Teen Drama Links for January 28, 2025

You may have noticed I have been limited in what I’ve included in “Teen Drama links” about the Blake Lively (Serena, Gossip Girl) battle with Justin Baldoni.

I haven’t covered every tit-for-tat, every statement from her side and his side, every hot take, every rumor.

This is for a number of reasons.

One, it’s all kind of overwhelming. There are new things, if not multiple new things, every day. All the twists and turns are hard to keep up with and some, frankly, aren’t even verifiable.

Two, so much of it is a “she said, he said,” with dueling lawsuits, court filings and press statements. Who’s right? Who’s wrong? What’s being exaggerated or distorted? Hell if I know.

It feels safer and fairer, accuracy wise, to report major legal developments — such as the trial date being set yesterday — and otherwise let things play out. There are plenty of other outlets you can read for the gossip, the scandal, the salaciousness. TeenDramaWhore will not be one of them.

That said, I will note if a relevant teen drama connection arises, such as pointing out the remark from Michelle Trachtenberg (Georgina, Gossip Girl) last week. Here’s another one: The judge overseeing the legal case is Lewis Liman, brother of Doug Liman, who directed the pilot of “The O.C.” and was an executive producer for the show’s first season. To take it further, “The O.C.” was created by Josh Schwartz, who then created “Gossip Girl,” on which Lively starred. Small world.

As a former entertainment journalist, I completely understand why Lively vs. Baldoni was one of the biggest pop culture stories last year and continues to be this year. I already know now in January that this saga will be part of my teen drama year-in-review on December 30. But in the meantime, I plan to be more of an observer of the hysteric coverage than a participant.

Teen Drama Links for January 28, 2025

Listicle Links

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

• “24 Inappropriate Hollywood Castings Where A Literal Child Played An Adult’s Love Interest” (BuzzFeed)

• “People Are Talking About The Actors They Thought Were Going To ‘Blow Up, But Ended Up Going Nowhere,’ And TBH, I Forgot About A Lot Of These Actors?!?!” (BuzzFeed)

• “Jenna Bush Hager Makes ‘90210’ Reference To ‘Today’ Guest Host Kelsea Ballerini — Who’s Never Seen It Before: ‘Cause You’re Young’” (Decider)

  • They mean “Beverly Hills, 90210” — not “90210.” Sigh. (TDW)

  • Furthermore, Hager named the wrong R.E.M. song — and who did the dumping. Double sigh.

• “9@9: The time we spoofed Dawson’s Creek” (WGN)

• “How the Late Linda Lavin Will Be Written Out of the Upcoming Hulu Comedy Mid-Century Modern” (TVLine)

• “One Tree Hill fans say they ‘don't want’ reboot without beloved characters — and I agree” (The Mirror)

  • I don’t want it at all. (TDW)

• “How Much It Costs To Be Brooke Davis From One Tree Hill For A Day” (Elite Daily)

  • There’s at least one mistake here.

• “From Sarah Michelle Gellar to Chad Michael Murray: all the 90s teen stars making a comeback for 2025” (The Standard)

• “Shantel VanSanten’s 10 Best Movies And TV Shows” (Screen Rant)

• “UES prep school that inspired ‘Gossip Girl’ to expand into East Harlem” (Crain’s New York Business)

• “Taylor Swift Went Full Blair Waldorf at the Chiefs Game in Red Tights and a Prep School Miniskirt” (Glamour)

• “Kristen Bell’s 10 Best Movies And TV Shows” (Screen Rant)

• “10 Lesser-Known Sebastian Stan Roles That Show His Underrated Talent” (Movieweb)

• “10 Will-They-Won’t-They Romances That Went On Too Long” (Screen Rant)

• “10 TV Deaths The Killer Really Shouldn’t Have Been Forgiven For” (Screen Rant)

  • Related: The Redemption of Dan Scott (TDW)

• “10 Poorly Executed Character Redemption Arcs In TV Shows That Hurt The Storytelling” (Screen Rant)

• “32 Movies And TV Shows Featuring The Gilmore Girls Cast” (Cinemablend)

• “10 Shows Like Netflix’s My Life With The Walter Boys You Should Watch” (Looper)

• “The 10 Best Coming-of-Age Shows of All Time, Ranked” (Collider)

• “The 10 Best Guilty Pleasure Shows, Ranked” (Collider)

• “The 10 Most Shocking TV Finales of the 21st Century, Ranked” (Collider)

• “From ‘Modern Family’ to ‘Breaking Bad’: 25 Stars Who Reprised Their TV Characters for Ads” (TV Insider)

• “The Cousin Oliver All-Stars: TV’s Worst Character Additions Ever From Buffy, The Office, Game of Thrones and More” (TVLine)

• “All in the Family: Considering Television’s Orphan Plot” (Lit Hub)

  • I went to high school with the author of this and was close friends with her brother for a time.

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Best of the Rest

• Several projects with teen drama connections were nominated for the GLAAD Media Awards. (Deadline)

• Several projects with teen drama connections will screen at SXSW. (Deadline)

• Several people with teen drama connections have signed a “Stay in LA” petition advocating for increased film and television production in Los Angeles in the wake of the wildfires. (#StayinLA)

• Jason Priestley (Brandon, Beverly Hills, 90210) will be at the “FACTS” convention in Belgium in April. (Instagram)

• Glimpse Hilary Swank (Carly, Beverly Hills, 90210) in the season 3 trailer for “Yellowjackets.” (YouTube)

• Swank’s ex-husband, Chad Lowe, lost his home in the fires. (Entertainment Tonight)

• Lucy Liu (Courtney, Beverly Hills, 90210) did more press for Presence.

  • “Lucy Liu Talks About the Making of ‘Presence’” (Live with Kelly and Mark)

    • There’s an additional clip.

  • “Lucy Liu Talks Filming In Haunted House For New Horror Movie” (The View)

  • “Lucy Liu Says She’s Down for a Charlie’s Angels Reunion, Talks Starring in Presence” (The Tonight Show)

    • There’s an additional clip.

  • “Multi-hyphenate Lucy Liu steps into her horror role in ‘Presence’” (NBC News)

  • “Lucy Liu has spirited take on ‘Presence’” (Boston Herald)

  • “Lucy Liu spills on movie ‘Presence,’ what’s in her go bag and her dream day off” (USA Today)

  • “Lucy Liu Can Explain What Happens at the End of Presence” (Vanity Fair)

  • “Lucy Liu and Callina Liang on Ghosts, Skin Care, and Working With Steven Soderbergh on Presence” (Vogue)

  • “Lucy Liu and Chris Sullivan Talk Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Presence’” (Moviefone)

  • “The Identity Of Presence’s Ghost Will Challenge Audience’s Perception Of Steven Soderbergh’s New Horror Movie, Stars Lucy Liu & Chris Sullivan Tease” (Screen Rant)

  • “Lucy Liu and Chris Sullivan talk family and the haunting POV of ‘Presence’” (The Mary Sue)

  • …and more.

• Gabriel Macht, who appeared on “Beverly Hills, 90210,” is promoting his involvement with Bear Fight Whiskey.

  • “Gabriel Macht Is Getting ‘Creative’ with a New Venture — and It’s a Departure from Suits’ Harvey Specter” (People)

  • “Gabriel Macht Won’t ‘Tell Anybody’ Where He Lives with Wife and Kids After Leaving U.S.” (People)

• Busy Philipps (Audrey, Dawson’s Creek) hosted a conversation with Gretchen Whitmer last night in honor of the governor’s new young adult book. (Instagram)

• Watch Scott Foley (Cliff, Dawson’s Creek) in the trailer for Netflix’s La Dolce Villa. (YouTube)

• Jonathan Lipnicki (Buzz, Dawson’s Creek) did interviews for “The Joe Schmo Show.”

  • “‘The Joe Schmo Show’: Cat Deeley, Jonathan Lipnicki & Ben Frisone Preview the Show’s Return” (TV Insider)

  • “Jonathan Lipnicki Reveals Real Reason He Didn’t Act as Much in 2000s” (E! Online)

• “The White Lotus,” created by Mike White (producer, Dawson’s Creek), was renewed for season 4 by HBO in advance of its season 3 premiere. (Deadline)

  • Here’s the new trailer for season 3, starring Walton Goggins, who appeared on “Beverly Hills, 90210.” (YouTube)

  • Also: Hunter Harris (writer, Gossip Girl spinoff) was on “The White Lotus Official Podcast.” (Apple Podcasts)

• Watch Ben McKenzie (Ryan, The O.C.) in the trailer for Bloat. (YouTube)

• Mischa Barton (Marissa, The O.C.) appears in a PSA calling attention to poor funding for Ontario public schools. (Instagram)

• Mercy, starring Chris Pratt (Che, The O.C.), will hit theaters in January 2026 instead of an originally scheduled summer 2025 release. (Deadline)

• Pratt teased his appearance in a Super Bowl commercial for Ray-Ban and Meta. (Instagram)

• Paul Wesley (Donnie, The O.C.) is executive-producing an untitled vampire-themed comedy series for FOX. (Deadline)

• Barry Corbin (Whitey, One Tree Hill) has signed on for Friends With Benefit’s “The Show Must Go On” event. (Facebook)

• Lee Norris (Mouth, One Tree Hill) was on the “Pod Meets World” podcast. (Apple Podcasts)

• Shantel VanSanten (Quinn, One Tree Hill) will be participating in the American Lung Association’s “Fight for Air Climb” in Los Angeles next month. (Instagram)

• Watch Bryan Greenberg (Jake, One Tree Hill) and Stephen Amell (Jim, 90210) in the trailer for “Suits LA.” (YouTube)

  • You’ll also get a glimpse of the aforementioned Macht reprising his role from the original “Suits.”

• Andrew McMahon reflected on performing on “One Tree Hill.” (Rolling Stone)

• Sebastian Stan (Carter, Gossip Girl) was nominated for an Oscar for best actor for The Apprentice. (Deadline)

  • “Stars react to their 2025 acting Oscar nominations: ‘I’m still trying to breathe’” (Entertainment Weekly)

  • “Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong talk about playing Donald Trump and Roy Cohn in ‘The Apprentice’” (Los Angeles Times)

  • “Sebastian Stan’s Trump transformation is the boldest Oscar nomination in years” (GQ UK)

• Watch William Baldwin (William, Gossip Girl) in the trailer for No Address. (YouTube)

• Watch Meghann Fahy, who appeared on “Gossip Girl,” in the trailer for Drop. (YouTube)

• God Is An Astronaut, starring Michael Steger (Navid, 90210) and his wife Brandee Steger, will premiere at the DC Independent Film Festival next month with a panel featuring the couple. (Instagram)

• Reagan, featuring Trevor Donovan (Teddy, 90210), was nominated for worst picture — and several other categories — by the Razzies. (Variety)

• Keke Palmer (Elizabeth, 90210) did more press for One of Them Days and her recent memoir.

  • “Keke Palmer & Kelly Clarkson Vibe In Hilarious High-Energy Interview” (The Kelly Clarkson Show)

    • There is an additional clip.

  • “Would Keke Palmer Give a Damn If She Was In Dorit Kemsley’s Position?” (Watch What Happens Live)

    • There are additional clips.

  • “Keke Palmer Says Mom’s Cameo in One of Them Days ‘Made Me So Happy’: She ‘Showed Up and Showed Out’” (People)

  • “Keke Palmer Tried Going to Magic City Strip Club with SZA” (SiriusXM)

  • “Keke Palmer shares her love for Philadelphia” (NBC Philadelphia)

• Palmer will receive the Renaissance Award at next month’s American Black Film Festival Honors. (Variety)