I caught the first two episodes this past Sunday and fell in love. The series, which follows Jane Quimby as she balances high school and a full fledged fashion career, has all the elements of a perfect coming of age story: friendship, fashion, identity discovery, rich bullies, borderline poverty, lust, varsity jackets, and a sweet and compelling main character.
I sat there watching and thought, "Why didn't I write this show?" I had to find out the brilliant mind behind the project. I was so excited to learn that April Blair created and wrote the series. Blair is also one of the writers of Monte Carlo, another young adult fave of mine. There's no doubt that this series was influenced by John Hughes and Pretty In Pink. Blair discusses her creative process and that influence in this great piece from The Hollywood Reporter.
I find it interesting that a story so similar to Pretty In Pink, from the mid 1980's, could appeal to a generation of young Millennials. If we track adolescence across the ages, problems don't change drastically from generation to generation. We all face heartache, desire for independence, and identity crisis. So what is it about young adult dramas that can appeal to such a wide, older audience? Maybe we are attracted to these coming of age stories because we're continually growing, learning, and coming of age ourselves....whatever "of age" means.
Blair gets it. Yeah, this show is about fashion and boys, but it's also about powerful women doing it all, something young women (and us "of age" ladies) all aspire to.
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Sounds like Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead...
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