Taking the Stage Premiere
(Thursday, Mar. 19, 2009)
MTV is the grandfather of reality TV, and Nick Lachey is kind of like the ex-husband that married into the fam (oh, wait ... ). Who else would you trust to prepare a raw-cut treat likely to impress you in both a Hills-meets-Idol kind of way and that Julia Stiles-wants-to-go-Juilliard movie guilty-pleasure way? Lachey is said to have "conceptualized" the series, set at Cincinnati's School for Creative and Performing Arts (we're told Sarah Jessica Parker and Lachey himself are products of this Julliard set in the Midwest), and following "five seniors, on the cusp of greatness" in a real-life Fame way. Four of the five are dancers — a little ballet, a lot of hip-hop, and the fifth is a female singer-songwriter, who explores her teenage angst and dreams of "getting signed" before her 18th birthday. Without the requisite to-the-camera spot interviews, the show boasts the feel of a documentary, but unlike the Lauren Conrads and Whitney Ports of reality docs, these students seem ... real. And thankfully, they possess talent (no Sanjaya types). Lastly, they possess drive that goes beyond wanting the world to know their name — oh, yeah, what are their names?! YESTERDAY'S DO-IT: The wayward offspring of The Office!