Realistic 'Coming of Age' shows in need of a comeback

  'Freaks and Geeks' (Shout! Factory)

Take a look at the television landscape, and you will see a mix of good and bad. There are medical dramas, shameless reality television programs, quirky sitcoms, and sappy TV movies. There are gritty action-thrillers, animated comedies, and shows that break the time-space continuum. There is one television genre that has been noticeably underrepresented—realistic, coming of age programs.

Quick, name three recent programs that dealt with young people finding their way in the world that didn’t pander to the audience, wasn’t a show driven by sexuality, and wasn’t a program that tied every loose end up in a pretty red bow. Having a hard time? You aren’t alone.

In an age in which Hollywood feels more comfortable feeding its audience spin-offs and reality television shows such as “My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad,” “My Boys,” and “New York Goes to Work” dominates primetime, is it any wonder that shows with believable characters dealing with real issues are an afterthought?

Today's Teen TV

One could certainly argue that there are shows dealing with teenage life and the difficulties one faces. But are they realistic? Take CW’s “Gossip Girl,” a teen drama that revolves around young adults who attend elite academia institutions and deal with sex, drugs, and a host of other issues. The show is narrated by an omniscient character, "Gossip Girl," who runs a blog about her fellow Upper East Siders. While “Gossip Girl” is certainly a program that deals with young people attempting to face and overcome hardships in their life, it is evident that this CW program has an element of tabloid to it. The feeling comes across that the creators are winking at the audience, letting them know that what they are watching is solely visceral and not at all meant to be anything more than a teenage soap opera. In a recent magazine ad promoting “Gossip Girl,” there was a blurred image of a man and woman having sex. The only words on the page were “OMG (Oh My God).” It is abundantly clear that though this series deals with teenagers, it is set on being provocative rather than reflective; it’s focused more on sex than substance.

The summer of 2003 witnessed the debut of the series “The O.C.,” which once again featured privileged teenagers who, in this case, lived in Orange County, California. A show filled with melodrama, “The O.C.,” was a clichéd program that helped spawn shows like “Gossip Girl,” yet itself was a product of series such as “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “Melrose Place.” A 2004 USA Today article on “The O.C.” by writer Robert Bianco stated it best, writing, “On The O.C., everything is exaggerated, from the problems to the solutions. Fortunes, children and marriages come and go on a whim, and no one bats an eye. You may enjoy the characters, but you're not expected to take them or their multiple crises too seriously.”

You can read the rest of this article at my new television and film blog: The Screen Fiend!

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Michael Langston Moore also writes for AFRICAN AMERICAN ENTERTAINMENT EXAMINER column.

*Article originally written by Michael Langston Moore for Starpulse.com

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