Teen Drama Links for November 29, 2022

Two and a half months after breaking down and subscribing to Disney+ so I could watch the new season of “Dancing with the Stars,” I am so glad I did.

Though I’ve watched the series on and off over the years, this felt like the best season in quite a while — at least to me. I still have mixed feelings about the show being on Disney+ (no commercials were both a blessing and a curse), but it’s hard to complain about 120 minutes jam-packed with content. The contestants, the pros, the troupe, the themes, the dances, the return of Mark freakin’ Ballas — it was all just so enjoyable.

Alfonso Ribeiro was outstanding in his first season as co-host, though Tyra Banks still leaves a lot to be desired (however, I did like when she hosted “America’s Got Talent.”) The tributes to retiring judge Len Goodman during last week’s season finale were exactly what I hoped to see. I am a sucker anytime Derek Hough performs, so the cancellation of his finale performance was a bummer, but I got such joy from his “master class” segments all season long. (I loved seeing Hough and his sister Julianne on their concert tour however many years ago.)

The final result was predictable, but what wasn’t was how far Trevor Donovan (Teddy, 90210) made it this season. His journey was very up and down, and I never expected him to last to the semifinals. I understand both the praise and criticism he and Emma Slater received from viewers, but I was rooting for them to an extent. I wanted to embed my three favorite performances of theirs (week 5’s jive, week 7’s contemporary, and week 8’s salsa), but with the move to Disney+, the performances weren’t uploaded to YouTube this season. (Buuuuuuuut I’ve put links to bootleg versions in the preceding sentence.)

As for how Donovan compares to his teen drama predecessors who also competed on “DWTS,” he finished in 6th place, while Ian Ziering, Jennie Garth, and Jana Kramer all placed 4th in their respective seasons. James Van Der Beek landed in 5th place, Shannen Doherty and Mischa Barton both finished in 11th, and Brian Austin Green was 13th. (These are just the teen drama series regulars who have competed, not all teen drama stars).

With Donovan’s participation, that means “Beverly Hills, 90210,” “Dawson’s Creek,” “The O.C.,” “One Tree Hill,” and “90210” have all been represented on the show. All we need is a cast member from “Gossip Girl” for the full shebang. Maybe that’ll be the year I finally get to go to the ballroom for a taping, a dream I’ve had for ages.

The other thing I’m waiting for: someone to finally dance to Taylor Swift’s “Mirrorball.” I mean, is there a more fitting song?! I am just desperate for a contemporary routine to that track (as I also still wait for teen drama videos set to some of Swift’s other songs).

In the meantime, I am ecstatic that I will get to see the pros, runner-up Gabby Windey, and others when I go to the “DWTS” tour in January. Stay tuned for a full review after I do!

Teen Drama Links for November 29, 2022

Listicle Links

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

• “10 Former Child Stars Who Wish They Grew Up ‘Normal,’ And 9 Who Don’t Regret A Single Thing” (BuzzFeed)

• “‘Not A Single One Of Them Is Likable’: People Are Sharing The TV Shows With The Most Insufferable Main Characters” (BuzzFeed)

• “I’m Genuinely Curious If You Can Answer These Skill-Testing Questions About These Celebrities Born In November” (BuzzFeed)

• “19 TV Couple Moments You Didn’t Realize Were Improvised By The Actors” (BuzzFeed)

• “10 Hollywood Marriages That Almost Lasted A Year And 8 That Barely Made A Month” (BuzzFeed)

• “38 Famous Guys Who I Think We All Agree Are Extremely Good Looking, And What They Looked Like Before They Became The Men We Know Today” (BuzzFeed)

• “Jon And Arya Originally Had A Romance On ‘Game Of Thrones,’ And 22 Other Shocking TV Storylines That Almost Happened” (BuzzFeed)

• “These 24 Former Disney Channel Kids Graduated To Big Projects As Adults, So Here’s What They Look Like Then Vs. Now” (BuzzFeed)

• “Adam Brody Is Having A Moment” (UPROXX)

• “Blake Lively’s Pregnancy Timeline: From Maternity Style To Readjusted Family Life” (Elle UK)

• “8 of the best maternity looks Blake Lively has ever worn” (Insider)

• “How Gossip Girl’s Thanksgiving Episode Changed Pop Culture History” (Bustle)

  • Related: Teen Drama Thanksgiving Episodes (TDW)

• “A Guide to Every ‘Gossip Girl’ Thanksgiving Episode” (L’OFFICIEL)

• “From ‘Blair Waldorf Must Pie!’ to ‘It’s Really Complicated’: Revisit Gossip Girl’s Iconic Thanksgiving Episodes” (Us Weekly)

• “Remember When Gossip Girl Made The Quintessential Thanksgiving Episode?” (Nylon)

• “#TBT Playlist: Top 5 Most Iconic Songs of the OG ‘Gossip Girl’ Series” (Hypebae)

• “The Four Burning Questions ‘Gossip Girl’ Season 2 Must Answer” (Newsweek)

• “Are the ‘Gossip Girl’ Characters on Instagram? — Find Out Their Handles Here!” (JustJaredJr)

• “The Best Teens Shows of the 2000s, Ranked” (Movieweb)

• “The Best Teen Drama Shows Streaming on HBO Max” (Collider)

• “The Worst Age Gap Relationships In Television” (CBR)

• “10 Overrated TV Characters You're Actually Supposed To Like” (CBR)

• “13 Adorable Nicknames Couples Have For Each Other” (TV Fanatic)

• “The 100 Greatest TV Theme Songs of All Time” (Rolling Stone)

  • Related: The Teen Drama Theme Songs (TDW)

• “The 20 best Thanksgiving TV episodes of all time, from Peanuts to ‘Friends’” (USA Today)

  • The picture for “The O.C.” is definitely not from the episode described.

• “50 Years Of Thanksgiving-Themed TV: From Charlie Brown & ‘All In The Family’ To ‘Succession’ & ‘The Goldbergs’ — Photo Gallery” (Deadline)

  • The photo and caption for “Gossip Girl” here is even more embarrassing.

• “TV Shows That Have Hit 100 or More Episodes Over the Years: ‘Riverdale,’ ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and More” (Us Weekly)

• “Fanfiction, cartoons and ‘Glee’: ‘The Sex Lives of College Girls’ stars reveal their ‘sexual awakenings’ in TV, movies” (Yahoo)

• “What’s New on HBO Max This December” (The Futon Critic)

• “Best TV Series Coming to HBO Max in December 2022” (Movieweb)

• “HBO Max Reveals Collection of Holiday Movies and TV Series” (PopCulture.com)

• “The Best Hallmark Christmas Movies to Watch Now” (People)

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

• “Stars You Forgot Were in ‘Burlesque’” (Us Weekly)

• “Stars Reveal Their Favorite Thanksgiving Foods: See What Meghan Markle, Taylor Swift and More Love” (Us Weekly)

Best of the Rest

• Brian Austin Green (David, Beverly Hills, 90210) revealed he’s in the upcoming movie Beautiful Disaster. (Instagram)

  • I already shared last year that Rob Estes (Harry, 90210) is in the film, but apparently so is Autumn Reeser (Taylor, The O.C.) — so many teen drama worlds colliding!

• Shannen Doherty (Brenda, Beverly Hills, 90210) revealed her brother is the producer of the new movie What Remains — which happens to star Cress Williams (D’Shawn, Beverly Hills, 90210) and Kellan Lutz (George, 90210). (Instagram)

• Shira Rose, daughter of late “Beverly Hills, 90210” executive producers Jessica Klein and Steve Wasserman, was on the “Beverly Hills 90210 Show” podcast last week. (YouTube)

• Mike White (producer, Dawson’s Creek) did an interview about Sunday’s “jaw-dropping” episode of “The White Lotus.” (Variety)

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

  • “Jon Kasdan Interview: Willow” (Screen Rant)

  • “Willow Showrunner Jon Kasdan On Imbuing The Show With A ‘Spirit Of Adventure’” (Slashfilm)

  • “Willow Showrunner Jon Kasdan Reveals the Fantasy Projects That Inspired Disney+ Sequel” (Comicbook.com)

  • “Jon Kasdan On, Somehow, Bringing Back ‘Willow’ And The Future Of Han Solo” (UPROXX)

• More interviews with James Van Der Beek (Dawson, Dawson’s Creek) for his partnership with Libby’s Vegetables and Meals on Wheels.

  • “James Van Der Beek Opens Up About Holiday Traditions, Healing, & His Hopes For His Kids” (Scary Mommy)

  • “Dad of 6 James Van Der Beek Says Moving His Family to Austin Was ‘Centering’: ‘It’s Connected Us’” (People)

  • “James Van Der Beek Reveals Daughter, 12, Discovered His Cry-Face Meme: ‘Interesting to Navigate’” (People)

  • “James Van Der Beek sets his Thanksgiving table with intention” (FoodSided)

• More interviews with Michelle Williams (Jen, Dawson’s Creek) for The Fabelmans.

  • “Michelle Williams says making Steven Spielberg’s ‘The Fabelmans’ changed her approach to parenting” (USA Today)

  • “In ‘The Fabelmans,’ Michelle Williams Is a Jewish Mother Like No Other” (The Wall Street Journal)

  • “Spielberg tells fictionalized version of his own childhood in ‘The Fabelmans’” (ABC7)

  • Also: “Ranking Steven Spielberg’s Oscar-Nominated Actors: Will Michelle Williams Be Next for ‘The Fabelmans’?” (The Daily Beast)

  • Also, also: I saw the movie and will be writing about it next week.

• LOVE THIS: Williams was honored at last night’s Gotham Awards — where she, in turn, paid tribute to Mary Beth Peil (Grams, Dawson’s Creek). (Vulture)

  • From the red carpet: “Michelle Williams on Her Busy But ‘Happy’ Household After Welcoming Third Child” (Entertainment Tonight)

• Melissa Claire Egan, who appeared on “Dawson’s Creek” and “One Tree Hill” in bit parts, was on the “State of Mind” podcast. (YouTube)

• Seth Rogen (Bob, Dawson’s Creek), Paul Wesley (Donnie, The O.C.), Blake Lively (Serena, Gossip Girl), and Kristen Bell (Gossip Girl, Gossip Girl) are among the “40 Biggest Celebrity Entrepreneurs in 2022.” (The Hollywood Reporter)

  • Eva Longoria and Aaron Paul, both of whom appeared on an episode of “Beverly Hills, 90210,” are also on the list.

• More interviews with Adam Brody (Seth, The O.C.) for “Fleishman Is in Trouble.”

  • “Lizzy Caplan & Adam Brody Interview: Fleishman Is In Trouble” (Screen Rant)

  • “‘Fleishman Is in Trouble’ Team on Telling a Story About Men and Modern Marriage Through Women” (The Hollywood Reporter)

• Ben McKenzie (Ryan, The O.C.) was on the show “Crypto IRL.” (Bloomberg)

• More with Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Joe, The O.C.) and the past and future of “The Walking Dead.”

  • “Jeffrey Dean Morgan broke both of his feet while working on ‘The Walking Dead’” (Insider)

  • “How ‘The Walking Dead’ cast reacted when they first read the series finale script” (Insider)

  • “Jeffrey Dean Morgan Reveals Favorite The Walking Dead Scene” (Comicbook.com)

  • “Dead City | Coming Soon” (YouTube)

• Erica Messer (writer, The O.C.) discussed the premiere of “Criminal Minds: Evolution,” for which she is the executive producer and showrunner. (Deadline)

• Coach Carter — written by Mark Schwahn (creator, One Tree Hill), produced by Mike Tollin (executive producer, One Tree Hill) and Brian Robbins (executive producer, One Tree Hill), and featuring Antwon Tanner (Skills, One Tree Hill) and Denise Dowse (Mrs. Teasley, Beverly Hills, 90210) — is coming to Netflix in December. (Giant Freaking Robot)

• Bethany Joy Lenz (Haley, One Tree Hill) joined Barry Corbin (Whitey, One Tree Hill) for “An Evening with Barry Corbin,” a benefit for Downtown Cowtown at the Isis. (Instagram)

• Sophia Bush (Brooke, One Tree Hill) did an interview for Deborah. (Screen Rant)

• Jana Kramer (Alex, One Tree Hill) did another interview for Steppin’ Into the Holiday. (The List)

• Bryan Greenberg (Jake, One Tree Hill) and wife Jamie Chung did a joint interview on a whole host of topics. (KTLA)

• Lively’s husband, Ryan Reynolds, spoke about their upcoming arrival in some new interviews.

  • “Ryan Reynolds on How His Kids Feel to Be Expecting a New Sibling” (Entertainment Tonight)

  • “Ryan Reynolds Hasn’t Prepared For Baby No. 4 With Blake Lively: ‘I Should Sweep’” (The Kelly Clarkson Show)

• Season 4 of “You,” starring Penn Badgley (Dan, Gossip Girl), has a new, earlier premiere date. (TVLine)

• Michael Armand Hammer, the businessman father of Armie Hammer (Gabriel, Gossip Girl), has died. (TMZ)

• Bell made a late-night appearance to promote The People We Hate at the Wedding. (Jimmy Kimmel Live)

• The “Gossip Girl” spinoff cast is doing interviews for the new season, which premieres on Thursday.

  • “'Gossip Girl’s’ Whitney Peak On Navigating Black Trauma And The Pressure Of Remaking A Cult Series” (Marie Claire Australia)

  • “Evan Mock Is Having the Best Time” (The New York Times)

  • I will have more coverage later this week ;-)

• Donovan reflected on competing on “Dancing with the Stars” — and discussed “the Great American Family Controversy.” (Variety)

• Lily Collins (Phoebe, 90210) is on the cover of the December issue of Vogue France. (Vogue France)