CW Shows This Fall have Coddled Kids
Spoiled Rotten Teenagers on CW Shows This Fall, One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl, Privileged & 90210
The CW network has teen drama favorites One Tree Hill and Gossip Girl rolling out for a new season (starting with Sept. 1 premiere). Plus the new dramatic series 90210 (debut Sept. 2) and Privileged (debut Sept. 9), offer more torrid teenage tales focusing on a bunch of spoiled rotten kids.
Surprisingly, Chad Michael Murray, who stars in One Tree Hill, has raised his voice to tell parents that they need to monitor those shows for the younger viewers who have embraced them.
At the Fox Teen Choice Awards, Murray reported that he believes today’s stars should try to be good role models, but the ultimate responsibility falls to the parents. “Right now in our society, kids are being raised on images in magazines and television. And I think that someone needs to decide at what particular age they should be allowed to watch certain television shows. Somebody just needs to be there to watch them,” Murray explained, noting that’s the parents’ duty.
The seriously likable fellow added that if he had the opportunity to talk to every teenager in the country, he would ask them to show more respect for their moms and dads.
That’s one of the biggest problems, “there’s a lot less respect for their parents, to be honest. And I think that needs to be addressed. If I had the opportunity to talk to them, I’d tell them, the next time their parents ask them to do the dishes or do their homework or mow the lawn– don’t make them ask you twice. When you go home tonight, you should give your mom and dad a big old hug and kiss.” That goes a long way in creating an atmosphere of respect and appreciation.
Murray acknowledges that there are a lot of big issues going on in the world. “We all know about being green and helping to save the environment. And who’s going to be the next president of the United States. That’s great, but let’s think about the bare basics. That starts with the kids and how they treat their parents.”
Regarding what he does to help the environment, Chad sheepishly admitted he drives a Hummer.
Also in his personal life, Chad revealed he has “a really great girl in my life who isn’t just pretty, she’s my best friend. And she makes me laugh. I’ve never really had a girl who makes me laugh before. So for all the girls out there who think that being funny isn’t sexy– you’re wrong.” What’s the secret to their relationship? Chad smiled and said, “It’s finding someone who’s my buddy. And we don’t live in Hollywood.”
Set in a nicer neighborhood, the new 90210 series is a spin-off, not a remake of the juicy classic Beverly Hills, 90210. This contemporary version looks at life in the famous zip code through the teenage eyes of Annie Mills (Shenae Grimes, of Degrassi fame) and her brother Dixon (Tristan Wilds, from The Wire), whose parents (Rob Estes and Lori Loughlin) have moved to Beverly Hills to keep an eye on their troubled grandmother.
In the original Beverly Hills, 90210, the parents were mostly on the sidelines in stories about the pampered and troubled lives of teens in Beverly Hills. But the adults will have a strong presence in the new version.
Executive producer Jeff Judah explained, “This core family moves into Beverly Hills and we feel it’s about how they struggle to hold onto their sort of moral center. We think this generation of parenting is different than the ones we grew up with. We, as parents, did almost everything that our kids are doing. Our parents didn’t do that.”
Judah said they also want to have a point of view that there are other families in Beverly Hills from this generation of Baby-Booming parents, “who just think they’re parenting by giving their kids money and clothing and no rules. We have a strong point of view that kids need boundaries, need rules and that’s one of the things that’s going to influence the show.”
Coming back from the original cast is wild child Shannen Doherty, reprising her role as Brenda Walsh. Plus, Jennie Garth returns as Kelly Taylor, who is now a West Beverly High guidance counselor. And Joe E. Tata plays Nat, owner of The Peach Pit, where the coddled kids hang out.
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