The Return of TeenDramaWhore

TeenDramaWhore.com started on December 29, 2008.

It ended on September 2, 2010.

Yes, 9-02-10 Day.

And now, it’s back… sort of.

TeenDramaWhore Then

“TeenDramaWhore” was a nickname I gave myself to reflect my obsession with the teen drama genre. When I launched TeenDramaWhore.com as a college senior, it was intended to be a way to unload the 9389139118742153 thoughts about “Beverly Hills, 90210,” “Dawson’s Creek,” “The O.C.,” “One Tree Hill,” “Gossip Girl,” and “90210” that were constantly swirling around in my head. I also hoped to connect with fellow fans as no one in my “real life” fangirled nearly as hard as I did.

The site succeeded beyond my wildest expectations. I went from sharing random thoughts and observations to live-blogging new episodes to interviewing producers, writers, directors, and cast members.

And then it all got to be too much.

I wanted to dedicate all my hours to TeenDramaWhore. But I also needed to make a living. I never attempted to monetize TDW and worked on it when not “working.” As a result, just over a year out of college, I found myself burnt out and dejected. This was my passion… why couldn’t I follow it and support myself?

But something had to give.

And so, I bid my farewell, announcing a “hiatus.”

I threw myself full-throttle into my growing career in entertainment journalism… only to get burnt out again.

But my passion for the teen drama genre never wavered.

TeenDramaWhore Today

In fact, in the 10 years since I stopped updating TeenDramaWhore.com, I’ve been asked countless times about restarting it. My answer was usually a variation of: I’d love to, but I can’t bare the thought of it feeling burdensome again. I can’t be unequally splitting my time between a day job and a passion project.

So, what’s changed?

Well, for one, I’m no longer in entertainment journalism. I bowed out just over two years ago in search of work-life balance. A myth, maybe, but I feel a helluva lot more balanced today as a corporate communications editor than I did during the endless grind of my celebrity journalism days.

Two, just as my love for the teen dramas has never wavered (just look at my Twitter feed for proof), nor has my interest in all things pop culture and the media. I’ve been reading about Substack over the last year with increasing curiosity. Could it be my way back in? Even if this isn’t a newsletter that reaches millions, or even thousands of people, could this be the TDW of the future?

Third, Pete Ferriero. He is the host of the “Beverly Hills 90210 Show Podcast” with producers Charles (Chuck) Rosin and Larry Mollin, both of whom I interviewed for TDW more than a decade ago. Pete likes to say I invented the wheel and he just put the wheel on a newer car. I think that’s giving me too much credit. But here I need to give him credit. As I’ve watched episode after episode of the podcast — and even participated in a few myself, a tremendous honor — I’ve felt the urge to purge again… to spill all my thoughts. To connect with fellow fans. To see where this lifelong passion of mine takes me.

So here I am. Experimenting with a new form of TeenDramaWhore.com that will be both similar and different from its previous form. Everything on the original site will remain accessible; in fact, I plan on linking to it quite a bit. But I am removing some of the pressure: I won’t be updating this newsletter every day and I won’t be sharing every single thing I can find about the teen dramas. I don’t know if I’ll do any interviews (Pete is doing an INCREDIBLE job when it comes to “Beverly Hills, 90210” interviews). But I will be exploring different topics related to the teen drama genre.

I don’t know where this journey will lead, but I hope it’s one you’ll join me on.

As Dylan McKay once said, “Welcome to paradise, man.”