How many of you have heard of this television series on the CW, who just reached its season finale just last night? Not many of you? Don’t feel bad—that was me as well. Until I marathoner the entire series (so far with one season, six episodes) just last night. Needless to say, I was beyond shocked.
Shocked that this show wasn’t getting more praise than it deserves.
At first glance, The L.A. Complex comes off as predictable. Young, attractive people trying to make their way to top in the famed City of Angels. You have your experienced and jaded, your naive and shiny-eyed, your talented and untalented, and of course, your people who will do anything to make it big. As described in the episode “Burn It Down,” the L.A. Hollywood business is one that “trades on desperation.” However, while those usual suspects known as cliches do exist within the program, they are played out with actors who do well with playing them out in a way that keeps the program fresh and painfully relatable.
The show doesn’t shy away nor particularly glamorize from important topics such as race, homosexuality in the hip-hop community (the most intense relationship on the show, by far, is between a rapper-in-denial and his producer in training), psychological problems (as displayed by the seemingly self-destructive and handsome Australian actor), sex, friendships, relationships, and all of the intricate complexities that make people fascinating. By far, this Canadian production is the best television drama I’ve viewed in awhile. And while the second season is already confirmed to be airing in Canada starting in July, there’s been a questionable battle of whether or not the CW has chosen to cancel the series (due to its poor ratings—perhaps a mistake of poor marketing well, if you ask me). Regardless, as apart of the small, yet devoted group of fans, I do plan on viewing the next chapter in the saga. I hope it doesn’t meet the same, sad fate of cancellation that other shows are worthy of, yet continue to air.
The L.A. Complex, starring Andra Fuller, Benjamin Charles Watson, Cassie Steele, Chelan Simmons, Ennis Esmer, Jewel Staite, Joe Dinicol, and Jonathan Patrick Moore, directed by the same minds behind the hit show Degrassi is certainly a comfortable guilty pleasure that should not be missed out on.
I’d rate it a solid 4.5/5.
(Source: cwtampa.cbslocal.com)
