Teen Drama Links for June 6, 2023

While the current Writers Guild of America strike has no impact on our teen dramas, especially since the “Gossip Girl” spinoff was canceled earlier this year, it’s nonetheless interesting to look at this union action and its preceding one through a teen drama lens.

To start, let’s go back to 2007-2008, when the last WGA strike took place. I was in my junior year of college and had not yet started the original TeenDramaWhore. I don’t remember all the intricacies of the strike, but I do, of course, remember the impacts on our teen drama world.

“One Tree Hill” was embarking on its fifth season when the strike began in November of 2007. As a result, The CW pushed the season premiere to January 2008 and reduced the number of ordered episodes. Instead of an amount similar to the 21 episodes we got for season 4, season 5 was ultimately limited to just 18. (Of course, that’s still a lot by today’s standards.) Perhaps understandably, some fans still complain today that certain storylines that season — particularly Leyton’s — were rushed.

Meanwhile, “Gossip Girl” premiered as planned that September, but due to the work stoppage, the series went on hiatus in January. This ended up being beneficial for the series in a significant way: The CW reaired the existing episodes, building a fan base for the show before new installments resumed in April. However, as executive producer Joshua Safran (who went on to create the spinoff) recently recalled to The Ringer, the strike was detrimental to the series’ development as well.

Although, as I said above, none of our teen dramas are affected by this present-day strike, namely because none of the core TDs are in production anymore, there are at least two notable teen drama aspects to what’s going on today. Firstly, a key player in this strike is Meredith Stiehm, who was a writer on “Beverly Hills, 90210” for seasons 5 and 6. Today, Stiehm is president of WGA West and has been very vocal about the ongoing events.

Secondly, because TV production has come to a standstill due to the strike, The CW — once home to several of our teen dramas — did not order a single new scripted series for the fall. Rather, the network opted to pick up already-produced shows from other countries, such as Canada’s “Sullivan’s Crossing” starring Chad Michael Murray (Lucas, One Tree Hill). While it’s been upsetting to see The CW we know and love essentially be decimated by its new owners, Nexstar, the irony is that the network is now among the channels best-positioned to weather the strike’s impacts. Between foreign imports, unscripted shows, and sports programming, The CW is well-prepared for the strike to last for months.

When the strike will actually end, I’ll leave that theorizing to the industry experts. But as the effects of the ‘07-’08 strike reverberated for years, there is no doubt the impacts of this one will too. For better and for worse.

Note: There will be no “Teen Drama Links” next week as I’ll be in Los Angeles for a work trip. You’ll get an extra-long edition on June 20 — or, if I’m feeling very tired, an extra-extra-long edition on June 27.

Teen Drama Links for June 6, 2023

Listicle Links

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

• “How James Van Der Beek Became Fox News’ New Hero” (The Daily Beast)

  • Sadly, this isn’t surprising, as this article explains: “James Van Der Beek’s Anti-Biden TikTok Rant Makes More Sense If You Know His Wife” (Jezebel)

  • This headline made me laugh: “FOX ‘News,’ James Van Der Beek Remind Us Why We’re Pacey Fans” (Bleeding Cool)

• “Critics Appreciation: ‘Party Down’ Star Ken Marino Holds It All Together” (The Hollywood Reporter)

• “Ben McKenzie and Morena Baccarin’s Sweetest Family Photos With Their 3 Kids Over the Years: Pics” (Us Weekly)

• “What Your Favorite ‘One Tree Hill’ Character Says About You” (CordCutting)

  • Reminder: I work for CordCutting’s parent company and am tangentially involved in its operations. I may or may not have suggested we start writing about “One Tree Hill” ;-)

• “The One Tree Hill Character For Your Sign Will Give You Peace Of Mind” (Elite Daily)

• “There’s A New Shirtless Video Of Chad Michael Murray, And The Internet Is Talking” (BuzzFeed)

• “Birthday Spotlight: Gregory Harrison” (Soap Opera Digest)

• “How Gossip Girl Season 1 Set a Standard for the Rest of the Series” (TV Overmind)

• “10 Things You Didn’t Know About Gossip Girl’s Leighton Meester” (TV Overmind)

• “8 Things You Didn’t Know About Gossip Girl’s Kelly Rutherford” (TV Overmind)

• “You Have to See Blake Lively’s Red Hair In Serena Van der Woodsen Waves” (Allure)

• “The best Thomas Doherty movies and TV shows” (We Got This Covered)

• “10 TV Couples Who Never Should’ve Gotten Back Together” (CBR)

  • Related: Chuck and Blair: An Abusive Relationship? (TDW)

• “10 TV Shows That Were Criticized By Their Actors” (CBR)

• “10 Popular Drama Shows With More Bad Episodes Than Good” (CBR)

• “10 Most Selfish TV Characters We Can’t Stand, Ranked” (Movieweb)

• “15 Unexpected TV Cameo Appearances by Movie Stars” (Movieweb)

• “9 Most Unlikeable Main Characters in Television” (CordCutting)

• “10 Iconic Movie and TV Roles That Were Almost Played by Someone Else” (PopCulture)

• “44 Worst TV Show Endings That Left Fans Disappointed” (Bored Panda)

• “10 pivotal on-screen moments that changed LGBT+ representation forever” (We Got This Covered)

  • Can you spot the mistake?

  • Related: The Evolution of LGBTQ Teen Drama Characters (TDW)

• “18 LGBTQ+ Shows That Got Canceled in 2023 (So Far) (Out)

• “13 celebrities who dyed their hair for an iconic role” (Insider)

• “Mixing Business With Pleasure: 13 Co-Stars Who Famously Dated” (Parade)

• “The Unforgettable Theme Songs From These 8 Iconic TV Shows” (TheThings)

  • Related: The Teen Drama Theme Songs (TDW)

• “Pride Month: Inside The Uber Stylish Wardrobes Of On-screen Queer Characters” (Republic World)

• “Mayor of Kingstown Cast and Character Guide” (Movieweb)

• “Elvis Presley In ‘Walk The Line’ ‘Memba Him?!” (TMZ)

• “EXCLUSIVE! Khloe Rose opens up about the love triangle that inspired her newest single” (GirlsLife)

  • Interestingly, Rose says this song was inspired by Peyton-Lucas-Brooke on “One Tree Hill,” but I think it’s far more fitting for Peyton-Lucas-Lindsey.

  • Related: The Essential Teen Drama Love Triangles (TDW)

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Best of the Rest

• Barry Bonds (Barry, Beverly Hills, 90210) will be the subject of an HBO documentary. (Deadline)

• Watch Aaron Paul, who appeared on “Beverly Hills, 90210,” in the full trailer for the new season of “Black Mirror.” (YouTube)

• Eva Longoria, who also appeared on “Beverly Hills, 90210,” is doing press for her feature directorial debut, Flamin’ Hot.

  • “Eva Longoria Shares How ‘Flamin’ Hot’ Was a Family Affair and If Her Son Has Tasted a Hot Cheeto” (Entertainment Tonight)

  • “Exclusive: Eva Longoria Reveals Her Mexican Superpowers Discussing Flamin’ Hot” (Movieweb)

  • “Eva Longoria: from Desperate Housewife to political activist” (The Times)

  • “Eva Longoria Would Join ‘Desperate Housewives’ Reboot” (Access Hollywood)

  • “How Eva Longoria Took Control in Hollywood: ‘I Don’t Want to Ask Anybody for Permission’” (Parade)

  • “Eva Longoria Wore This $10 Lipstick on the Cannes Red Carpet” (Harper’s Bazaar)

    • Despite the headline, this is an interview.

• Longoria was also honored at The Hollywood Reporter’s “Raising Our Voices” event.

  • “‘Can I Invite You to Think Differently About Me?’ A Candid Convo Between THR Trailblazers Eva Longoria and Niecy Nash-Betts” (The Hollywood Reporter)

  • “Taika Waititi, Eva Longoria and Niecy Nash-Betts Talk Leading the Diversity Charge at The Hollywood Reporter’s Raising Our Voices Luncheon” (The Hollywood Reporter)

• Julie Plec (producer, Dawson’s Creek) spoke about the writers strike during a panel at the ATX Television Festival. (Deadline)

• Jensen Ackles (CJ, Dawson’s Creek) revealed “The Winchesters,” which he and wife Danneel Ackles (Rachel, One Tree Hill) executive-produced, will not be continuing elsewhere after being canceled by The CW. (Twitter)

• Rachael Leigh Cook (Devon, Dawson’s Creek) was on the “Broad Ideas” podcast hosted by Rachel Bilson (Summer, The O.C.). (Apple Podcasts)

• A New York townhouse once occupied by Mischa Barton (Marissa, The O.C.) is for sale. (New York Post)

• The “Bye Bitches” podcast, hosted by Melinda Clarke (Julie, The O.C.) and her daughter CG, launched last week with Tate Donovan (Jimmy, The O.C.) as the first guest. (YouTube)

  • Also last week, Clarke and Bilson hosted their first monthly Zoom chat for the tier three “Bye Bitches” Patreon subscribers. It was a lot of fun!

• Barry Newman (Max, The O.C.) has died at age 92. (The Hollywood Reporter)

• Gail Berman, an executive at FOX during “The O.C.” era, was on “The Town” podcast to discuss the writers strike. (Spotify)

• Friends with Benefit announced a “One Tree Hill” “20th Anniversary Celebration” in Wilmington in September, with Chad Michael Murray (Lucas, One Tree Hill), James Lafferty (Nathan, One Tree Hill), and Stephen Colletti (Chase, One Tree Hill) the first cast members confirmed to attend. (Facebook)

  • This will be held the same weekend as the previously announced charity basketball game, which Murray, Lafferty, and Colletti are participating in as well. (TDW)

• Bethany Joy Lenz (Haley, One Tree Hill) will be performing at Voices for Valor tomorrow. (Instagram)

• Sophia Bush (Brooke, One Tree Hill) is part of the voice guest cast for season two of “Teenage Euthanasia.” (Animation Magazine)

• Bush appears in a star-studded PSA urging fellow SAG-AFTRA members to vote in favor of a strike authorization. (Instagram)

  • The video also features Lukas Gage, who had a cameo in the “Gossip Girl” spinoff’s season / series finale.

• Hilarie Burton (Peyton, One Tree Hill) announced her second book, Grimoire Girl, will come out in October. (Instagram)

  • Also: “Hilarie Burton Morgan on Building a Better Life Through ‘Magic and Mischief’” (People)

• Jana Kramer (Alex, One Tree Hill) similarly announced her memoir, The Next Chapter, will come out in October. (Instagram)

  • Also: “Jana Kramer Recalls ‘Releasing Years of Shame’ After Mike Caussin Divorce” (E! Online)

• Joe Manganiello (Owen, One Tree Hill) and wife Sofia Vergara are again trying to sell their Beverly Hills home. (Forbes)

• Watch Michael Copon (Felix, One Tree Hill) in the trailer for 1521. (Facebook)

• The original “Gossip Girl” is now available to stream for free via Roku. (The Futon Critic)

• Penn Badgley (Dan, Gossip Girl) is selling his home in upstate New York. (New York Post)

• Taylor Momsen (Jenny, Gossip Girl) revealed The Pretty Reckless is working on a new album. (Blabbermouth)

• The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced they will not be filing sexual assault charges against Armie Hammer (Gabriel, Gossip Girl). (Variety)

  • Hammer released a statement in response to the decision. (Instagram)

• Andrew McCarthy (Rick, Gossip Girl / director, Gossip Girl) was on “The View” to promote his new book, Walking with Sam. (YouTube)

• Meghann Fahy, who appeared on “Gossip Girl,” is the subject of Variety’s latest cover story for her role on “The White Lotus,” which was created by Mike White (producer, Dawson’s Creek). (Variety)

• Jordan Alexander (Julien, Gossip Girl spinoff) released a single and accompanying music video as part of the duo MND3GMA. (YouTube)

• Tavi Gevinson (Kate, Gossip Girl spinoff) wrote a guest essay for The Hollywood Reporter about why she believes actors should be paid for auditions. (The Hollywood Reporter)

• Laura Benanti (Katherine, Gossip Girl spinoff) will recur on the “Cruel Intentions” TV series written by Sara Goodman (executive producer, Gossip Girl). (Variety)

• Jeremy O. Harris, who appeared as himself on the “Gossip Girl” spinoff, is among the jurors for the Tribeca Festival. (Deadline)