MTV
MTV’s newest high school drama Faking It premiered this week, and although the pilot might be a bit rough around the edges, the show has some serious potential. Faking It stars Rita Volk and Katie Stevens as Amy and Karma, two teenagers who want to stand out in their excessively-progressive high school located in Austin, Texas — the single blue dot in a sea of red.
When popular boys Shane (Michael Willett) and Liam (Gregg Sulkin) mistake Amy and Karma’s friendship as a romantic relationship, the girls rise to popularity with their new gay personas. However, Amy’s conservative and traditional stepsister Lauren (Bailey Buntain) seeks to out the girls as straight. Anyone following MTV’s Awkward will be sure to love the new series, but even non-fans won’t fake their enjoyment of the new show.
Self-Referential Humor
Between making jokes about teen moms at the school — which was especially hilarious given that the premiere of Faking It was followed by the Teen Mom 2 reunion — and the main characters talking about binge-watching Netflix, the show certainly knows its audience. The humor on the show is tailored perfectly for teens and twenty-somethings who loved the comedy in 21 Jump Street.
Flipping High School on Its Head
We’ve all seen the teen dramas in which cheerleaders and athletes rule the school, but in recent years, certain series are breaking down that trope. Glee, of course, is a huge proponent of the underdogs/losers of the school. Now there’s also Faking It. In this high school, being progressive is cool and subjecting yourself to outdated traditions is not cool — which is fun to watch.
LGBT-Driven Story
The pilot might be a bit backwards — two girls pretending to be gay to gain popularity is not exactly LGBT-friendly — but the show is planning to explore both girls’ sexuality throughout the first season, which is something not often seen on television. Sure Amy and Karma might start off pretending, but one of them will start to question whether she’s actually faking it or not. The story should allow for some fantastic and interesting television that we’ve never seen before.
