The CW Cuts Comedy Division, Plans for Gossip Girl-esque Show: “How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls”
There is a disturbing trend manifesting itself in TV. And I mean, besides loathsome, unsubstantial, and generally annoying reality TV. The trend is taking chick-lit and adapting it for TV. This was done, successfully, with Gossip Girl. On its heels comes a new show for the CW, How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls, a book by Zoey Dean. My distaste right now is amplified by two notes that I will disclose.
The first reason is personal - I had a painful time at the dentist today, the likes of which I suspect I could write a horror movie based upon. (I now have a Waterpik, which is kind of fun… Waterpik - Family Dental Water Jet /QuickBreeze - Dental Irrigator ) The second reason is the fact that the CW is eliminating their comedy department, according to hollywoodreporter.com. They will be focusing on reality TV and their one-hour dramas. For fans of Reaper or Aliens in America - I’m sorry. Things don’t look good for these already established shows. Although, to be honest, I never really got on board with either of those shows.
But the idea of giving up on trying to create comedies and fill up weekday nights with more shows like Crowned makes my skin crawl. I am a fan of Project Runway, which is a reality show. I have also watched a lot of America’s Next Top Model, although I feel that show is dwindling in appeal.
The idea of ‘rich girls/teens/people’ is being used as this ‘innovative’ idea to grab the attention of (mostly) teenage girls. And maybe it works. I’ve never seen an episode of The Hills or Laguna Beach but they certainly seem popular.
I know that Gossip Girl is popular. While I personally do not like Gossip Girl, I understand why others might. And of course there was that show based on Tommy Hilfiger’s daughter, Ally called Rich Girls. And Kim Kardashian, who is another celeb who is ‘famous’ just for being ‘famous’ has some TV show about her rich life. While this concept has sometimes been interesting (though, way more interesting with movies like Legally Blonde, Mean Girls and Clueless ) if we keep getting the same premise, slightly reworked (i.e. The Simple Life - which I did enjoy sometimes) - how is that going to be interesting?
Mostly I am disappointed at this shift towards using chick lit books as the basis for TV shows. Original, scripted TV shows seem to be an ‘old’ idea, not worth doing. They are becoming increasingly rare every year.
So, will How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls be any good? I don’t know. Maybe it will. I doubt it, though. I miss the days of quality teen shows that were on the WB, like Dawson’s Creek, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Felicity.
Dawson’s Creek - The Complete First Season
Felicity - The Complete Seasons One Through Four (Freshman - Senior Years) - Amazon.com Exclusive
Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Collector’s Set (40 discs)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Complete Seventh Season (Slim Set)
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Until later,
Jessica
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About the Author: Your above-average sweet, smart, and snarky Girl Friday. Impeccable taste. Analytical. Liberal. Friend to animals. Always found in cute shoes.
Erika | Mar 5, 2008 | Reply
I have to make note of, however, that Reaper’s fate may not be as grim as you make it out to be, as Tyler Labine (Sock’s actor) hinted at a season 2 (as in, them starting to shoot it as soon as they finish the remaining season 1 episodes), in the official Reaper Facebook group.
While, yes, nothing’s official yet (Tyler did say this as well), the fact that the cast is being told “Season 2 maybe” is something to keep in mind.
That, and Reaper is turning less and less into a comedy as each episode goes on. (Which, you wouldn’t be aware of because you mentioned you didn’t get into the show.) It’s leaning into Supernatural territory, genre-wise, and Supernatural has been confirmed for the fall.
JessicaRae | Mar 5, 2008 | Reply
Hey, these are very good insights and facts that I wasn’t aware of. From what I’d read I feared the worst. I’ve experienced this with several shows (Angel, Firefly, Wonderfalls, Veronica Mars, My So-Called Life)which are good and yet get canceled for various stupid reasons. With Reaper leaning away from comedy a bit, and the fact that Everybody Hates Chris will still be in rotation, there is still hope.