Cleaning Lady’” (FOX 7)

  • “Stars of new Fox series ‘The Cleaning Lady’ talk crime scene cleanup, inner strength” (WSVN)

  • “Oliver Hudson Talks About ‘The Cleaning Lady’” (Live with Kelly and Ryan)

    • There are multiple video clips from Hudson’s appearance on the show’s YouTube page.

  • “LISTEN: Actor Oliver Hudson Talks New FOX Show ‘The Cleaning Lady’ & More!” (On with Mario Lopez)

  • “David Arquette & Oliver Hudson” (Watch What Happens Live)

• Brittany Daniel (Eve, Dawson’s Creek) revealed “She Had a Baby Using Her Twin Sister Cynthia’s Donor Egg.” (People)

  • The full story is in the January 17 issue of People.

• Watch the first trailer for Hulu’s “Pam & Tommy” with Seth Rogen (Bob, Dawson’s Creek) and Sebastian Stan (Carter, Gossip Girl). (YouTube)

• Rogen, Alexandra Breckenridge (Kate, Dawson’s Creek), Paul Wesley (Donnie, The O.C.), Sophia Bush (Brooke, One Tree Hill), and Hilarie Burton (Peyton, One Tree Hill) are included in this look at “Celebs Turning 40 in 2022.” (Wonderwall)

• “The O.C.” is highlighted in “10 Of The Most Memorable Pilot Episodes From the 21st Century.” (Collider)

• Rachel Bilson (Summer, The O.C.) and Justin Bieber had an exchange about “The O.C.” on Instagram. (E! Online)

• Bush did quite a few interviews to promote “Good Sam,” some of which focused partially on “One Tree Hill.”

  • “Sophia Bush calls ‘One Tree Hill’ podcast a reclamation from the show’s toxic environment” (CBS News)

  • “Sophia Bush flexes her medical skills” (KCTV5)

  • “‘I didn’t want to be stuck’: Sophia Bush talks return to network TV after ‘Chicago P.D.’ ‘assault’” (USA Today)

    • Bush mentions “Good Sam” executive producer Jennie Snyder Urman (co-executive producer, 90210) in this one.

  • “‘Good Sam’s Sophia Bush Talks Creating a Positive Work Environment With ‘Deep Respect’ for Everyone on Set” (TVLine)

  • “Sophia Bush on the ‘Aggravating’ Father-Daughter Relationship in ‘Good Sam’” (TV Insider)

  • “Sophia Bush Says New CBS Drama ‘Good Sam’ Is ‘centered on helping’” (The Talk)

• Violinist Lindsey Stirling used clips of Bush on “One Tree Hill” to reveal she wrote the theme song for “Good Sam.” (TikTok)

• Torrey DeVitto (Carrie, One Tree Hill) gave a “Behind-the-Scenes Look” at her “Cruelty-Free Lifestyle.” (VegOut)

• The “I Know What You Did Last Summer” series, created by Sara Goodman (executive producer, Gossip Girl), has been canceled by Amazon after one season. (Deadline)

• Season 3 of “The Boys,” starring Chace Crawford (Nate, Gossip Girl), will premiere on Amazon Prime on June 3. (TVLine)

  • Jensen Ackles (CJ, Dawson’s Creek) will also be in the new episodes.

• Blake Lively (Serena, Gossip Girl) and husband Ryan Reynolds, who co-owns the Wrexham A.F.C. soccer team, made a donation to a fundraiser for the family of player Jordan Davies, whose son was stillborn. (People)

• Hilary Duff (Olivia, Gossip Girl) was on last night’s episode of “The Bachelor.” (Twitter)

• Watch Kristen Bell (Gossip Girl, Gossip Girl) in the full trailer for Netflix’s “The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window.” (YouTube)

• Watch the trailer for Peacock’s “Bel-Air,” co-executive-produced by JaNeika and JaSheika James (co-executive producers, Gossip Girl spinoff). (YouTube)

  • Related: “First ‘Bel-Air’ trailer gives off serious ‘O.C.’ vibes: ‘I’m definitely watching this’” (Yahoo)

• Jason Gotay (Rafa, Gossip Girl spinoff) appeared on “The Broadway Show with Tamsen Fadal” to discuss his role on the new “Gossip Girl.” (Broadway.com)

• Lori Loughlin (Debbie, 90210) released a statement in the aftermath of Bob Saget’s passing. (TVLine)

• The aforementioned Urman will executive-produce and co-write a TV adaptation of Soapdish for Paramount+. (Deadline)