America embraced a foster teen and her flawed birth parents this week. A winsome cast certainly illuminates Life Unexpected, but more than anything, the core story touches a nerve. How many times did you put yourself in the place of Lux—approaching her dad, and then her mom for the first time? Wasn’t it easy to feel the numbing jolt along with Cate? The bewilderment of Baze? Good TV evokes an emotional response, and series creator Liz Tigelaar has spent the last decade polishing her skills on acclaimed shows like American Dreams, What About Brian, and Brothers & Sisters. She’s also the author of teen novels PrettyTOUGH and Playing With the Boys, which explored socially-estranged sisters and fish-out-of-water high school themes; and a series of Dawson’s Creek spinoff mysteries. Prior to The CW’s first season, Liz conceived an unusual drama, Split Decision, about a freshman (Jessy Schram) walking the tightrope between punks and druggies on one side of the school, and cheerleaders and popular kids on the other. The cast included a pre-Narnia Ben Barnes, plus Zack Roerig (Vampire Diaries) and Alona Tal (Supernatural). Though it wasn’t picked up, the pilot made an impact, says the Wall Street Journal. “That’s where we were indoctrinated into Liz’s writing and her way of getting at the heart of what is really in the soul of a teenager,” a studio exec said. Which brings us to Life Unexpected, a twisted coming-of-age story in which the adults are the ones suddenly maturing, with Lux as their catalyst, notes Tigelaar—an adoptee who met her birth mother during the production of the show last fall. The series premiere achieved the network’s highest ratings for the timeslot in over a year, and now the story expands to include Lux’s secret circle, a rebel boyfriend, and Baze and Cate’s quirky friends and families. This new life with an independent teen will be complicated and fascinating to watch unfold. And the script couldn’t be in better hands.
Life Unexpected / All New! Monday 9pm (encore: Wed. 8pm)
